I’m a teen and I want to publish a book. I know it will be hard to find an agent because I’m only 14. I don’t want to meet my agent because I kind of want to keep my age a secret because it might affect the process. If you guys know any good agents or advice please respond. Thanks!
The agent or publisher won’t give a damn what age you are, as long as your story is good.
They’re not likely to say “Oh, that was a brilliant story! But you’re only fourteen, so we won’t bother”. If the story is good, your age is irrelevant.
As for agents, that’s for you to research yourself. Get a copy of Writer’s Handbook or Writer’s Market, and you’ll find a decent one in there which matches your needs.
Literary agents don’t care how old you are. They care whether you’ve written something they can sell to a publisher for a stack of money. They very rarely think that about books written by 14-year-olds, but it’s not because of ageism – it’s because most 14-year-olds’ writing isn’t worth paying for.
If an agent offers to represent you, you’ll have to tell him your age, because it’s not legal for you to sign contracts while you’re not an adult – a parent or guardian has to sign for you. But until he offers to represent you, you don’t have to tell him. If he can tell, from your writing alone, that you’re not an adult who’s been writing for a decade or two, he won’t offer to represent you.
You don’t seem to have done any research. Have you written a book yet? (Not just a first draft) Don’t answer that. Even if you didn’t reveal your age, they would guess correctly within a year or so.
Email a publishing company or call them. Try to avoid telling them your age if you can. Or tell your mom or dad to call and say it’s theirs and if the publisher likes it then say its yours