I'm 17 and thinking about publishing a book about my life. Am I too young?

There are many stories like yours out there already. What unique perspective do you have to offer?

Instead of thinking about publishing, focus on the actual writing. If writing this story is cathartic to you then do it. Thinking about the publishing side is pointless at this stage.

ETA:

So many other stories out there were written for the same reason: To give people hope. It's nothing new or unique. If I want hope from a story like that I already have thousands to choose from. What can YOU offer that sets you apart from the same old, "I want to give people hope" story?

You can write all the books you want. How will you get a publisher interested ?  These types of books are a dime a dozen. You'll need to make yours worth reading. What's your plan ?

You are not too young, but you are too young to be likely to have anything to say in a form that we haven't already seen from dozens of other people.
But if you want to write a book, nobody is stopping you. A lot of people find the act of writing down their experiences, thoughts and feelings is actually therapeutic.
Write it by all means. But unless your writing is exceptionally expressive or interesting, don't expect any publisher to be jumping up and down to publish it.

What might your age have to do with anything? There are books out there that were authored by toddlers. 

As long as it's a good book, go for it. But given what you've said here, i don't think it will be. People like to be happy, they don't really want to hear about all that.

Age doesn't matter. What matters is if you can tell a compelling story.

My, have you been ground in the mill!

You are not too young, but can you write the book? It has to be interesting. You have to be able to convey your thoughts so that a reader can comprehend and sympathize with you. You may express anger, but you shouldn't whine. Whining is pathetic. Most adults think teens whine and exaggerate their perceived sorrows. (They cry "Wolf" so often, like the boy prankster in the tale, that after a while no one cared to respond. The wolf came and killed the boy) So, your bad experiences may not be believed, at least not fully. You should convey that you have survived, if not that you are healed.

By the time you have written and polished your book, you will probably be 18 and allowed to negotiate and sign contracts. Find out how to self-publish your book and the legal business involved. There are scammers about.

Be prepared for poor sales. Most of us don't like stories without happy endings. Writing it may be cathartic and helpful in your future.

You are not too young to share your life experiences.  Good luck with the book.

You have a story to tell. TELL IT! And good luck. And don't waste any time worrying about whether or not people will like it. Or if they will think you're 'too young'. It doesn't matter what they will think. It's YOUR book.

Are you to young to publish a book..NO.

However, unless you have some unique story(sorry but nothing you posted here is unique or riveting) you aren't going to get a publisher to do it.  

So you will need to go through the "Self-Publishing" route. 

If you want to right down, and share, whatever it is you want to say, hell yeah do it. The people, with whom you share it, will judge it for themselves, and even if it's not up to anybody's standards (it might not even be up to your own standards, or standards that you will later have. Not that anyone needs any particular strictures), it will be good for your own benefit, and experience, to better your abilities for whatever it is you want to do next. And who knows; if it helps one person, it's done a lot of good. It might do a lot more. 

The time to write and publish is when you feel it is the right time. You may also find writing it is theraputic.

Write your book. Probably help you understand as you write and who knows, might sell. When you're 27 you will read it and understand 17. Good luck to you. 37 will be more doors opened. Write that too and so on.

You are not too young if you write extremely well and can make a compelling story that is different so people really want to read it. The hard part is finding some unique aspect of your life that people have not heard before. It has to be dramatic or teach something new in order to get attention. 
Start writing anyway. 

Too young, too boring

It is far more impressive for one so young to write about depressing topics with hope, than otherwise.  Writing about what you know is always good.

Imho, go for it.  The Bible speaks of "beauty for ashes" and one true beauty is Hope (also Faith and Charity).  By forgiving your abusers, you free yourself, and such individuals continue to be responsible to God for their actions and for balancing debts to other parts of Life.

Related:  http://b4ashes.com
https://www.childhelp.org

Many people will count themselves blessed to have given hope and comfort, strength and victory to themselves, and to one other.  So, writing an introductory chapter, then chapters focused about a single theme and what you did and may yet do to overcome and heal, would be a good guide or inspiration to others, even if you simply learn to earn a living in a vocation of your interest, and then pay to self-publish, and place such copies in public libraries and with groups such as those two mentioned above.

