Is it ever too late to become an author?

I’m from Maine. I wanted to ask you is it ever too late to become an author? I’m 18 and I’ve been writing since I was 8 years old and I’ve always wanted to be a famous young author but I haven’t published my books yet.

Is it ever too late?  Good heavens no!  Some people don’t get published until they are in their sixties and seventies.  The encouraging part of your email to me is that you’ve been writing since you were 8 years old, which must mean you truly enjoy it.  The part of your letter that bothers me is your reference to wanting fame.  It’s not wrong to want that…who doesn’t?…but a real writer writes because he or she likes/loves the process, even though it can drive you nuts.  You just can’t wait to make that character come alive on paper, and when  you succeed–by the description, the voice–it’s just so satisfying.  I find myself reading their lines aloud and laughing sometimes to myself.  Write all you can, and enter every contest that comes along.  Write for the school paper.  Form a writer’s club.  Take a writing course from a visiting author at a college summer program and get hints on how to get an agent who could help you get a book published.  I hope you succeed!