: Re: I am a 16 year old who wants to be a writer, but can I? I'm 16 years old and I've wrote about 4 to 5 different books. I have two that I think would be good enough for the public to

@Lengel543

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Can you be a writer? You bet you can. Do I know what publisher would publish your book? Not a chance. Buy a Writer's Market and comb through it to find publishers who publish work similar to yours.

In terms of a life of publishing (or trying to publish), there are a couple things you can do to prepare yourself. Publishing is exciting and frustrating, so don't be hard on yourself if it doesn't happen right away (or ever). It sounds like you're doing it for the pleasure of writing, which is a great place to be.

Some tips on the road to publishing:

Join a writing critique group. Jump into Meetup.com and find a local critique group. You'll have a chance to hear your work read
aloud and get feedback from other writers. Remember, feedback is
different from an evaluation. People won't tell you they like your
work (or dislike it), but will give considered responses to your
work, all with the aim of steadily improving your output.
Submit, Submit, Submit. The more you submit, the less painful it will (or should) become. And when you get that first publishing
credit, it feels really good. Many book publishers and agents want
to see that you've published before, since in some ways other
editors are vouching for you and your work. Your age should never be
an issue, and in fact might even work in your favor.
Make a plan. This can be as generic as "Write 1000 words a day, submit twice a week" to as specific as "Contact an agent, develop a
relationship, prepare synopses, and complete editing 3 books by the
time I'm 18." With a plan in place, you can set milestones for
yourself and have some good personal data regarding time,
productivity, and levels of success.

Also, try to stay positive. You're doing this for love, and probably also money and fame, but mostly for love. It can be frustrating and exhilarating, with many ups and downs, but I've personally found few things as rewarding as writing itself.

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