Buyers of YA are 65% adults

And, even if 65% of the readers of teen books are adults, that's still a lot of teens. YA is a bit glutted right now, but it's been one of the fastest growing ares of the market for the last few years. YA is huge. 45% teens, is huge, particularly since many get books at libraries and school libraries, and a huge amount of teens (and adults) read free stuff on Wattpad.

Maybe a goodly proportion of the 65% of adults purchasing YA are buying it for research, so they can try to write their own YA bestseller?

Stylo said:

Maybe a goodly proportion of the 65% of adults purchasing YA are buying it for research, so they can try to write their own YA bestseller?

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I am writing YA novels (see sig) though whether the world is ready for a novel about a sixth-form bisexual love triangle is another question. There is a lot to be said for reading the field you're writing in, so you know what's going on in it and you don't end up trying to reinvent the wheel. But I wouldn't write YA if I didn't read it in the first place, though it is true that I have read more of it and more systematically (for example, making a point of reading the Carnegie Medal shortlist each year) when I identified YA as an area I would want to and be drawn to write in. Pretty much all the novel ideas I have are YA ideas.

(My published fiction at present is all short fiction, which isn't YA and isn't specifically aimed at YA. I'm not sure there is much of a market for YA short fiction, but even so.)

One of the frustrating things about writing adult fantasy is that there are a number of agents who say they take fantasy, but if I look at who they represent and which queries they're requesting pages from, it's nearly all YA fantasy. And many have YA fantasy specifically mentioned as what they do, and while they don't say not to submit adult, some don't seem terribly interested in it.

I assume it's because YA is far more lucrative right now, at least in fantasy. It's hard to know for sure from QT, though, because they treat YA as a genre, so if your novel is YA fantasy, you have to choose between tagging it as YA or fantasy for their database.

I've noticed more adult fantasy written in first-person pov, even multi-person first- in recent years. I wonder if that's due to the influence of YA? Or is a greater fondness for first person narratives what's driving a lot of adults to YA in various genres (I may be wrong, but a lot of the YA I've read is in first person, often fairly deep, and sometimes even present tense). I like first person narratives (would have written mine in that if the story mechanics had made it reasonable to do so). Present tense is still something I notice at first in a story, as it just feels a bit weird, but when it's done well, it usually becomes invisible after a while.

So are we going to start seeing more adult books written in the kind of narrative voice/style currently associated with YA?

Roxxsmom said:

One of the frustrating things about writing adult fantasy is that there are a number of agents who say they take fantasy, but if I look at who they represent and which queries they're requesting pages from, it's nearly all YA fantasy. And many have YA fantasy specifically mentioned as what they do, and while they don't say not to submit adult, some don't seem terribly interested in it.

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I've run into this same problem with mine. The number of agents with any track record selling the kind of fantasy I write is ridiculously small (and they've pretty much all rejected me by now).

NaeimGiladisLegacy said:

Just making an observation. Not my fault that the past 20 years have seen a massive change from young people sitting in trains with books or magazines, to young people sitting in trains with smartphones. Not gonna do the "But not all are like that!" thing as it's obvious and doesn't need stating.

Haven't seen anyone trip or bump into things with a book blocking their view in a long time. Smartphones on the other hand... gotta crush that candy, y'know? Let's just face it. Yeah, there are young people who read. But if we're gonna talk percentages, my money is on smartphones, and NOT referring to smartphone ereader apps.

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I see people of all ages on mass transit with books, newspapers and magazines in physical, paper form every single day. I also see people walking down the street reading these things.

I also see lots of people with smartphones, sure.

I think 20 years ago the non-readers were listening to a Walkman, or staring out the window, or talking on their cell, or scratching something into the window, or whatever. Same as it ever was.

I think it all boils down to one simple point: a good book is a good book, regardless of how it is marketed.

I have to admit I haven't read most of the recent YA best sellers - I'm not fond of either present tense or dystopias, and both appear to be very popular at the moment.

In the end though, I think it all boils down to the fact that there are a number of very talented writers writing very good books in YA right now and everyone knows it.

NaeimGiladisLegacy said:

Just making an observation. Not my fault that the past 20 years have seen a massive change from young people sitting in trains with books or magazines, to young people sitting in trains with smartphones.

[...]

But if we're gonna talk percentages, my money is on smartphones, and NOT referring to smartphone ereader apps.

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If you want to understand how many young adults are actually reading, it's important to understand that quite a lot of young adults read via smartphone apps and ereaders. It's not necessarily the ONLY way they read, but when they're out and about it's the most convenient way. Whether it's Wattpad, Amazon Kindle, Comixology or a 300,000 word Destiel epic on Archive of Our Own, a lot of what young adults are reading doesn't resemble a paperback book.

They're sneaky that way. Secret reader ninjas.

