Category Archives: YA

September 21, 2011   Stacey   advice, fun, Stacey, writing, YA  
9

Does your YA character need a therapist?

I studied psychology in college, and have a strong interest in the subject still. I always joke that if I didn’t become a literary agent, I’d be a therapist. My eclectic list includes a number of dark, psychological memoirs, in several cases written by mothers and daughters (an odd hybrid that really resonates with me). I’m not sure what this says about my psyche, but I am drawn to deep, painful, emotional stories that explore the inner depths of human suffering, and then highlight the amazing strength people possess to overcome adversity.

For all of you YA authors out there thinking of having your young characters visit a therapist, here’s an interesting piece that talks about just that topic in current YA fiction. Given how many kids today are being medicated for various reasons, it’s refreshing to see in fiction so many talking through their problems. As a literary device, it seems more effective to set a scene in a therapist’s office where dramatic dialogue and action can unfold rather than describing the inherently nondramatic act of taking a pill.

For those of you writing in this category, what do you think of teenagers and therapists? Is it a good idea to open up their world in this way, or do you prefer an interior dialogue and thought process for characters to work through their issues? And have you read any books other than the ones Kabi Hartman discusses (it’s a good list) that effectively implement therapy or therapists into their plots of teenage angst? Since I have 4 girls who will be teenagers in the blink of an eye (ok, I know my oldest is only in first grade, but still), I’d like to know personally as well as professionally!

September 15, 2011   Michael   controversy, LGBTQ, Michael, publishers, submissions, voice, YA  
33

De-gaying YA

**Updated 9/18/11**

There’s been a lot of talk in the YA world this week about an article over at Publisher’s Weekly about the difficulty in selling work with LGBTQ protagonists, and the story is even being picked up by non-publishing outlets. (There’s also now some controversy, seen here on the Swivet, about who the mystery agent is, and if, in fact, they ever said such a thing.)

In the interest of full disclosure, I passed on the manuscript in question. It had absolutely nothing to do with the gay character–in fact, it’s not something that even registered. Perhaps it’s having lived on the coasts for years, or perhaps being gay, but finding a gay character in a book rarely registers. An author of mine recently sent in a new manuscript in which the brother of the female protagonist is gay, and honestly, I wouldn’t have noticed if the author hadn’t mentioned it in relation to a plot point. The guy’s gay.  Ok.  Moving on. And I’ve sold more than one YA book with an LGBTQ protagonist, including a YA memoir.

The same is generally true when I get in submissions. I’m not looking for gay or straight protagonists, and I don’t pay much attention. I care about the concept, the plotting, the voice, the writing–the sexual orientation of the character is the last thing I’m thinking about. Please send me books with LGBTQ characters; I’d love to see anything good! I think just about every agent and editor out there would say the same thing; it’s it’s good, we want to see it.

That said, we also have to be honest about the realities of the marketplace. There are fewer gay readers than straight readers. “Gay books,” on average, sell less than “straight books.” Readers seem to be more interested in reading about straight people–at least that’s what sales indicate. So publishers thinking about what to publish have to take this into consideration. Despite appearances to the contrary, publishing is a business, and sales matter. But YA books with LGBTQ characters continue to get published, are published well, and find audiences well beyond gay teens.  For more on this issue, I really recommend you read Malinda Lo’s brilliant blog post “How hard is it to sell an LGBTQ YA novel?”, which was referenced in the Swivet post above, and gives a great view from an author on this subject.

Publishing has to be one of the least homophobic businesses around. The percentage of gay agents, editors, and other publishing professionals is much, much higher than the population in general (no matter which statistic you’re looking at), and people are fairly liberal. I can almost guarantee that there’s no one censoring gay content. ***

If you want to see more books featuring LGBTQ characters, I have a piece of advice: seek out and buy those books. If publishers are rejecting books with LGBTQ characters because they believe they won’t sell, the way to change their minds is by buying the books when they are published. Publishers are chasing after sales, which is why you see so many copycat books–vampire novels after Twilight, dystopian novels following Hunger Games. Vote with your dollars. The more LGBTQ books you buy, the more you’ll see. And I know that we publishing professionals will be happy to sell them to you.

