Give It A Rest: An Argument For Young Writers To Slow Down

(Yes, another writing article. I know I said I would go back to horses, but *sigh* life has been lifing and I had a writing article on hand. I literally have a How To article on horse models in the works but right now it’s still sitting in a box because things have been crazy. BUT I PROMISE I PROMISE I PROMISE HORSES ARE COMING NEXT WEEK! *clears throat* anyway… enjoy the article <3)

When we are pursuing a path that involves mentoring those younger than us, we often come across a common question: if you could give your younger self one piece of advice when they were starting out, what would it be?

This question didn’t matter so much to me when I was a kid, because my younger self still felt very close to me. But now that I’m adulting, I look back on little 14 year old Allie, hammering out words, on top of the world with her stories. She was going places and knew it. She was fast and she knew it.

Gifted. 14 year old Allie was gifted.

“For her age”.

14-year-old Allie didn’t take too much stock of that phrase. She just heard the praises of adults telling her how talented she was. How good her stories were. And the praise drove her faster and faster, from 14 into 15, into 16, hitting milestone after milestone.

What would I tell that young teenager, so full of dreams, aspiring to change the world with her words and write best-sellers, ideally before she became a “boring” adult with no time for such things?

I would sit 14-year-old Allie down in a chair (supplying her with some silly putty, of course, so her ADHD brain could focus enough to really hear what I was saying), and gently put my hand on her shoulder.

“Kid,” I’d say. “You need to slow down.”

***

The Young Writer Rat Race

Now, if you’re 14 years old (or younger, or maybe a little older) reading that, you probably feel horrified. I imagine my reaction would be similar to the first time an author I highly admired advised I should take a break from writing my book: gut-wrenching horror, followed by me running out to the barn to go cry for two hours.

Slow down? Why would I slow down? I was amazing! People loved my writing! Everyone told me how good I was! A publishing company (note: it was a vanity publisher, which I didn’t know at the time) wanted to publish my book! Why for the love of cheesecake would I ever slow down? If I slowed down, I might not achieve my dreams. I might get stuck and never, ever, ever become that published author with best-selling books. I’d be… a failure.

Now, maybe you’re not as dramatic as 14-year-old Allie, but no doubt your thoughts are, to an extent, along the same line as mine would’ve been. Time and time again, I see young writers speeding through their writing journey, and I want to cheer them on. I want them to succeed in their writing dreams! I want them to write those stories and learn to craft tales to impact the world. There’s nothing wrong with starting the writing game young.

But sometimes… sometimes, I see writers going too fast. I see thirteen, fourteen year olds blazing to finish their books and get published… I see fifteen year olds putting on the pressure on themselves to publish before eighteen… and I admit, I wince. I wince because I see them rushing in a rat race, trying to reach that sacred goal of publishing before their time “runs out”. Before they get “too old” to enjoy their dreams. We live in a culture that celebrates the prodigy, and we want to be a prodigy.

Here’s the hard truth, kids:

You might not be a prodigy.

You might not publish that book before eighteen.

And maybe you won’t achieve all your bucket list items before you grow up and become “boring”.

I don’t want to tell you these these to discourage you… but more as a gentle warning.

Because you want to know what all that laser-fast child energy leads to in the long run?

Burnout.

***

The Sophamore Slump

“The Sophamore Slump” is a real writing term in the book world, usually referring to how an author will do really well on their “freshman” book, and then slump with their second release. This is most commonly found in authors who published without accounting for the fact that if you want to make a career out of this writing thing… you have to keep producing content. One hit wonders do not last long in the author world.

I would argue that the same thing happens to teen writers. The sophamore year is around 16– and for most writers, that’s the year when the pressure to publish before 18 really turns on. You only have two years left before legal adulthood, after all. Thus, they push even harder to finish a book: sometimes cutting dangerous corners in the process. Interestingly, most “young authors” I’ve seen indie publish at 16-17.

But with pushing yourself harder comes… the sophamore slump. Because you’re suddenly faced with balancing more school. Getting your license. Getting a job. More responsibilties. You’re in the early stages of adulting.

And in the rush to achieve your dreams before it’s all over and you’re stuck with adulting for the rest of your life…

… you push yourself to the point where you can’t go any further, and hit burnout. This usually shows up in exhaustion, a general dislike of your writing, enhanced imposter syndrome, and in general? You feel like you suck. You’ve come off the mountaintop of writing hundreds, nay perhaps even thousands of words a day. But in the pits of burnout? You can barely write 200. You’ve broken down in the middle of the race, and as much as you try to struggle on… all you can do is watch others passing by, and long to have the energy and motivation back that you used to have.

And if I were to go back to 17 year old Allie, facing that same burnout, so deep and tenuos that there was more than one she cried out to God wondering why He gave her the dream to publish stories when they felt so dang far away and impossible?

I would help her up from the ground, give her a blanket and some tea (because goodness knows she’s been chugging too much coffee), and tell her to rest. Because you want to know what I learned, crawling out of the depths of burnout so horrible I came to a point where I genuinely believed that it was over and all of my dreams were forever crushed beyond mending?

Growing up isn’t the end.

Just because I would turn eighteen without achieving my dream of being a successful “young author” like the authors I idolized didn’t mean I was a failure. My life and dreams weren’t over just because I became an adult.

I didn’t have to become a prodigy to be worth something.

And just because I didn’t publish when I was a teenager didn’t mean that all my years of hard work were useless.

I get it. You see all the younger authors speeding ahead, getting published in magazines and people singing their praises, and it hurts. You wanted to be that writer. You wanted to be the young author who defied expectations and got published despite being young.