I feel like this is because a lot of YA today is actually aimed at adults, they are just categorized as YA because of the age of the protagonists. YA is trending edgier and such. And teens still don't read as much as you think they should.

Adults have more buying power anyway. If anything I'm surprised the % of adult readers for YA isn't higher.

EMaree said:

If you want to understand how many young adults are actually reading, it's important to understand that quite a lot of young adults read via smartphone apps and ereaders. It's not necessarily the ONLY way they read, but when they're out and about it's the most convenient way. Whether it's Wattpad, Amazon Kindle, Comixology or a 300,000 word Destiel epic on Archive of Our Own, a lot of what young adults are reading doesn't resemble a paperback book.

They're sneaky that way. Secret reader ninjas.

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I'm 34 and I prefer reading on a tablet or smartphone. I only buy physical books as a copy of an ebook I already own.

I strongly believe this will be the trend for people of all ages going forward as we become more digital/in tune with technology.

Bufkus said:

I feel like this is because a lot of YA today is actually aimed at adults, they are just categorized as YA because of the age of the protagonists. YA is trending edgier and such.

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I disagree - YA is still very much aimed at young adults. 'Edgy' content isn't what determines the age category of something, as there's plenty of YA out there with very dark storylines, just as there are adult books that aren't 'edgy'. The themes and voice of the story, as well as the protag's age, are what makes something YA.

YA books are easy reading for adults. It's nice to lay back, put your brain on easy mode, and just let the story flow effortlessly into your brain. It's not surprising to me at all that YA books appeal to an older crowd.

Bufkus said:

I feel like this is because a lot of YA today is actually aimed at adults, they are just categorized as YA because of the age of the protagonists. YA is trending edgier and such. And teens still don't read as much as you think they should.

Adults have more buying power anyway. If anything I'm surprised the % of adult readers for YA isn't higher

I'm 34 and I prefer reading on a tablet or smartphone. I only buy physical books as a copy of an ebook I already own.

I strongly believe this will be the trend for people of all ages going forward as we become more digital/in tune with technology.

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I know people who feel this way, including a number of people over 60, but I don't think it'll be near the easy or complete shift it was predicted to be. I know more people who, whether they have e-readers or not, prefer physical media.

That, which is obviously anecdotal, but somewhat borne out by the percentage of people on mass transit and such with e-readers vs. physical books, papers, mags, plus the research showing lower retention when reading on screens, makes me think it's not an all-digital future.

I know a lot of kids who really don't like e-readers too - kids who really like to read and were gifted e-readers who barely ever use them and ask for physical books instead. That's anecdotal too, but...

Laer Carroll said:

Quite right. Teen fiction is aimed at teens.

However, what I've noticed is that the teens are not just concerned about issues that are strictly teen subjects such as dating and sex and getting along with classmates and parents. They also wonder about many of subjects sometimes pegged as "adult" concerns.

Years ago I told my nieces and my nephew and my four grandkids that I'd buy them any book they asked for, including expensive ones. In the last four years that included such YA books as the Hunger Games and Divergent series which is about political oppression and a war to fight it, two books about racial inequality, several about bullying, a couple about child abuse and prostitution, and so on.

Teens are exposed to the same news stories as everyone else. They are naturally going to want stories that speak to all issues, not just the ones they are exposed to directly.

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Those are teen concerns, to start with, and I dunno, when was this not true of YA fiction, and what teens aren't exposed to racial inequality, bullying, political issues, etc.?

Holden Caufield wasn't on about the malt shop, you know? Neither Alice (of Go Ask...) nor Ender were concerned about getting along with their parents; the kids in the Outsiders weren't either, nor were those in the Giver... etc.

Laer Carroll said:

Teens are exposed to the same news stories as everyone else. They are naturally going to want stories that speak to all issues, not just the ones they are exposed to directly.

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Yes, when I gave my niece a chance to borrow some of my YA's she chose Unwind because it dealt with abortion and other issues. She didn't want the Lunar Chronicles, Splintered, The Raven Boys, or many others I have. She chose something with an important social topic.

rockondon said:

YA books are easy reading for adults. It's nice to lay back, put your brain on easy mode, and just let the story flow effortlessly into your brain. It's not surprising to me at all that YA books appeal to an older crowd.

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Not all YA is "easy reading." I've read some very thought provoking YA's and many where I had to read passages twice to either understand the underlying meanings or just enjoy the beautiful prose. In some respects YA is "easier", more accessible, and has an immediacy to it that keeps you turning pages, but it is in no way IMHO "easy reading", though I see your point about it flowing into your mind. YA does tend to hook readers more quickly and impart information in an accessible manner, but I don't necessarily consider it easy.

Laer Carroll said:

Quite right. Teen fiction is aimed at teens.

However, what I've noticed is that the teens are not just concerned about issues that are strictly teen subjects such as dating and sex and getting along with classmates and parents. They also wonder about many of subjects sometimes pegged as "adult" concerns.