*** I should have chosen my words more carefully in this sentence. I didn’t mean to say that there was never any suggestion that GLBTQ content be removed from a book; clearly, that isn’t true. I was trying to say that I didn’t think anyone was doing this with a set agenda; I don’t think any particular editor’s or agent’s homophobia (blatant, latent or internalized) is the reason that such suggestions are made.

I also never intended to offend anyone with this post, and while I still don’t think I’m being naive or ignoring a blatant issue, I will certainly be more aware and sensitive going forward. I appreciate your responses and comments on this post, whether you agree with me or not. As so many have pointed out, what matters here is that we’re discussing the subject openly. And that can’t be a bad thing. Thank you.

June 30, 2011   John   controversy, John, opinion, YA  
21

YA throwdown–part II

Since my blog post a couple of weeks on dark YA ago got so many responses, I had to share Meghan Cox Gurdon’s rebuttal to her original article—I admit it, I’m a sucker for comments!

So, here we go again. Considering the fury generated by the original piece, Gurdon does a pretty remarkable job of sticking to her guns and fighting back. Interestingly, from just a quick glance at the comments on the WSJ site, it seems that there’s a lot more support for her position this time around, though I wonder if that’s partly because she’s recast herself in the “victim” role. And so far, outside reaction has been muted, probably because she doesn’t offer much that’s new or different.

But while I held my tongue the first time around, Gurdon’s rebuttal really bugs me, not only because of her message but her sophistry as well. Despite an initial protest to the contrary, once again she’s generalizing about all YA being dark, and while she talks about taking collective responsibility, the examples and quotes squarely place the blame once again on publishers and librarians—yup, back to the ol’ bogeymen. And in the tradition of the worst cultural censors, she closes the essay by saying she just wants to “discuss the subject.” Arrgh!

So, there’s my two cents. Your thoughts? Come on, lemme see them comments…

June 07, 2011   John   controversy, John, opinion, YA  
12

YA throwdown

The YA blogosphere has been up in arms this week over a piece in this past Sunday’s Wall Street Journal decrying the current state of YA fiction as “rife with explicit abuse, violence and depravity. Why is this considered a good idea?” Responses have been fast and furious, with an especially cutting blog post from Roger Sutton of the Horn Book that takes the Journal to task for not knowing its YA history. Also, check out Laurie Halse Anderson’s blog for a very well-argued (and deeply personal) response.

Myself, I’ve never really been drawn to super-dark YA—despite multiple attempts, I’ve just never gotten into Chris Lynch or Ellen Hopkins, though I can certainly appreciate their talents—but philosophically, I strongly believe there’s a place for dark YA in teen literature. And as a side note, I was really intrigued by Laurie’s comment that those who complain about dark YA tend to have younger kids–never thought of the YA bogeyman as an object of anticipated fears, though it makes total sense.

Whatcha think? Has contemporary YA grown too dark, or is it following in what is now a well-established literary tradition? Is there such a thing as too dark? Anyone find their opinions changing due to the age of their kids? Please, share, discuss, sound off, etc.

May 17, 2011   John   children's books, John, opinion, reviews, YA  
18

YA Exhaustion

This past weekend, the Times Book Review published one of their semi-annual children’s book supplements, and I have to say, it made me a little sad. Typically, the reviews are either raves or at least generally positive, which makes sense considering how few books get reviewed—seems like it should be easy enough to feature the good ones. Yet running through the YA reviews, I sensed a collective disappointment, if not for the books themselves, then for the YA genre.

For one, it seems like there’s a lot of ink about trends and sub-genres like dystopian, time-travel, problem novels, etc., and how the current crop of book measure up (or don’t) to their predecessors.  It also feels like the reviewers go out of their way to highlight conventions and clichés, like dead mothers and green-eyed boyfriends. Even the rave review for Mary Hooper’s Fallen Grace opens with a lament for the state of kids’ historical fiction.

Taken as a whole, it just feels like the readers aren’t particularly excited by these books, even the ones they like. Which makes me wonder if there’s some general YA exhaustion going on here—have the post-Twilight, high-concept, paranormal “big” YA books finally run out of steam and taken down everything else as well? On the one hand, I hope that’s not the case, because I think there are plenty of original stories to be told in YA, especially ones with more realistic settings. On the other, maybe some of the creativity will trickle down to middle-grade now, which (as I’ve written before) is in need of a serious reboot.

