"Old" People Writing for Teens V

[Nether]

That first one might work. It's a little early to say anything about the conference (registration doesn't even open until January, and the website is being overhauled again, so the info isn't current), but I'm just trying to figure it out ahead of time.

Oh, yeah. Today was a rough day for rejections. I got one that really, really hurts. Made it all the way to the review/acquisitions board, and then they decided to turn it down.

Oof. Well, good show on making it to acquisitions. Clearly, that's some progress.

 

[Sage]

Very true. It just came on top of some other bad news. I found out my big-brother-I-never-had-best-friend's cancer has moved from stage "2.5ish" to stage 4 and he's starting chemo again. An hour later I got the rejection.

I’m so sorry, BG

 

[amlptj]

I'm so sorry BG, about the rejection and about your friend.

Silver lining about the book. It made it sooooo far! I'm sure it can again.

As for your friend I can only give my condolences. Cancer sucks. Praying they pull through!

 

[Sage]

Finally finished Cemetery Boys, which I’ve started twice before & got too frustrated to read. It’s a good book & one I would’ve entirely enjoyed if it weren’t for my paranormal bromance (also, about 10% of the way in, I had the villain figured out). It’s just frustrating to see so many similarities with a book you wrote & love & that’s going nowhere. And prolly never will because of said similarities.

I did really love The Sunbearer Trials (which I also found predictable…so I think the author & I just think alike). I almost certainly would’ve loved this one if I had nothing else to compare to.

 

[Bookgirl2021]

Anybody doing any form of NaNo (whether it's the official 50K, just a goal to write daily, finish a project, revise a project...whatever)?

 

[mccardey]

Anybody doing any form of NaNo (whether it's the official 50K, just a goal to write daily, finish a project, revise a project...whatever)?

These are your people

 

[Nether]

Anybody doing any form of NaNo (whether it's the official 50K, just a goal to write daily, finish a project, revise a project...whatever)?

Yep, I'm active in AW's NaNo subforum.

My project is going so far. Not great, not bad, but going.

 

[amlptj]

Finally finished Cemetery Boys, which I’ve started twice before & got too frustrated to read. It’s a good book & one I would’ve entirely enjoyed if it weren’t for my paranormal bromance (also, about 10% of the way in, I had the villain figured out). It’s just frustrating to see so many similarities with a book you wrote & love & that’s going nowhere. And prolly never will because of said similarities.

I did really love The Sunbearer Trials (which I also found predictable…so I think the author & I just think alike). I almost certainly would’ve loved this one if I had nothing else to compare to.

Well if you look on the bright side, you can use it as a comp for when you go to get an agent for it.

But yeah, finding a book similar to yours is frustrating and disheartening. For my 17th birthday my mom got me a book series I'd never heard of and said "I'm sure you'll love it, it sounds JUST LIKE YOUR BOOK" I had a mental meltdown. Finally read the book when i calmed down and was relived to see it wasn't as similar we originally thought.

Then when Stranger Things came out on Netflix's my mom didn't even tell me about it, because she was like yikes, this sounds familiar. So I'm in work one day and a guy is telling me about the show and i start like breaking out into a panicked sweat. I went home and asked her if she started watching it. She sat me down and was like "damn how did you find out? Well i watched the first few episodes, and it became less similar as it goes on."

 

[Bookgirl2021]

*sigh* Very kind, complimentary rejection on a full. She really liked it, and loved parts, and thought my writing was strong and engaging, but wasn't sure how she'd position it to try to break into "an already crowded market."

 

[Sage]

Is third person present the new thing? I can’t tell you how many interesting-sounding books I’ve come across lately that are partly or fully third present. Or books that I bought without previewing that turned out TPP. Or, worse, that I did preview (because now this is a problem) but the preview didn’t show that another POV is TPP.

 

[WD Writes]

Is third person present the new thing? I can’t tell you how many interesting-sounding books I’ve come across lately that are partly or fully third present. Or books that I bought without previewing that turned out TPP. Or, worse, that I did preview (because now this is a problem) but the preview didn’t show that another POV is TPP.

Are you seeing this in YA at all? I haven't noticed, but then I think you mentioned somewhere about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue being TPP and I'd completely forgotten that! (I think this was you but apologies if not – somebody definitely pointed it out.) So maybe I'm just not noticing...

I'm generally not fussed about tense or POV, but I see what you mean about Third Person Present - it creates a certain feel/tone, which I guess is why authors choose it. It always feels a bit dreamy or noir to me. Have you read Laura Lippman's Sunburn? (Again, not YA!) That uses TPP but for me it really works because the whole thing has this noir feel. It's the only one of her books I've read so far, so I'm not sure if it was a specific choice for that story of if this is how she writes. But I'm not sure how that would work with YA, which I think tends to be quite 'voicey' if that makes sense. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout now!