Years ago I told my nieces and my nephew and my four grandkids that I'd buy them any book they asked for, including expensive ones. In the last four years that included such YA books as the Hunger Games and Divergent series which is about political oppression and a war to fight it, two books about racial inequality, several about bullying, a couple about child abuse and prostitution, and so on.

Teens are exposed to the same news stories as everyone else. They are naturally going to want stories that speak to all issues, not just the ones they are exposed to directly.

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War, racial inequality, bullying, child abuse, prostitution, etc are all issues that affect teenagers too.

Laer Carroll said:

I wonder about what you mean by "voice." Do you mean that YA writers write down to some supposed literary level of teen readers, using simpler sentences and allusions and plot lines? I suspect not, but that is one possible interpretation. Maybe you could expand on that topic.

Most of the writing of the teen books that I've read or sampled is as fully mature as those of any other kind of literature, including that supposedly sophisticated kind of fiction labeled litfic.

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Of course not. YA authors shouldn't 'write down'. However, as protagonists in YA are almost always teenagers, their worldview is going to reflect that. The way we think and act changes as we get older. That's what I mean by the YA 'voice'.

KateH said:

I disagree - YA is still very much aimed at young adults.

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Laer Carroll said:

Quite right. Teen fiction is aimed at teens.

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On the whole I'd agree, though there have been cases where a novel wasn't consciously written as a YA novel but was published as such because it had a teenaged protagonist. In the last decade or so, I'm sure if an agent or publisher read a novel with a teenager in the lead, they would be thinking "Could this be a YA novel?" I also know one writer (an AW-er) who wrote a horror novel with 18/14-year-old protagonists who had to up their ages because the publisher who accepted the novel didn't publish YA.

On the other hand, there are YA novels which might not be YA by the usual criteria but are published as such because that's where the writer's track record is. I'm thinking of a couple of Meg Rosoff's novels, also Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity, an excellent novel but one where the two protagonists are in their early twenties.

But on the whole you're right. It's probably not a great idea to write a novel without at least some idea as to who your likely readership is.

I write MG, so I read a lot of MG. But I also like to read YA. I didn't start reading YA as a teenager. Admittedly, I read a little of it in high school, but then I moved on to adult SFF. In the last decade or so I've made a shift back to reading YA when I'm reading for enjoyment. My two primary reasons:

YA fiction helps me reconnect with my younger self. YA is full of firsts, and I like that. I enjoy exploring and thus, remembering what that first crush or first kiss or first major friend blow up or first detention or first time I realized my parents were human or first car felt like. There's an excitement and novelty in it that's invigorating. I'm an adult, but on the inside, there's a part of me that didn't grow all the way up and still wants to look at the world with wonder and not the jaded eye I've developed over the years.

I appreciate that YA characters' base issues are different from mine. They still have adventures and interesting situations happen to them, sometimes with very adult consequences, but the backdrop isn't mortgage and failing marriage and out-of-control children and crappy-office-job-I-hate and finances and retirement savings... Basically, it's a good story set outside the slog of the adult world that exhausts me so much, but it still sits close enough to the edge of it that I can relate.

That's why, as an adult, I read YA fiction.

Roxxsmom said:

So are we going to start seeing more adult books written in the kind of narrative voice/style currently associated with YA?

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I like first person narratives, but I'm fine reading whatever so long as it fits the story. I picked up a historical fiction last year--a book club type book I was really looking forward to. The narrative was first person with writing that captured a lot of YA themes, but it was extremely off-putting for what was intended as an adult book. To me, it seemed like someone told the author the story would be more marketable with a younger voice, and it just didn't fit the subject matter or tone that the cover implied. A book like Code Name Verity definitely straddles that line, so I know not all YA reads the same, but it is very odd to see an adult market book and open the pages to something that seems off for the era/tone/expectations.

Another reason could be that the teen years are often the most experimental. There are always new things to try, interesting people to meet, and of course, trouble to get in to. Trouble and new experiences make for great stories

Not surprising. I read the occasional YA book, although I have a friend who reads nothing but YA. He's 30.

I'm actually playing around with an idea for a story that will probably end up being YA, although I'm not pursuing it with "it's intended for X age group" in mind. I think that's probably why a lot of adults read them: it's the story that appeals to them, not which part of the bookstore they buy it in.

90% of everything is crap, and the top books in each genre are actually fairly on-par. So it doesn't surprise me at all that a lot of adults read YA. I do. I read more now than when I was a YA, even. Of course, as a boy, I got hit by the whole "boys skip to adult from middle-grade" thing, so that may explain a bit of it.

I've read several recent contemp/literary YAs that were easily as good or better as adult contemp/litfic I've read. I dislike most YA fantasy, but I also dislike a lot of adult fantasy for the same reasons.