Slate article on YA by Katie Crouch and Grady Hendrix

tcllnsfmly · Jun 23, 2011

Has anyone seen this article (http://www.slate.com/id/2296056/) about YA? Basically (in a nut shell) Katie Crouch and Grady Hendrix say that YA is:

Fast and loose
Very easy to market
Written by Collaborators
Twilight has slutty werewolves
Twilight has explicit sex scenes
An easy genre to write

When I saw this article I nearly peed my pants. I don't know who these two people are and why they decided to offend YA writers (and readers) but it's obvious that their attempt to market their book while doing so has failed tremendously. I mean...hello? They're insulting Twilight, one of the biggest YA series in recent years-Twilight readers are a conglomerate of YA readers (I've seen this for myself). By blatantly lying on the series and the author of the book they're sealing themselves into a writer purgatory and they're burning TONS of bridges.

It's obvious that these two (insert name) have never read Twilight, are completely incompetent when it comes to writing this article and they are obviously misled on what the goal of YA is.

I blogged about it here if you want to take a look see =)

Alitriona · Jun 23, 2011

She's clearly hasn't actually read Twilight or I seriously missed the sex scenes. Either way I think it's becoming a trend to mock something in order to gain attention for one's publishing efforts.

I think I also missed the memo about YA writers needing a partner.

thebloodfiend · Jun 23, 2011

Yeah... a friend of mine reviewed their book here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/164127907

I think they're just trying to stir up some controversy. Or they're really clueless.

Becca C. · Jun 23, 2011

"WTF" is all I can say. Way to offend reams of your fellow YA authors and belittle all their hard work. I wasn't going to before, but now I'm definitely not going to read their book.

Marzipan · Jun 23, 2011

Add one to the 'I wasn't very impressed with their book either' list. They could have done better if they had a better understanding of YA as a whole. Maybe in time they will figure it out. Don't worry about it too much. Jumping on the Twilight Hate Train is pretty standard these days for reasons other than honestly disliking the series.

sadbeautifultragic · Jun 23, 2011

That was horrid.

This lovely article....all I can say is, wow.

perfectisafault · Jun 23, 2011

That article = what is this I don't even

Reminds me of the people I know IRL who always ask me why I "waste my time" writing YA when I'm "so much better than that" (whatever the hell that is supposed to mean) :/

tcllnsfmly · Jun 23, 2011

perfectisafault said:
That article = what is this I don't even

Reminds me of the people I know IRL who always ask me why I "waste my time" writing YA when I'm "so much better than that" (whatever the hell that is supposed to mean) :/

I honestly feel that writing YA is harder than writing anything else. I'm 21 years old and yet I still find myself struggling to find what I felt like just three years ago. I tell you one thing; I've had to soul search to even BEGIN writing YA! & thank goodness I have diaries lol

tcllnsfmly · Jun 23, 2011

strategic_tragedies said:
That was horrid.

This lovely article....all I can say is, wow.

That's exactly how I felt. I would say the whole "forest for the trees" thing but they're in the middle of the desert.

Lydia Sharp · Jun 23, 2011

That has to be a joke. (someone please tell me that's a joke)

tcllnsfmly · Jun 23, 2011

The Kidd said:
Add one to the 'I wasn't very impressed with their book either' list. They could have done better if they had a better understanding of YA as a whole. Maybe in time they will figure it out. Don't worry about it too much. Jumping on the Twilight Hate Train is pretty standard these days for reasons other than honestly disliking the series.

I concur 100%.

Becca C. · Jun 23, 2011

YA is extremely hard. Writing a novel in any genre is extremely hard. To say anything to the contrary is offensive.

Vinaya's review is awesome, lol. But after reading this article, I can't look at the book the same way now. I can't respect it as art because I know now that the author(s) just sees it as a quick'n'dirty cash grab while she/they work on more "important" literature. The author doesn't respect her own work, so how can I?

tcllnsfmly · Jun 23, 2011

Lydia Sharp said:
That has to be a joke. (someone please tell me that's a joke)

LOL! & It's not a joke. They are serious about their thoughts on YA. *gags*

tcllnsfmly · Jun 23, 2011

Becca C. said:
YA is extremely hard. Writing a novel in any genre is extremely hard. To say anything to the contrary is offensive.

Vinaya's review is awesome, lol. But after reading this article, I can't look at the book the same way now. I can't respect it as art because I know now that the author(s) just sees it as a quick'n'dirty cash grab while she/they work on more "important" literature. The author doesn't respect her own work, so how can I?

