Friday, June 25, 2010

The YA Trend

So it seems like every day I hear about an author who used to write adult fiction, making their way into YA.  James Patterson has done it, John Grisham just did it, and more seem to be jumping ship every day.

I can't say I blame them.  I try to keep up with adult lit, but let's face it:  It's pretty bland these days.  And I'm not alone being that YA is the one section of publishing not drowning right now (ignore my hyperbole).  

But this raises a curious set of questions:

1.  Should YA authors be perturbed at the influx of authors from other genres?  I think not.  Fresh ideas can't ever hurt.  It does mean that some established authors crowding the dance floor are going to make it more difficult for debut authors to break out, but I think that it just means we have to try harder.  We have to find a way to stand out in a really crowded field.  

2.  Should writers from other genres jump into YA because it's hot right now?  Do you know why I've never written an "adult" story?  Because I don't have any good ones.  If I did, I'd write it.  I think that if you're struggling and you think that YA's where it's at, that's not a good enough reason.  If you have a really amazing YA story, tell it.  

3.  Adults and children are flocking to the originality and awesomeness of YA.  Doesn't that say something about adult lit?  And if so, maybe it's time for a change.  Here's the fun part.  Because the real question is:  is mainstream adult literature too boring to live?  There are some great books out there in the new releases section, so I'm not condemning them, but I think that people are speaking with their dollars.  Where is the adult equivalent of THE HUNGER GAMES?  I think that fresh blood needs to be pumped into adult literature.  I think that instead of authors leaving adult lit, maybe they should just take some cues from YA writers and be more inventive.  

Okay, enough of me talking, I want to hear what you all think.  Is adult lit dying slowly?  Does the influx of authors into YA bother you?  What can we do to make adult books more appealing?

1 comment:

  1. I wish I could say it didn't bother me that many adult authors jumped on the YA ship. Most of the time it doesn't, but I can't help but cringe when I hear adult writers confess the only reason they wrote a YA is because they had editors/agents pressuring them to. Then I feel for those writers because they're not getting to write what they're passionate about.

    ReplyDelete

Keep it clean, keep it classy, and jokes are always appreciated.