YA Book Deals Stats

missesdash

You can't sit with us!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
6,858
Reaction score
1,092
Location
Paris, France
Since we were talking about it in the other thread, I thought I'd post my findings in a new thread.

Below you'll find lots of pretty graphs and breakdowns of some trends in YA book deals. They're both from last year. I'll put the links at the end so you can check the posts out yourself because there is a lot more information in the text portions. Feel free to post links to anything you find or just general commentary. I know people tend to hate talking about money, but it is, at the very least, interesting to see how the numbers stack up.

Blah blah disclaimers about math not being perfect and not all information being available etc etc. The ones that specify genre should definitely be taken with a grain of salt because they're more indicative of trends than anything else and the time period has obviously passed. Also, the term "major deal" when used below means 500K or more.


graph2.png


tumblr_lxlfvl0kt71r0f4hio5_250.jpg


tumblr_lxlfvl0kt71r0f4hio4_250.jpg


tumblr_lxlfvl0kt71r0f4hio6_250.jpg


tumblr_lxlfvl0kt71r0f4hio1_250.jpg


tumblr_lxlfvl0kt71r0f4hio3_250.jpg


tumblr_lxlfvl0kt71r0f4hio2_250.jpg





Links:

http://carolineinspace.blogspot.com/2011/07/growing-number-of-ya-major-deals.html

http://www.katehart.net/2011/04/ya-deals-by-numbers.html

http://www.katehart.net/2011/03/two-for-tuesday-genre-grudge-match.html

http://www.katehart.net/2011/04/ya-deals-by-numbers-part-three.html
 
Last edited:

bethany

:)
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
Messages
9,013
Reaction score
3,057
Location
Room two-hundred-something on the first floor
Website
www.bethanygriffin.com
Interesting. Do be aware that some agencies don't list six figure deals or use the codes (major, significant, etc). Mine (DGLM) doesn't. ETA, I do see that you have not reported as a category (sorry, reading fail) but sometimes people assume those are all Nice deals,) anyway...carry on.
 

~*Kate*~

brings the random.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
3,206
Reaction score
684
Location
The Ozarks
Website
www.katehart.net
Genre should get two grains of salt b/c I categorized based on blurb + my own understanding of genre definition, which is decidedly hazy, especially in the sci fi/fantasy/magical realism areas.
 

missesdash

You can't sit with us!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
6,858
Reaction score
1,092
Location
Paris, France
Genre should get two grains of salt b/c I categorized based on blurb + my own understanding of genre definition, which is decidedly hazy, especially in the sci fi/fantasy/magical realism areas.

Oh there you are! I knew you were around here somewhere. I recognized your picture.
 

~*Kate*~

brings the random.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
3,206
Reaction score
684
Location
The Ozarks
Website
www.katehart.net
Oh there you are! I knew you were around here somewhere. I recognized your picture.

I'm not around much anymore, but a friend PM'd me and told me about the thread so I thought I'd come watch, since I'm obviously a little interested. :)
 

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
18,618
Reaction score
4,032
Location
Brillig in the slithy toves...
Something to consider, also, is the difference in US vs foreign deals.

I have a 2-book deal in the US and Germany, but 3 in the UK, so something like that would skew the numbers.

Also, a big advance in the US doesn't always equal a big advance overseas. Every deal is independent of the others.
 

Ginger Writer

Writing like a madwoman
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 4, 2012
Messages
234
Reaction score
11
Location
Arkansas
Website
www.youtube.com
Hi! Yay, my first post! :partyguy: Anyway, two things:

1. The first graph, to me, seems to indicate: (a) The demand for YA that sells incredibly well a la Harry Potter, (b) the realization that not every good or even great story is going to sell as well as these major advances would demand, and (c) the growth of the YA market in general.

2. The second graph is more encouraging than I would have thought. 17% is not a bad number of debut novels--my previous guess might have been something like <1-2%
 

mellymel

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 9, 2009
Messages
4,689
Reaction score
713
Thanks for putting this up, Miss :) I think the thing I find so interesting is that although there seems to be this idea that Paranormal is a "dead" genre or over saturated (and supposedly has been for a couple of years) these graphs seem to indicate that it's still doing quite well and in demand. I've also heard from a number of people/sources that Contemp is a hard sell, but it would seem it's selling just fine.
 

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Nov 15, 2008
Messages
18,618
Reaction score
4,032
Location
Brillig in the slithy toves...
I think it's more the formulaic para-romance with the "normal" girl caught between two supers or the super and the boy next door that's at the choke point, not paranormal itself.
 

Windcutter

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 10, 2011
Messages
2,181
Reaction score
135
Great graphs, thanks!
It's interesting to see how SF-dystopia-paranormal gets more multi-book deals than contemporary (not in the great total but with regard to each sector,) probably due to the sheer amount of series in those genres (actually, I'm hard pressed to name a recent specfic YA title which is *not* a part of series)--and how hystorical is almost = fantasy (I'm guessing the kind of fantasy featured in that sector is mostly secondary world fantasy.)
 

~*Kate*~

brings the random.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 26, 2009
Messages
3,206
Reaction score
684
Location
The Ozarks
Website
www.katehart.net
I'm going to do updated versions of these later this month (for Mar 2011-2012)-- I'll try to bump this thread when I get them posted. It'll be interesting to see if there's noticeable change in just one year.
 

missesdash

You can't sit with us!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
6,858
Reaction score
1,092
Location
Paris, France
Awesome Kate! I definitely look forward to observing any new trends in acquisitions. Thanks for sharing the wealth
 

Missus Akasha

I'm a monster. I'm a saint.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
1,352
Reaction score
66
Location
Florida
Wow, I remember a time when contemporary YA dominated the market and the selection of paranormal fiction was fairly small. I wonder if contemporary fiction is going to make a comeback or will another genre surprise us all? It's like we are going down the list or something, LOL. Contemporary, paranormal, and dystopia had trends. Could sci-fi be next?
 

cherita

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
642
Reaction score
131
Thanks for these charts Kate, and thanks missesdash for the heads up! It'd be interesting to see how some of these numbers (especially the larger deals) compare to actual sales/successes, but I don't know that that info is even available...?

Also, here's another post from Kate's blog breaking down six-figure deals by genre, which I think explains some of the perceptions I know *I* had that differ from the charts here (like... contemporary isn't a very large market, and why paranormal/dystopian seem to be oversaturated): http://www.katehart.net/2011/03/two-for-tuesday-genre-grudge-match.html
 

missesdash

You can't sit with us!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 5, 2011
Messages
6,858
Reaction score
1,092
Location
Paris, France
Wow, I had no idea contemporary books got six figures. Not that I assumed one never did, but I only ever hear about them when there's a fantasy element.
 

fredXgeorge

I heart sexy elves and wizards.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
944
Reaction score
81
Location
Australia
What do Nice and Very Nice mean?

Kate uses the Publisher's Marketplace deal levels. It's written underneath 'YA Deals By The Dollar'.

"nice" = $1-49K
"very nice" = $50-99K
"good" = $100-250K
"significant" = $251-499
"major" = $500,000