In this encore presentation of a 2018 interview from Howard Lovy's IndieVoices podcast, we revisit the topic of ageism.
Encore IndieVoices
The older I get, the more I prefer to read books by authors who write realistically about people my age and older. Maybe I once found it funny to see older people as “comedy characters,” but that humor has long worn thin.
Instead, let’s write books about how older, experienced workers are the first to face redundancy because it’s cheaper to pay the young. At the age of fifty-three, I think about these things more.
Books and authors I used to enjoy now seem to be juvenile. Dialogue that sounded witty when I was younger now grates on my ears like it was written by, and for, twelve year olds. And characters my age and above seem to revert to stereotype and do not think and act with any kind of nuance or maturity.
Where are the books for people like me? For grownups? For those who really know what it’s like to face ageist stereotypes?
And that’s what I focused on in this 2018 episode of my IndieVoices podcast for the Alliance of Independent Authors. I talked to Claire Baldry, at the time sixty-three years old, and an indie author who is also an advocate for older authors; Maggie Christensen, then seventy-three years old, who writes about mature women facing life-changing situations. Click the arrow below for the interviews.
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About the Hosts
Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last five years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a “book doctor” to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance business and technology writer. Find Howard on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Dan Holloway is a novelist, poet and spoken word artist. He is the MC of the performance arts show The New Libertines Earlier this year he competed at the National Poetry Slam final at the Royal Albert Hall. His latest collection, The Transparency of Sutures, is available on Kindle.
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Now, go write and publish!
Just to throw a pebble in the pot. I’ve recently (self)published my latest novel: Llywelyn .. to absolutely no interest of course (I wonder if my age is showing). A very very experienced editor, very knowledgeable about the book world commented: It’s good but you’ll never get an agent or a publisher. Its too long, it’s about Wales, and you’re too old. Seems she’s right.
I’m 78. I’ve been writing off and on since my teens. Its a long long road. But then, nobody asked me to join.
Michael Hill.
I am 66 years old and will start writing my 34th western frontier eBook August 1st.