Another dumb question: Are YA audiences easier to please than the Adults?

BlueLucario · Apr 27, 2009

Um... here goes

I read a post somewhere, I don't remember where it is. Where someone said that kids are easier to please than the adults. That's why some adults didn't like Twilight, but teenagers did. So I felt that this was why. I know you can't please everyone. This is just a curious question.

Is the YA audience easier to please than the adults?

Momento Mori · Apr 27, 2009

BlueLucario:
I read a post somewhere, I don't remember where it is.

You know, I'm always suspicious when someone starts a debate without being able to remember what their source is. If you don't remember and it's not pertinent to the discussion, then why mention it?

BlueLucario:
Where someone said that kids are easier to please than the adults.

I disagree. Teenagers are much more likely to tell you that they think something is crap or good than an adult is. Teenagers are also much more likely to tell each other if they think that something is crap or good, which is why some books take off and some sink like the proverbial stone.

BlueLucario:
That's why some adults didn't like Twilight, but teenagers did.

So how do you explain those teenagers who hated Twilight and the self-confessed middle age soccer mums who loved it?

BlueLucario:
Is the YA audience easier to please than the adults?

No.

MM

Shady Lane · Apr 27, 2009

Sage · Apr 27, 2009

I'm not going to give an absolute no for this. I think it's a matter of knowing your audience. For some people, teens (or certain teens at least) are easier to please than adults. For others, adults are easier.

Clair Dickson · Apr 27, 2009

Some readers of any age group are more lenient and just want something enjoyable to read (usually a good story.) Some readers are more critical of the writing and/ or storytelling and want something they deem 'good' to read. This second group is the hardest because they (usually) ask for higher standards in writing and plotting. The first group is (usually) more forgiving.

I don't think age is a factor so much as preference in reading. I prefer to read things that are well-written (not just decent) and that have solid plots (few plot holes or WTF moments). My cousin-- and dearest friend-- loves to read anything that has a story. She prefers things not be too complicated in writing style or in story just because she's just reading for fun. This same cousin graduates law school at the end of the year, so she's not particularly young, nor is she simple-minded. She just has different standards for reading. In fact, unless someone (like me) points out the bad writing, my cousin doesn't usually notice. She sees the forest, I see the trees. (And I think she tends to enjoy reading a bit more than I do because of it. =)

PattiTheWicked · Apr 27, 2009

BlueLucario said:
Um... here goes

I read a post somewhere, I don't remember where it is. Where someone said that kids are easier to please than the adults. That's why some adults didn't like Twilight, but teenagers did. So I felt that this was why. I know you can't please everyone. This is just a curious question.

Is the YA audience easier to please than the adults?

No, and people often make the mistake of assuming that just because they're writing for a younger audience that they can dumb it down and not give it their best work.

As to Twilight (and hopefully not turning this into an SMeyer bashing thread), the reason some people liked it and some didn't is because people have different ideas of what's good and what's not -- has nothing to do with the age of the readers. Harry Potter has just as many adult fans as it has child fans, because it's an engaging story full of characters you come to care about.

For me personally, the reason I disliked Twilight is because I thought it was just badly written. Then again, I feel the same way about Dan Brown's books, so it has nothing to do with the age of the target audience.

Julie Worth · Apr 27, 2009

As to the question in the OP, I can say that yeah, for me this is true. As a kid I'd read anything from cover to cover and thought most writers were geniuses, but nowadays I finish few books and find the authors to be idiots, most of them.

Toothpaste · Apr 27, 2009

Julie Worth said:
As to the question in the OP, I can say that yeah, for me this is true. As a kid I'd read anything from cover to cover and thought most writers were geniuses, but nowadays I finish few books and find the authors to be idiots, most of them.

Ah but do you still read the same books you did when you were younger?

When I got older I practically gave up on reading. I hated "grown up" books, and thought that that meant I didn't enjoy reading anymore, that I had grown out of it or something. But then one day I decided to visit my old favourites from a kid, and I just gobbled them up again. I realised that I preferred books for kids and teens than adult books, and I was brought back to reading.

Then again when I was a kid there were books that I just gave up on, so it wasn't like I was totally indiscriminate like you were. I really hated stories that were obvious morality tales (except when Judy Blume did it, she's brilliant). And to this day I still really hate preachy books, ick.

bethany · Apr 27, 2009

hell no.

witchunter88 · Apr 27, 2009

No, it can actually be considered tougher. Teens want not only quality storytelling but a voice that is concise and contemporary. That isn't to say teens can't enjoy their share of literary YA, but most YA are similar in that the voice is more succinct.

Stijn Hommes · Apr 27, 2009

Any audience will be easier to please if you know what they want, but just like any adult audience kids and teens come in all shapes and sizes and with all sorts of preferences. There's no one size fits all work that will please any audience fully no matter what their age. There's just too many different people around.

Zoombie · Apr 27, 2009

Absolutely not.

dragonkid · Apr 27, 2009

Since I’ve never written for or been an adult, I cannot say for certain, but I’m 99% sure the answer is no. YAs tend to tell it like it is – if your book is boring, they won’t humor you out of some sense of social obligation.

White-Tean · Apr 28, 2009

Kind of yes, but only in one way - teenagers probably haven't read quite as much as adults have, so YA books can sometimes get away with being a bit more derivative (like Eragon) because teenagers haven't always read a thousand similar fantasy books yet. That's the only way I can think YA audiences can be easier to please though.

