You have all heard about the 30 Under 30 List, but what about those of us who find success a bit later in life — like J.R.R. Tolkien? The Forbes list is all about movers-and-shakers, risk-takers, and visionaries across different industries but leaves out those of us with the most life experience.

In Honor of Middle-Aged and Senior Writers

There have been many authors who did not publish until after 40, writers you know, writers with successful careers. There’s no reason to let a midlife crisis slow you down. Find inspiration in these ten authors, J.R.R. Tolkien included, who have done it before you. There’s hope for us all!

1. Richard Adams

Richard Adams did not publish the book that would put him on the literary map until he was 52 years old. He started writing Watership Down in 1966 but did not get a publishing deal until 1972. It’s true what they say. Good things come to those who wait.

2. Helen DeWitt

Helen DeWitt was 44 years old when she published her first novel The Last Samurai in 2000. She spent many years attempting to write other novels but finally buckled down and gave herself a month to write this one from top to bottom. That’s some serious stick-to-it-ness!

3. Harriet Doerr 

Imagine publishing your debut novel at 74 years old! Harriet Doerr not only did that with Stones for Ibarra in 1984 but she won the National Book Award for it. She went on to publish Consider This, Señora in 1993 and a collection of short stories and essays, Tiger in the Grass: Stories and Other Inventions in 1995. The woman was a total badass!

4. Sue Monk Kidd

Sue Monk Kidd wrote a series of memoirs before she dipped her feet in the fiction pool. Her first non-fiction book God’s Joyful Surprise: Finding Yourself Loved was released at 40 years old, but her first fiction novel and most well-known work, The Secret Life of Bees, did not come out until she was 54.

5. Frank McCourt

Frank McCourt wrote about the challenges of his impoverished upbringing in America and Ireland. That’s writing what you know! His Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir, Angela’s Ashes, took the world by storm in 1996. He published it at a youthful 66 years old.

6. Jacquelyn Mitchard

What better way to publish your debut novel than at 40 years old when Oprah Winfrey is looking for the first ever selection for what would be her world-renowned book club? Jacquelyn Mitchard published The Deep End of the Ocean at just the right time and reaped the benefits.

7. Anna Sewell

Anna Sewell’s story is one of perseverance. She published her first and only novel, Black Beauty, at 57 years old despite mounting health issues. She started writing at 51 years old but was bed bound much of the time, passing away just five months after she sold the story.

8. J.R.R. Tolkien

Born in 1892, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote one of the most beloved series of all time. What you may not know is that he did not publish his first novel, The Hobbit, until 1937. The Lord of the Rings series would not come until 1954. Although Tolkien had published academic texts and numerous poems prior to that, his fiction career did not take off until he was 45.

9. Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton was nothing if not prolific. She published an array of short stories and novellas, but her first full-length novel, The Valley of Decision, was not published until she was 40. Several novels later, at 58 years old, The Age of Innocence earned her the Pulitzer Prize.

10. Laura Ingalls Wilder

The Little House on the Prairie series started with Little House in the Big Woods in 1932. Laura Ingalls Wilder was 65 years old, just eligible for Medicare (if Medicare had been around at the time), at the time she published it. Her last book was published when she was 76.