I agree 95% with you but I do feel that YA is harder to write than Adult (that is because I have to go backwards in time) but I definitely see what you're saying. This writer has let everyone know that her book is basically a "double down". *shakes my head very slowly*

Jessianodel · Jun 23, 2011

The authors are basically saying that all YA is pretty bad literature, but at least theirs isn't that bad. Great way to target your audience guys, by saying that you can be lazy with your writing 'cuz us dumb teenagers won't know the difference.

tcllnsfmly · Jun 23, 2011

Jessianodel said:
The authors is basically saying that all YA is pretty bad literature, but at least theirs isn't that bad. Great way to target your audience guys, by saying that you can be lazy with your writing 'cuz us dumb teenagers won't know the difference.

I wonder if they had someone proof read the article before they posted it?
*looks away from screen in embarrassment*

Becca C. · Jun 23, 2011

Jessianodel said:
The authors is basically saying that all YA is pretty bad literature, but at least theirs isn't that bad. Great way to target your audience guys, by saying that you can be lazy with your writing 'cuz us dumb teenagers won't know the difference.

Yeah, even though she (I'm just going to say "she" because Katie Crouch is credited as the author of The Magnolia League) says she "loves teenagers," she's being completely condescending to them here. Imagine how you'd feel if you were a teenage girl who had read her book, loooooved it, and wanted to find out more about the author, so you Googled her and found this article. I'd feel hurt, like she was lying to me the whole time about liking me. And then I'd get angry.

tcllnsfmly · Jun 23, 2011

So...everyone who posted on this thread I'm following your blogs now (that is if you have one lol)! Just fyi =)

Marzipan · Jun 23, 2011

Thank you mam' I will do the same for you.

Becca C. · Jun 23, 2011

tcllnsfmly said:
So...everyone who posted on this thread I'm following your blogs now (that is if you have one lol)! Just fyi =)

I'm following yours now, too

It's so pretty!!

Katallina · Jun 23, 2011

That's just plain messed up. Writing should be about what you love -- about what your very soul is screaming at you to tell the world. There are a lot of other things someone can be doing that generate cash flow for a heck of a lot less effort.

As for YA being anything resembling 'inferior' literature? That's just plain silly. My mother and I read books together (she reads, I read or I read, she reads) and we're 29 and 52 -- we read YA, romance, whatever strikes our interest.

I think its vital to write the best story you have in you, regardless what genre / market / whatever you are going for. Writing a book is darn tough and why would you want to cheat yourself or your readers by doing anything less? I just don't understand people sometimes, I tell ya.

Uncarved · Jun 23, 2011

I don't believe there is an inferior genre. The article is completely off-based, and I don't even WRITE fiction. Sheesh.

Jessianodel · Jun 23, 2011

They just need to realize that they don't need to write YA, no one is forcing them and after this, I really don't want them to. Plenty of other writers out there who appreciate the art, never mind the target audience.

Kasey Mackenzie · Jun 23, 2011

Jessianodel said:
They just need to realize that they don't need to write YA, no one is forcing them and after this, I really don't want them to. Plenty of other writers out there who appreciate the art, never mind the target audience.

Me please! *waves her hands wildly in the air* I LOVE YA (the "genre"/category) AND young adults and really, really, REALLY hope my YA UF sells. I promise NOT to be a pretentious snob or undervalue my audience!

That article seriously hurt mah brainz.

fredXgeorge · Jun 23, 2011

They kept referring back to being "creepers" and sounding proud of it. That is what creeps me out. This article is friggin ridiculous written by people who don't respect their audience. And their books sound awful, especially as it sounds like they've specifically written some sort of magical Gossip Girl with simple writing because that's all teenagers understand.

Slate article on YA by Katie Crouch and Grady Hendrix

tcllnsfmly

Alitriona

Attends The School of AW

thebloodfiend

Cory

Becca C.

Marzipan

sadbeautifultragic

perfectisafault

tcllnsfmly

tcllnsfmly

Lydia Sharp

for the love of love

tcllnsfmly

Becca C.

tcllnsfmly

tcllnsfmly

Jessianodel

Blessed by the AW Gods

tcllnsfmly

Becca C.

tcllnsfmly

Marzipan

Becca C.

Katallina

Uncarved

I aim to misbehave

Jessianodel

Blessed by the AW Gods

Kasey Mackenzie

One Hit Wonder?

fredXgeorge

I heart sexy elves and wizards.