What do you think? Are you feeling any YA ennui? Do you find the latest crop of books just isn’t doing for you? Or am I just projecting negativity here (it is a pretty crappy day outside in NYC)? Please share!

April 26, 2011   John   advice, editor/agent lunches, John, opinion, suggestions, thrillers, writing, YA  
4

Background Fails

Today I want to talk about my current editorial fixation: Background. I had lunch yesterday with one of the top thriller/mystery editors in the biz, and at one point we compared notes on what works in his market and what I found worked in YA. In both genres, the answer was pretty simple: Plot rules, background fails.

Over dessert (I know, we were naughty), we both lamented the submission we see and reject over and over: the one that opens with a big, slam-bang action scene followed by about 50 pages of background before anything equally exciting happens again. Generally, that background takes three overlapping forms: backstory about the characters, description of the setting, and sharing of research. And usually, you can tell from the tone that the writer feels this background is very, very important to your understanding of the opening scene.

But really, 50 pages? There’s a reason why it’s called a thriller—it’s supposed to thrill you with an exciting plot. Why do we need to know a character’s personal history if that character isn’t really doing anything? Why paint a beautiful atmospheric picture of the Florida everglades if nothing actually happens there? Why describe in detail how a jet fighter works if it doesn’t get off the ground? Where’s the thrill in that?

Some say you start with a bang then slow the tempo so you have room to build—I say, why not keep up the tempo and build higher? After that big opening murder, I’d much rather watch the killer run and the detective chase than learn about the killer’s sad childhood and how the detective’s wife left him. In other words, let me know the characters by being shown (hint, hint) what they do than being told (get it yet?) who they are.

Here’s a little exercise I learned at a writer’s conference: take a look at your first 50 pages and cut any and all background material you find there. Then, either connect what’s left to the rest of the plot, or fill out the story with action scenes. I have a sneaking suspicion that not only will your manuscript be more gripping and fast-paced—thrilling, even—but that when you go back to fill in the background, you’ll find you it barely even miss it.

April 12, 2011   John   advice, children's books, conferences, John, middle grade, opinion, YA  
1

Retreat! Retreat!

Like Jim, I was away last weekend on book-related activities. I attended the SCBWI Eastern PA Poconos Retreat, doing manuscript critiques and a first-pages session, as well as sitting on an author/editor panel. Maybe it’s because I haven’t done a retreat in a few years, or maybe because this one was simply exceptional, but I came away as excited and rejuvenated about kids’ books as I’ve felt in quite a while.

First off, I was thrilled to see the traditional balance of projects among the writers, i.e., half picture books and half fiction. For so many years now, YA and middle-grade have dominated the kids’ books scene, and I’ve often felt a collective sense of despair among the picture book authors that there’s just no interest in their work. So it was very heartening to see that, despite no real signs of improvement in the market, authors are still coming up with stories for the youngest reader—and more importantly, are actively trying to get them published. No doubt, it’ll continue to be a struggle, especially as it’s generally not economically feasible for agents (like me) to rep text-only picture books until conditions improve. But I’m hopeful we’ll see more author/illustrators push things forward to a point where authors-only can get a shot, too—so keep it up, team!

I also noted more realistic fiction among my critiques than fantasy, which was a welcome shift. By far, the bulk of the queries I receive are fantasy-based or have paranormal elements, and while that’s all fine and good, I’d LOVE to see more fiction that deals with kids in contemporary, realistic settings. And it’s not that these stories can’t be creative or plot-driven—too often, I feel like authors equate fantasy with action, while realism is reserved for “issues.” There are tons of possibilities for high-concept storylines that don’t involve alternate worlds or werewolves, and I was very glad to see some of them this weekend.

Finally, it was great to feel just some good ol’ fashioned love for the book. We spend so much time wringing our hands over ebooks and the future of publishing (yours truly, guilty as charged), yet on the bus back to the city I realized that over the course of the weekend I only had one in-depth conversation about ebooks, and a good one at that. Moreover, as part of a silent auction, there was an impressive collection of picture books and novels from the 1940s and 1950s, including Adam of the Road with Robert Lawson’s illustrations and the original version of Ray Bradbury’s picture book Switch on the Night. Nothing like some beautiful oldies to reaffirm your faith in the printed word…

What’s your feeling about writers’ retreats? Do you find them inspiring? Helpful for your craft? Do they provide a sense of where the market’s headed? Or have you had bad experiences? I hope that’s not the case, but if so, what happened? I’d love to hear, as I’m trying to schedule some more retreats for 2011 and 2012—hey, maybe I’ll even see you at one of them!

