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  1. #46
    Ataraxic Moderator KatG's Avatar
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    LOL, I wasn't even looking at the name. Will remove. But we'll keep Igor's post.

  2. #47
    Registered User SilentDan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CMTheAuthor View Post

    First, a lot of young readers don't get science, at least partially courtesy of the U.S. education system being in the toilet. So to use science and technology, you have to explain it in the book. This is very difficult to do well, because you can't get too long-winded on the subject (and thus wander away from the actual plot) without boring a lot of readers.
    Not without losing YOUNG readers, anyway. They don't want exposition; they want action and drama. And the education system in Australia ain't much better. No wonder my University tutors hate marking the rubbish that school-leavers hand in last minute.

    Teenagers are a modern concept. In Medieval times you used to be a child until age 7 and them BAM! adult. No transition stage. Slowly they started to put more categories into the progression, starting with these new-fangled things called "Teenagers" in the 1950's or something. Then in the 90's, Teenagers suddenly had money, and even then books were a bit slow to cater to teens, such that my local library at least seemed to have sport-related books, Buffy and Sweet Valley High, with only a handful of others (notably, Everworld by K.A. Applegate). It was growing, but wasn't exactly a publishing power-market. Nowadays you have about 20 divisions of young people, from Tweens and Pre-Teens to YA which means 18-25 now (and thus you can have sex, swearing, alcohol, drugs and violence ) and all sorts of stuff in between. It's slowly become a powerhouse hot market, and I think Harry Potter was the single solidifying element that pushed it into the highest commercial success it's ever seen. Suddenly, it's the widest-selling book in all time, and publishers realise that there's something to writing for young people.

    But yes, I do wonder if you really need to dumb it down for teenagers, not have any hard science (or magic, or horror), and just have teen drama dressed up in wizard robes and wands that do literally anything. It seems simple, but doing it that way does fly in the face of the golden rule: Don't Talk Down To Your Readers. Talk about Child Exploitation! (and the power of Throwing A Tantrum Unless Your Parents Give You The Shiny Thing).

    I think it's definitely more talked-about, more noticed, than adult markets - just because of its newness and the Power Of Teens Having A Voice. 10 years time, who knows what'll happen?

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