The end of literary YA?
The other day I got a critique of the first two chapters of In the Shadow of the Oak that suggested it was too literary.
I can’t tell you how disturbing I found that.
Now, I’ve taken huge amounts of criticism in the past for all kinds of things, all of which was well deserved and, in the end, lessons well learned. But for some reason this one comment really got to me.
At first I thought it was because of what it said about my writing – i.e. a polite way of saying ‘I think your writing’s crap’. But on reflection, it was more what it said about the process of attempting publication.
Yes, it’s true that we’re experiencing what’s been described as an ‘economic down-turn’ (amazing how many ways governments can say the word recession) and that publishers aren’t taking the risks they (apparently) once did. But does that mean we should stop using big words and punctuation? Because there are one or two best sellers out there, who not only use big words and punctuation, but also have paragraphs of description that go on for more than half a page… gasp! See Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight, for example.
Today I found myself staring at the YA shelves in Waterstones (I’d gone in to get something for work – honestly!) and there was a woman putting out some stock. I asked her what was selling at the moment in the world of fifteen year old girls. At first she thought I was looking for a present and immediately handed me Twilight. So I asked her what she thought of it. It turned out she happened to be the regional children’s manager who was incredibly well versed in the kiddie publishing world. So I, perhaps foolishly, identified myself as an aspiring writer. It turned out she was really enthusiastic about new writers and had pushed another local woman through to the final of Waterstones’ writing competition. The manuscript didn’t win, but she very proudly handed me a copy of the book, published by Barry Cunningham’s Chicken House, no less!
We went on to have a great conversation about the fabulous (and best selling) YA books of recent times. Of course there are always the Pink Books that teenage girls love, and always sell well. But she picked out the books that had sold well over the last couple of years, all of which she described as literary cross-overs (whether they be YA/adult or 8-12/YA). Interesting, huh?
Anyway, I walked out of Waterstones with a spring in my step, her email address in my pocket, my faith in young adult readers restored, and the offer of free sample copies of new releases! All I can say is Meg Rosoff of…
Chain bookstore staff are generally clueless
…fame, you ought to meet this very clued-in member of Waterstones staff – you might be surprised!