March 22, 2011   John   audience, children's books, feedback, John, middle grade, opinion, YA  
29

Whatever Happened to Middle-Grade Fiction?

I had lunch with an editor yesterday, and toward the end we got to talking about the sorry state of middle-grade fiction. Both of us have been around the block long enough to remember when Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events launched, and at the time it seemed like we were entering a new golden age of middle-grade. Indeed, a number of notable MG authors and series appeared in the wake of Harry and the Baudelaires—Percy Jackson, Mysterious Benedict Society, Eragon, Cornelia Funke, Kat DiCamillo, to name a few.

But then, of course, Edward and Bella showed up, and almost overnight the party went from PG to PG-13 (if not R).

Now, children’s book authors have traditionally worked across genres and age-ranges, Judy Blume being the prime example. And it’s understandable that writers would gravitate toward YA when YA seems to be the biggest thing on the planet. But what confounds me is that how writers are focusing on YA to the exclusion of middle-grade, rather than complementing it as they did in the past—think about Judy writing Are You There God at the same time as Tiger Eyes. Hence, what passes for MG these days are either non-traditional formats like Wimpy Kid, or mass-market school stories that recall the days of Goosebumps and the Babysitters Club.

So to all you YA writers out there—how about some middle-grade? I see so many creative concepts and storylines in YA that would easily translate into middle-grade, especially in fantasy and sci-fi. The audience is there—really, I can’t think of any traditional series that commands the MG market right now—and from my informal survey of editors, it seems like they’re hungry for it, too.  All we need are the writers…

Or am I missing something here? Are there other reasons for the dearth of middle-grade? Have any of you tried MG and met resistance? I’d love to know!

March 14, 2011   Jim   Jim, opinion, reading, YA  
21

Pregnant cannibal teens from outer space

Nicole Peeler has a genius post up over on my client Richelle Mead’s blog. It’s about the question of how young might be too young for readers to be exposed to certain content. It’s a valid question, and it’s interesting for me to consider how my own feelings on it change.

I was reading wildly inappropriate things when I was a pre-teen—Valley of the Dolls, Lucky, Pet Sematary, Weaveworld. Death, destruction, sex, psychoses: all in my daily reading. My very conservative parents were pretty strict about what I watched on television, but they never seemed to think to monitor what I was reading. In return, I really went for it! The older the book’s intended audience (as far as I understood it), the better. I’d get books from the library just because they were banned. How did I even know they were “banned books?” I must have found a list somewhere. Which is how I led to be really bored by Wide Sargasso Sea years before I should have tackled it…and incredibly confused by The Stranger. It was years before I picked up Camus again. Big surprise: he’s way better than I gave him credit for when I was 12.

Since I’m pretty happy with how I turned out, my opinion always has been, “If you can understand it, you can read it.” I stick by that, but I won’t lie, it totally gave me the weirds when my niece started reading Gossip Girl. And those ARE teen books. I understand the protective instincts that make people want to monitor teen reading, but I don’t agree with it. Kids who are reading for pleasure are naturally inquisitive. They’re also plenty savvy enough to understand the difference between fiction and real life.  Beyond that, I really do believe that more knowledge is always a good thing. And a book is one piece of a larger body of information being consumed. If someone were somehow raised in a Gossip Girl bubble where the books were all they read and the TV show was all they watched then yeah, that might be kind of terrifying. But as one piece of a growing cultural and worldly understanding, no one book will turn someone into a sex-crazed, homicidal beast from hell.

So put everything out there. Pregnant cannibal teens from outer space. Just go for it. Who cares? It’s just a piece of the puzzle. While I’m sure that there are books that incited people to bad actions (Mein Kampf is always my go to as an example of bad books), I don’t believe that any book can in and of  itself create the person who carries those actions out.

What do you think? Am I too easygoing? Are there books that shouldn’t be available to certain age ranges? Are there things that shouldn’t be in teen books?