Zoombie · Apr 28, 2009

Just to be snarky: Just cause one can do something does not mean one should.

I *could* release the beta-12 virus and turn every piece of plastic in the world into a thinking computer matrix beholden to me, giving me computational control over the globe.

I *could* detonate the quantum waveform bomb in my basement and erase several key members of the human race from history.

I *could* travel back in time to the American Civil War and give the Confederates AK-47 assault rifles.

Just like all of that, I *could* write derivative YA stuff and get away with it...but just because I could, does not mean I should.

Now, excuse me, I need to put the finishing touches on my zarkadian death ray...

Provrb1810meggy · Apr 28, 2009

Teenagers are not easier to please, though I think some teenagers may want different things than adult readers. Some teens may want fascinating, fun quick reads with romance and funny characters. They may care only about entertainment rather than originality and perceived literary value. Other teens are quite different and expect something different; they might be looking for something well-written and thought-provoking.

I also think that teenagers are a bit predisposed to skepticism/disliking things. It's like when a guest speaker or something visits a class, and the class is already thinking he's lame before he even speaks. I know it's different because a teen is choosing to read a book, but if their LAME! senses start going off, then I wouldn't expect teens to be very generous giving the author chances.

White-Tean · Apr 28, 2009

Zoombie said:
Just to be snarky: Just cause one can do something does not mean one should.

I *could* release the beta-12 virus and turn every piece of plastic in the world into a thinking computer matrix beholden to me, giving me computational control over the globe.

I *could* detonate the quantum waveform bomb in my basement and erase several key members of the human race from history.

I *could* travel back in time to the American Civil War and give the Confederates AK-47 assault rifles.

Just like all of that, I *could* write derivative YA stuff and get away with it...but just because I could, does not mean I should.

Now, excuse me, I need to put the finishing touches on my zarkadian death ray...

Oh, I'm not saying the standard should be any lower for YA, just that people who write derivative swill have a better chance of being a sucessful writer of derivative swill in the YA market because while they are not stupid, the YA market is a market of less experienced readers - they're not writers I have any great respect for though as you might guess.

I'm an idealist who believes creative output (artwork, literature) should add something to civilization and culture, and regurgitated, derivative swill is something I find myself getting snarky about too.

Julie Worth · Apr 28, 2009

White-Tean said:
Oh, I'm not saying the standard should be any lower for YA, just that people who write derivative swill have a better chance of being a sucessful writer of derivative swill in the YA market because while they are not stupid, the YA market is a market of less experienced readers...

Exactly. A cliche is not a cliche until you've seen it more than once.

Momento Mori · Apr 28, 2009

White-Tean:
teenagers probably haven't read quite as much as adults have, so YA books can sometimes get away with being a bit more derivative (like Eragon) because teenagers haven't always read a thousand similar fantasy books yet.

I'm not sure I quite agree with this and the reason for that is because although there is undoubtedly YA fiction out there that includes derivative elements (e.g. the Buffy clones, the Twilight clones, the derivative elements of Eragon etc), I wonder to what extent it's because YA fiction is trend driven by publisher's marketing departments rather than reader's writing habits.

If you read the industry magazines and agent blogs, you'll see a lot of agents talking/reporting that, e.g. vampires are a hard sell unless they're particularly original, or zombies are big right now. I know several writers though who've had original takes on particular subjects knocked back, not by the purchasing editor but by the marketing department who is looking for something that it knows it can sell. It's easier to sell a book to book buyers on the basis of "If you loved Twilight, then you'll like this book which is also about an emo vampire with creepy stalker tendencies!" than "this is a completely new and unproven type of novel and we have no idea if there's a market for it". And I wonder if the current economic climate will exacerbate that or make editors more likely to take some risks on unproven concepts.

Just throwing it out there.

MM

fairy86 · Apr 28, 2009

No. My 14-year-old sister is very picky. It's much easier to please my mother with my writing than my sister.

Rachel · Apr 28, 2009

BlueLucario said:
Um... here goes

I read a post somewhere, I don't remember where it is. Where someone said that kids are easier to please than the adults. That's why some adults didn't like Twilight, but teenagers did. So I felt that this was why. I know you can't please everyone. This is just a curious question.

Is the YA audience easier to please than the adults?

Could be an author of adult fiction said that.

I don't think it is a matter of being easier to please. Could be, the topics that are interesting to teens are just easier to write...

Race. Making no sense since 2000.

Fade · Apr 28, 2009

No.

I actually think your book has to be quicker paced if you write YA. My dad and I both love to read. If he goes in the bookstore, he browses around for a very, very, very long time and reads about a couple pages of whatever he picks up while sitting down. with his stack of books.

On a bad day, you have one sentence to catch my attention. If your first sentence is lame or boring, it's back on the shelf. My sister is also this way.

So no.

Leila · Apr 30, 2009

HELL no. Who on earth gave you that idea?

No one can spot when a book is trying too hard faster than a teenager. And btw, one of the regular customers at the bookshop I work at is maybe 13, making her ten years younger than me. And she has read more books than I can even THINK about, and I read a lot. There are plenty of very experienced teenage readers out there

BlueLucario · Apr 30, 2009

I thought so. When that guy said that I didn't believe him.

Zoombie · Apr 30, 2009

...then why did you start the thread?

Another dumb question: Are YA audiences easier to please than the Adults?

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