 

[Sage]

My recent TTP in YA were The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa, which was completely in TTP, and now I’m reading Starling House by Alix E Harrow, which has one POV in TTP. When I previewed Foul Lady Fortune, it at least starts off in TTP. I don’t know how prevalent that is in the book. I was recommended a book on Audible after the last I listened to & I thought it was YA, but I’m not sure after looking into it: Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend. This is all in pretty short time frame, which is what’s worrying to me. I’d come across occasional TTP books before, even in YA, but never so many so quickly.

To me, TTP often feels like someone’s reading off their grocery list or is five years old telling the story. That’s just how I perceive it. TILoAL was tolerable to me only because of the narrator in the audiobook. I had bought that without previewing, so it was a surprise. TWB was also an audiobook, & I was constantly distracted by the POV. Otherwise, it might’ve been a five star read, but it just lowers my personal enjoyment of it.

Anyway, I was just annoyed after coming across another book in TTP & finding out the one I’m currently reading (which I did preview) snuck it into the secondary POV.

Obviously, my problems with third person present are my own.

 

[WD Writes]

Fair. It's frustrating when there's one thing that bugs you in a book you'd otherwise love! I've marked some of those books you mentioned as TBR so might try a few samples and see how I feel about it. (As a reader only! I can't imagine making it work as a writer - it strikes me as very hard to pull off).

 

[pebbleg]

Came for the thread title (old people writing for teens), stayed for the TPP discussion!

I too find third person present tense a new trend! One that came to mind is Red, White & Royal Blue. I love the book, but can't get my head around the TPP!!! I kept wondering "who's talking here?". Personally there's just something counter-intuitive about it.

But it definitely looks like a new thing that we will very likely see more and more of.

 

[Sage]

Ooh, that one’s really popular too, so it will probably help spur on the acceptance of the tense.

FWIW, I didn’t like first present either, but once I wrote it (NaNo experiment) I ended up loving it. I don’t expect that for TPP, but if it becomes as unavoidable as FPP in YA, I’ll probably have to get used to reading it. Maybe I’ll just make those my audiobooks (I still don’t like it, but it’s slightly better in audio form)

 

[pebbleg]

Ooh, that one’s really popular too, so it will probably help spur on the acceptance of the tense.

FWIW, I didn’t like first present either, but once I wrote it (NaNo experiment) I ended up loving it. I don’t expect that for TPP, but if it becomes as unavoidable as FPP in YA, I’ll probably have to get used to reading it. Maybe I’ll just make those my audiobooks (I still don’t like it, but it’s slightly better in audio form)

By the end of reading Red White and Royal Blue I did get used to it, though once in a while I'd get a double take. I guess FPP was once frowned upon too and is now everywhere. Does any one know what made FPP "mainstream" in the first place? Was it Hunger Games?

 

[WD Writes]

I feel like Hunger Games made FPP popular in YA - but this is just a feeling! I don't have any actual evidence, beyond that being the first book I really remember using it well. Personally, I love FPP - especially for alternating POV where the voices are distinct. (Like in One of Us is Lying - it's a real favourite.) Though full disclosure: FPP alternating POV is what I write!

I might need to check out Red, White and Royal Blue! It's definitely popular, so clearly people don't mind it...

 

[ramendik]

Different question but sticking to the title of the thread

Do people do teen/YA novels with "parental bonus"/"dual audience" etc these days? That is, side plotlines and reference that have relevance primarily for people older than the YA demographic?

 

[Sage]

At the end of the day, YA novels are written for teens. Although there is a wide audience of older people who read them, they are expected to have a teen perspective throughout.

 

[Nether]

Do people do teen/YA novels with "parental bonus"/"dual audience" etc these days? That is, side plotlines and reference that have relevance primarily for people older than the YA demographic?

Although YA is specifically written for teens, there can be a universality to certain story elements. However, if you have a subplot more relevant to adults -- like the MC's single parent falling in love with somebody -- it still really needs to be told from a YA lens even if the overtones might resonate more with adults. But, that said, the adults who read YA mostly read YA for the YA side of things (whether it's for nostalgia, reminiscing, wishing things in their own lives could've turned out differently, etc) so strictly adult content would be a little silly. More so, a book designed with the intent to cater to all audiences will generally cater to no audience.

 

[ramendik]

Thanks @Sage - and, well, shiver me timbers. This means I don't have a 100% fit in YA. The other question, I guess, is whether a work where the main storyline concerns 16-18 year olds who are in a school, but there are adult-character subplots/flashbacks (nothing "adult" in the NSFW sense), might go anywhere other than YA in Western systems.

P.S. @Nether 's post came in while I was writing a reply and makes things a bit more balanced. Not sure I can achieve a YA lens in one or two particular cases but all the other adult subplots definitely can go there.