Related:  the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series, such as "Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul" and "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul;" imo, your proposed book's intent is of better moral quality than many of the stories in "Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul;"
Shaunti Feldhahn's "For Couples Only,"
Mark Prophet's "Understanding Yourself,"
Adam Poswolsky's "The Quarter-Life Breakthrough:  Invent Your Own Path, Find Meaningful Work, and Build a Life that Matters;"  and
Omraam Aivanhov's "Youth:  Creators of the Future."

No I don't think you are, I mean some people might not take you seriously but all you have to do is stand your ground say this is what I want to do, I want people to know MY story, for people in a similar situation to know that they aren't alone. It will be hard to get people's attention but you'll get there. I was in a similar situation I was abused both mentally and physically, I have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, PTSD, I resulted to self harm but it was people like you who helped me get better. I too have ADHD and my older brother has Autism and that just made it harder for him as he went through what I did as well as my other brother's and my mother, as I'm only 13 people don't take me seriously as much as they should but I get it. I don't self harm anymore I don't have depression as bad anymore I still have PTSD that's something I think will never go away but I'm better and like I said before that's because of people like you. I think your book will be amazing and I'll be your biggest fan. 💜

Depends on the focus, if you didn't pull yourself up out of it and have a better life ahead of you, all you'd be writing about is depressing stuff with no advice for anyone else.

You don't need approval to write your own story, it comes from some place real, sincere and if you want to tell your story then tell it...Real things are often buried from places within...


Everyone else doesn't matter if you have a story that you need to tell then tell it.  People like real things, real stories, they find them profoundly relateable and insightful. 

Not too young. Write it! 

If you have a story to tell then I don't think you being 17 matters. It sounds like you do have a story so I say go for it.

Not at all, but sounds boring

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I think your experiences need to be shared. But when recalling your problems, try to find some humor in the troubling times you've had (even if you make it up). This will make better reading and, more importantly, help you to tackle problems in a more positive way. I wish you every success.

NO.

Write it down before you. forget it.  Remember,   "To kill  a mockingbird" was  written as  first person by a 10 yo girl. 

Since you have experienced abuse, depression, anxiety, PTSD, self harm, suicidal attempt, and also have autism and ADHD you must have received professional counseling and treatment from licensed doctors and psychologists. I'd recommend if you do put your life experiences into writing do it with the advise and counsel of licensed and trusted professionals. One memoir I'd recommend for your reading is "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. He was a psychiatrist, he was Jewish and he survived being in a concentration camp during WWII.

It's good. You can write. Best of luck.

you could write  a book and then send to publishers

Just say it how it is.

Yes. It sounds like you've been through a lot, but being so young, your story has only just started. It's like publishing only the first chapter of a novel, since that's where you are, you're only just starting the second chapter of your life as you become an adult when you turn 18.

Live a good life, and then come back to the book idea when you're in your 40s perhaps.

Go for it, Kid.

Why don't you just buy Milk from the store ???

No - but you ARE too young to sign a legally-binding contract, which any publisher is going to insist on.

Sounds like a page turner.  Who would read it??  Most people have their own issues.  If they want to be depressed, they'll think about their own problems.

I don't think that a Book would possibly reach a mass audience as a possibly a Blog might if you're looking at trying to help fellow suffer that are going through waht you've been through.

1000 people will give you 1000 different answers.  You aren't really getting answers, you're getting opinions.  My opinion:  If I knew you were 17,  i would pass it by.  I'm in my 60's.  I know absolutely that at 17 you do not have the depth of experience to write anything that would be of value to me.  That's my opinion, do with it as you will. 

Something more interesting may happen later. Wait a bit.

Edit: have you read Ann Frank's memoir?  That was a very different time. Waiting to be found and killed is a stress point.

No, you're not. Go ahead and start writing. You might be young to some to finish it right now, but you're not too young to start writing it right now.

If you need help, let me know.

The Master of Perception: http://tiolibooks.com/cgi-bin/blog

Catch a Falling Star: http://tiolibooks.com/blank_1.html