January 27, 2011   Michael   about us, fun, Michael, our clients, what we're looking for, why I signed up, writing, YA  
8

Why I signed.. Brodi Ashton

I thought I’d give you, our readers, a bit of insight into what I like and what I look for in a submission.  It’s often hard to articulate what does and doesn’t work once you get past simple mechanics and formatting–which is one of the reasons agents often blog and write about those details.  I hope hearing about why I signed Brodi Ashton gives you a window into my thoughts.

This story is going to start in a surprising way, maybe even for Brodi herself!  Brodi came to me highly recommended by not just one but several clients.  I had actually been hearing about her for quite some time before she queried me.  The clients recommending her were enthusiastic about not just her work, but also as a person.  Everyone seemed to like her.  You’re probably thinking that this was all weighing heavily in her favor, and the truth is, it was…and wasn’t.  By time she queried me, I’d heard such good things that I was a bit overwhelmed by the praise, and frankly concerned she couldn’t live up to it.  But her email query was very friendly, and I really liked the sound of her novel, which she mentioned was based in part in Greek mythology:

“17-year old Nikki Beckett has just returned from the Underworld to a family who doesn’t know where she’s been, a boyfriend who doesn’t know why she left, and old friends who think she’s using. But Nikki won’t have time to answer questions. She only has six months at Park City High before the tunnels of the Underworld come for her again. Six months for goodbyes she’ll never be able to say out loud. Six months to find redemption, if it exists.

She didn’t plan on Jack’s reaction to her return. The boy she betrayed so long ago doesn’t care why she left him or why she’s back, as long as he doesn’t lose her again.

When Nikki discovers she didn’t return to the surface alone, being near Jack becomes dangerous – for him. Cole, an Everliving, followed her back from the Underworld, and he needs Nikki in order to make his push for the throne. He’ll do anything to make it happen, even if it means going back to high school.

Jack would sacrifice anything to help Nikki defeat Cole, but the choice will be Nikki’s: serve the Underworld, or rule it.”


Greek mythology?  Supernatural beings?  Undying love?  And a heroine who who must choose between two seemingly terrible alternatives?  Yes, please!  Paranormal books continue to sell very well, and this pitch was full of both romance and high stakes–something I knew editors were looking for.  I was also impressed that I was able to understand the heart of the story very easily from a short pitch, despite not understanding the rules of the world yet.  I was paying attention by this point, but it was the next paragraph of her query that really drew me in:

“I wrote this story because as a teenager, I had a friend who just took off one day. When she returned months later, she was different. Broken. I never found out where she went, but I wondered what would do that to a person as I watched her try to reclaim her life. I was fascinated in the before and the after, so this story looks at why Nikki left and the struggle after she returned.”

I love to know where writers get their ideas.  And I really loved that Brodi used Greek mythology to explain why something happened in real life–just like the Greeks used myths to explain the world around them.  So, before I got her email I was apprehensive that she couldn’t live up to the hype, and then she blew me away with just the kind of story I love.  I was totally, completely hooked, and I hadn’t even read a word yet.  Though she’d included a sample, I didn’t need to look at those pages to know I’d be reading the whole book.  So I quickly requested the manuscript that day.

Needless to say, the manuscript lived up to the query letter.  I knew about half way through that I wanted to work with Brodi, but the moment when I knew I could sell this book came only a few pages from the end when–and this is hard to admit–I may have teared up.  Or cried.  Whatever you want to call it.  The story moved me in a way that I did not expect.  Before I could reach out to her, Brodi let me know she already had more than one offer of representation, and I immediately set up a time to speak with her.  We discussed the book at length, and it turned out that she and I had a similar vision for it and the rest of the series.  We talked about what I thought worked and what needing more fleshing out, and we talked about dramatically changing the very end of the book.  I was happy with the conversation, confident that my vision was the right one for the book, and nervous beyond belief.  In the end, I was lucky enough to have Brodi choose me over several other agents clamoring for her book, now titled EVERNEATH.  In the fall, we accepted a pre-emptive offer from the amazing Kristin Daly at  Balzer + Bray, and the book is due out in 2012.

So that’s why I signed Brodi Ashton.  Hope it gives you a better idea of what I’m looking for and what the process is like.

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