So hot right now - the young adult market
by Vanessa Barneveld
Adolescence. Some of us want to
forget it ever happened. There were a lot of firsts – first zit,
first failing grade, first kiss. Our bodies underwent freaky
changes. Moods were manic one minute, depressive the next. We
survived. But are you brave enough to relive all those awkward
moments?
Young Adult (YA) fiction holds its own in a field of flashy
competitors like the Internet, iPods and interactive computer games.
Don’t believe the rumours that kids don’t read anymore. According to
the Association of American Publishers, US sales of hardcover and
paperback Children’s/YA books for December 2006 alone reached over
$80 million.
Andrew Karre, acquisitions editor for teen imprint Flux, and New
York literary agent Michael Bourret from Dystel & Goderich share
their expert opinions on the hot-selling YA fiction market. Our own
Allison Rushby, American authors Niki Burnham, Tina Ferraro and Juli
Heaton also weigh in with their perspectives on writing for teens.
What makes a book Young Adult? Ask a bookseller and they’ll simply
tell you it’s fiction aimed at ages twelve to eighteen. But Niki
Burnham, RITA winner and author of Royally Jacked (Simon Pulse),
goes further. “YA is not a reading level,” she says. “It's the age
of your protagonist.” And Flux maintains YA is a point of view
rather than an age group.
If you think writing for a young audience puts you on a choker chain
– after all, your characters might not be old enough to drive or
quaff Shiraz with their cheeseburgers – think again. Fiction sets
out to entertain, not to be a pseudo parent teaching kids right from
wrong. Burnham insists, "You can write anything in YA, as long as it
works well and speaks to the reader. The key is to write what you
truly want, not to try to chase a ‘hole’ in the market.”
Between the covers you’ll find the themes are similar to what you
might see on the romance or popular fiction shelves. Like us, kids
read to escape. That’s not to say “issue” books dealing with
promiscuity, drugs and alcohol, pregnancy, divorce, death, etc,
aren’t selling. What you need to do in any story, any genre is
create believable, likeable characters and give them a problem to
work through. It’s interesting to note kids like to “read up”. That
is, they prefer to read about characters who are a couple of years
older than themselves.
The benefit of hindsight and experience makes writing for teens
particularly appealing to newly minted Puffin author Juli Heaton
(Stirring Up Trouble, coming soon). “It’s the chance to speak to
people whose feelings you understand, now that you’re no longer
embarrassed to admit you have those feelings. They’re captivated by
characters facing regular teen issues as well as special challenges
from their unique situation.”
For Tina Ferraro, who made her Delacorte debut last month with Top
Ten Uses For an Unworn Prom Dress, it’s almost like hitching a ride
in a time machine and fooling around with history. “Like most
author-moms, my days are hectic. But when I turn on the computer and
‘become’ sixteen or seventeen again, it’s a wonderful journey back
to a freer time, when anything was possible. I could still lose that
last bit of baby fat, I could date Heath Ledger, I could be the
first female US president. Which is not to say that my characters
are total dreamers. They accept normal restrictions and set goals
that are generally realistic. But it’s their underlying sense of
hope that keeps them - and by association, me - powered up. And
usually having lots of fun.”
Flux editor Andrew Karre reports all types of stories are selling
well these days. “The nice thing about YA is that it’s not broken
down by subgenera, so there are a lot of books that combine genres
very successfully. “There is a huge market for teen fantasy, but it
is very hard to crack, since it’s so competitive and publishers
throw obscene amounts of money at it. Teen books with paranormal
aspects of one form or another seem to work quite well, sometimes
surprisingly so in a seemingly increasingly conservative culture.
‘Literary’ sells if it’s good. Science fiction can do really well if
you define it broadly and include speculative fiction and dystopian
fiction.”
Michael Bourret, a New York agent with a special interest in teen
fiction, has similar views on what’s selling now, but warns against
merging with the flock. “It’s really difficult to follow trends.
With how long it takes for books to be published, writing something
in response to a bestseller is almost impossible, since the book
won't be published for at least a year. “It’s best to know who
you're writing for, but at the same time, I think it’s important to
write the book as it wants to be written, without worrying too much
about the reader. Even the most commercial of fiction needs to have
integrity.”
Teens love a character-driven series. Think Meg Cabot’s Princess
Diaries franchise or JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books. These authors
have created characters that seem to live and breathe. No wonder
it’s hard to accept The End is nigh when we know there’s so much
more to their stories.