But it’s okay if you don’t. It’s okay if you’re not a prodigy.

Your writing and your words are valuable, no matter how old you are.

And it’s more important that you learn to hone your craft well than to just be “good for your age”.

***

Beyond Burnout…

I can see you over there, stiffening in your chairs, crossing your arms, feeling terribly miffed with me. I know you’re thinking, “I won’t get burnout– I’m doing just fine where I am!”

Good for you! But I didn’t come here to just talk about burnout (although I would say that is probably the strongest point I will stand by against writers publishing before 18).

The second issue boils down to one single word:

Maturity.

Don’t pull out your pitchforks on me yet! You can lack maturity and not be, in a general sense, immature. Everyone lacks maturity in certain areas of their life. You, as a teenager, lack maturity in the plain and simple sense that you have been on this earth for a very short time, in the grand scheme of things. In some life circumstances, you will have more maturity than the average person your age. But that doesn’t change the fact that you are still only 13, 14, 15 years old.

The plain and simple fact of so short an existence on this earth means that you will have certain limitations in themes you can express, how much you’ve learned, and how much you’ve read. The tendency I’ve seen from mentoring younger writers is that while they are ambitious, many times, they are parrots, even to a slight extent, of what they read. Especially if they have been hyperfixated on a certain series for a while. Show of hands: how many writers do you know with fantasy stories that were deeply inspired by one of the following:

• Wingfeather Saga
• Lord of the Rings
• Redwall
• The Green Ember
• Eragon

The first time I read Lord of the Rings and Wingfeather Saga, you know what first stood out to me?

“Oh! THAT’S where all these cliches are coming from!”

Because as young writers, we want to write like our heroes. We want to be among the greats. So we write like the greats…

… and end up with baby-writer copycats of the greats.

Now I’m not against copying authors, in a sense of learning. Mimicking authors we admire is a great way to learn (might not recommend Tolkien, though).

But these authors take these baby-writer copycat books, often their first novels, and try to publish them.

Slow down.

These are learning books. These are the places where you can play with your characters and worlds, learn your voice, learn what genre you want to write, whom you want to write for.

These precious books are not meant to be sent through the rigorous, soul-crushing process that is publishing. To publish well is to treat writing as a business, even if it’s just a side hustle. And businesses need to know the market. They need to know the audience. They need to polish and hone their products to sell well.

And first books should not, as a loose general rule, be taken through that process. First books are the safe places for writers to learn to love and hone their craft. By rushing to publish them, you rob yourself of that priveledge of just having a book that you can do whatever you want with, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

Publishing is permanent. You can take your book off the market, but there is still that stint in your author history. When you publish, you commit to building your brand around that first book. Readers have expectations of an author’s books, and first impressions mean a lot. By slowing down, you give yourself time to not just learn the craft, but to learn life. Growing up gives you more facets to explore, more wisdom to add to your words. With age and maturity comes deeper, better stories. Would you rather publish a book written when you were thirteen, or when you were nineteen?

You can only get better in your writing if you wait, if nothing else from the maturity you’ll gain just by going through life.

***

The Legal Jargon and Closing Thoughts

In my research on this topic, I was curious to see what other reasons might be out there from publishing professionals on why teenagers shouldn’t publish, and I found a very interesting one.

Simply put, due to certain laws and regulations, in all technicality it’s illegal for you as a minor to sign a publishing contract. Often this means that your parents have to sign for you… which means your parents technically control the rights to your book. This isn’t so much of an issue in traditional publishing since you sign most of your rights away anyway… but it is an issue when you independently publish, as many young authors do. And it can be a sticky situation once that writer turns 18 to transfer the names and rights over.

Another issue I see is how many young writers, when growing their platform, build half their brand on being a “young” author. This is a very dangerous startout because it puts an age time limit on your publishing career. They often use it as a credibility point, but what happens when you’re not a “young author” anymore? Half your brand foundation is gone. Don’t build your brand on being a young author (just don’t mention your age online… it’s safer that way…)

***

I know, I know. You probably hate me right now. You’re probably about to slam the computer close, unsubscribe, and never get on this website again. I just broke your dreams after all, didn’t I?

I’m not here to burn your dreams. And I’m not here to say that these are hard and fast rules either. If you have the maturity and the means to publish well, then go for it.

However… these are things I think every teen writer should put into consideration. We all need to pause for a second, take the rose colored glasses off, and strategize to make our dreams reality.

We live in prodigy culture, who loves to sing the praises of someone who seems like they were chosen to excel at their talents. Who are so young and so brilliant and sweet cheesecake, we just want to be them.

But waiting to get better at your craft does not make you less. Not being a “young author” does not mean your writing has any less value.

You will not fail or fall behind just because you didn’t publish before eighteen.

To the 13-14 year old dreamer… this is your reminder to pause, and consider where you want to go, and how fast you’re running.

To the burned out sophamore, this is your excuse to let yourself rest.

To the young adult wondering if you’ve wasted your teen years… don’t give up.

“Not now” doesn’t mean “not ever”.

Your dreams don’t die just because you grow up.

***

Resources

https://www.writersdigest.com/publishing/can-you-get-published-if-youre-a-teenager

https://janefriedman.com/writing-advice-for-children-and-teens

https://voicebox.site/article/should-teens-publish-books

I found this KDP Discussion to be quite fascinating as well: https://www.kdpcommunity.com/s/question/0D52T00005BWh5vSAD/young-author?language=en_US