Are fiction editors turned off by undergrad students/teenagers submitting to their lit mag?
Would they roll their eyes if I mentioned I’d been published in Teen Ink? I always include the fact that I’m an undergrad in my cover letter to fiction editors (and when I was in high school mentioned that I was in high school). Do serious fiction editors at literary magazines dislike submissions from young people? Does mentioning my young age hurt my chances of being published? Or, conversely, could it ever help? Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts. Thanks!
NOTE: I do not explicitly mention my age, only that I’m an undergrad. But, of course, the editor can infer my age plus or minus two years from this info.
- Dave Castle
Tags: Cover Letter, Fiction Editors, Love, Submissions, Teenagers
April 6th, 2009 at 6:25 am
Why bother mentioning your age to begin with? If you allow your age to be a detriment then it will be. If your writing is excellent then it doesn’t matter if you’re 20 or 40. Write your cover letters, note any achievements or publications, and let your writing ability stand out.
EDIT:
Thumbs down for that? Well that’s rude.
April 8th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
I wouldn’t mention your age- at least not until they’ve read it. They’ll probably be more critical because I imagine lots of teens send in submissions and so yours will get thrown in the heap of teenage fantasists unless you can write something unusual and good to earn respect.
April 10th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
The only time you should mention your age is when submissions are limited to writers of a specific age group.
April 10th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
There’s nothing wrong with mentioning that you’re an undergrad. I wouldn’t stop doing that, if i were you. If you were 12 or something, they’d probably laugh you off, but there’s nothing embarrassing about being an undergrad. I don’t think you need to give them your exact age, but you don’t want to misrepresent yourself, either. Serious literary magazines are prone to reject lots of stuff anyway, so don’t sweat it, but if the work is strong enough, they don’t necessarily care about your age.
On the other hand, there are plenty of journals that simply aren’t interested in emerging people. In the submission guidelines on their websites, that sort will specifically say that they prefer established writers. When you see that, just move elsewhere. No big deal.
April 12th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Why would you mention your age in the first place? If I saw someone’s story with a cover letter saying “oh I’m xx years old” I’d start off by assuming that they expect to have allowances made because of how old they are.
April 14th, 2009 at 6:34 am
I agree with cath. Mentioning your age comes off as a plea for mercy: “I’m only 18 so if it’s not that great that’s why! Please publish my story!” Whether that’s your intention or not, you’re already biasing the editor to expect an amateur effort.
Let your writing stand on its own. Only share details about yourself when they are relevant to the story itself.