Want to try writing a series but don’t quite have that
multimillion-dollar idea to carry it? One avenue is writing for book
packagers. They work with publishers to release a series, often
based on TV shows like Star Trek or Alias, using a stable of hired
guns. Writers must follow strict plot and character guidelines to
maintain the integrity of the series. But don’t count on it making
you a household name, if that’s your goal. In some cases, writers
aren’t able to use their own by-line. Bourret says, for some
writers, book packaging is a legitimate path to publication. “It’s a
way to get a start, as packagers will often take chances on young
writers without any experience, and it can also be good if a writer
is looking for a quick job that pays. That said, with the reduced
advances and royalties, it’s not the most appealing arrangement for
experienced writers with their own book ideas.”
Heaton, who writes romance and paranormal YA, says you have to work
hard at hooking the reader’s attention. So that means researching
and fine-tuning to get it right. Read what’s selling now. It isn’t
enough to revisit publishing phenomena of the ’80s like Bantam’s
book-packaged Sweet Valley High or Sweet Dreams series. Though SVH
did break new ground in its day. Who could forget Regina Morrow’s
one dalliance with cocaine that ended in tragedy? Of course, the
storyline came with the message of Just Say Noooo.
Ferraro agrees with Burnham’s view on subject matter. “These days
you can be as out-of-the-box as you want, as long as you make it
work. Top Ten Uses For an Unworn Prom Dress would have surely been
rejected [twenty years ago] because of its conversational,
first-person voice, the scandalous rumours that plague the heroine,
and its tongue-in-cheek prom dress uses. “Somewhere in a trash
dumpster, along with Betamax tapes, Furbys and tube socks, are
stacks of YA editorial guidelines - and good riddance! I wrote my
first YA during the heyday of Sweet Valley High and I recall
receiving guidelines and tip sheets from various publishers, and
struggling to fit my plot and my voice inside those strict
parameters. The result was a stilted story that would not come
alive.”
TV shows depicting realistic violence, sex scenes and occasional
coarse language air during primetime with barely a protest from
viewers. Often these programs share the same demographic as teen
fiction. What does that mean for the YA publishing sector? How far
can an author go before eyebrows rise?
Karre hasn’t hit the boundary yet. “I’m sure there’s a threshold of
graphic sexuality and violence, but I haven't really come across a
book or a manuscript that pushed to the point where I would say it’s
unfit for publication. I’ve come across some that dealt with sex and
violence poorly, tastelessly or gratuitously, and that’s cause for
rejection or for me not to buy the book.”
Bourret says gritty realism or so-called taboo subjects in today’s
YA novels are commonplace and that the market dictates how they’re
incorporated into the story. “The success of racy novels will
inevitably lead to more of them, and that's what we see at work. For
me, as long as the content furthers the story, and the point isn’t
to glorify the behaviour, they’re completely appropriate. If they
only exist to titillate, I’m not interested.”
Current YAs aren’t all about kids getting high or getting into juvie.
Take Allison Rushby’s Living Blonde series. Featuring Nessa
Mulholland as the girl whose life is a Marilyn Monroe movie
marathon, the books are funny, sweet and unashamedly optimistic.
“Having written adult chick-lit for years and dealing with heroines
with not just baggage, but excess baggage labels and fees slapped
all over them, writing a heroine who's going through those lovely,
invincible tweenage years is such a delight,” says Rushby. “That’s
not to say that Nessa doesn’t have things to deal with. She has
plenty. But her take on the world is very different. She doesn’t let
things weigh her down and there's always an underlying feeling that
her whole life is ahead of her.”
Voice is a huge part of what makes compelling reading for young
adults. Readers want to picture the heroine as a peer, someone
they’d hang out with. “I don’t think you can beat a strong narrative
voice,” comments Ferraro. “When I look at my favourite books, it’s
the way the author’s voice enhanced the storyline that stays with
me, more than the plot twists and turns themselves.”
“Writing for younger readers takes a talent that not everyone has,
and I’m not sure it can be worked on,” says Bourret on developing a
voice. “Capturing the teenage voice requires getting back inside the
teenage mindset, which is very difficult for most adults. The one
thing that I insist all writers do is read as much as possible
within the category. If you want to write for teens, read what
they’re reading. It’s both inspirational and informative, and it
should help prospective writers to better understand the voice of YA
novels.”
Adds Karre, “From my vantage point, there is no such thing as a
generic teen voice. There are universal teenage themes and common
scenarios and shared experiences, but voices and characters are
individuals.”
“A big turn-off is when a teen character sounds like an adult trying
to sound like a teenager,” says Ferraro. “This would be red-flagged
by too many grammatically correct sentences, lengthy explanations
(especially from guys), dated expressions, and references to
before-their-time pop culture. Also, teens essentially live
in-the-moment, so if a broken-hearted teen consoles herself that her
experience will be ‘a good lesson for the future’, YA readers know
the author is not speaking their language.”
Contest feedback is great, but the best way to find how your book
rates is to test it out on your target market. As well as placing
utmost trust in her critique partner, MTV Books author Kelly Parra
(Graffiti Girl, May 2007), Ferraro has what she calls her secret
weapon: her astute sixteen-year-old daughter. Don’t have an in-house
teen to steer you away from using tragic buzzwords that are so
yesterday? Try borrowing your friends’ kids, or take a tip from Niki
Burnham and approach your local school administration or library to
recruit readers.
Many of the YA books published in recent years are written in
first-person narrative. “YA is ultimately a genre that’s concerned
more with characterisation and point of view than anything else, and
thus first-person is the natural choice,” says Karre. “Of course
stories and plots need to be good, but character is so enormously
important. Great teen narration comes from the weird union of
shyness and cynicism with exhibitionism and earnestness.”
“It’s hard to find teen books that aren't written in the first
person, isn’t it?” muses Bourret. “I’ve actually asked myself that
question several times, but I think it comes down to the fundamental
nature of being a teenager, which is a particularly self-involved
time in life.
“Adolescence is a time when people figure out who they are
fundamentally and that’s a necessarily selfish process. The books
reflect that feeling. It’s important for teens to experience the
world through someone else's eyes, which these books allow them to
do. All that said, there are great people writing in other voices,
like any other category. In the end, it’s important that authors
find the right voice for their novels, and that means experimenting
and trying different things.”
Heaton’s theory on why this POV works? “Honestly, I think the writer
is better able to capture her inner teen by using first person.”
Rushby says, “The tweenage/teenage years are very ‘me’ oriented by
nature, so I think it's a natural fit. And how convenient, because,
in all honesty, I can’t write third person to save myself! For me,
first-person present is the only way to write. It’s the only way I
can seem to get into my characters’ heads and bring them across to
the reader as believable people.”
The term “crossover appeal” is often bandied about when talking
about books by mega-sellers such as Ann Brashares (The Sisterhood of
the Travelling Pants). Their stories resonate with both younger and
adult readers. Double your audience, double your income, right?
While every author dreams of this kind of following, there’s a
danger in trying to please everyone.
Karre says you’ll end up pleasing no-one. “Someone who starts out
trying to write a book with crossover appeal is asking for trouble.
A good teen book is potentially universally appealing without doing
anything special.”
Bourret agrees. “Right now, the line between adult and YA is
particularly blurred. It makes more sense to market the book after
it’s written, instead of trying to write a book to a market.”
The North American fiction market is the biggest in the world and
the majority of best-sellers are set in that region. But Australian
authors of category romance have built up a loyal following with
“exotic” down under settings. Can the same be achieved for YA?
“It's difficult,” says Rushby. “I think an
Aussie setting is a very hard sell if you’re looking at selling to
the US market, so what I try to do is find creative ways around this
while still using my writing strengths. I know a few US cities well
as I’ve visited them numerous times – NYC and Honolulu, for example.
Because of this, I set books one and two of the Living Blonde
trilogy in NYC and the third in Honolulu using an Aussie heroine.
However, I’d feel very out of my depth setting a novel in LA, or in
an American high school (my greatest fear!). I like to use Aussie
heroines living overseas as I feel most comfortable being able to
use an Aussie voice."
I could give you a magic formula for writing YA, but the patent’s
pending. So you’ll have to make do with this advice: Write what you
love, be it romance or horror; get your Freaky Friday on and put
yourself in your heroine’s shoes; read, read, read; run your
manuscripts by a teen to get a reality check; and one final thought
from Niki Burnham, “Never talk down to your reader. Always assume
they're as smart as you or smarter.”
Vanessa Barneveld’s paranormal YA novels have finalled/placed in
numerous Romance Writers of Australia contests, including the 2006
Emerald Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript. For more information
about Vanessa, visit
her
website
(c) Vanessa Barneveld 2007
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