This is a trend I can get behind

The topic of YA Lit Chat on Twitter a couple weeks ago was trend in YA. I participated in a small chunk of the chat, but left early once I realized:

Why am I spending time talking about trends instead of writing?

Anyone who reads can recognize certain trends rolling through books, YA or otherwise. You may notice a rash of steampunk suddenly, or be overwhelmed by the number of Jane Austen odes on the bookstore shelves. One doesn’t need to be an avid reader to know vampires are big.

It is tempting to want to write a certain kind of story after seeing similar ones become so popular. There is that initial rush of oh! people love werewolves right now…if I write werewolves, I will be IN!

Yeah…it doesn’t work like that, for many reasons.

First off: publishing is slow. Glaciers make the publishing industries look like bullet trains. By the time one writes a book, finds representation, finds a publisher, goes through rounds of edits, waits for the design team to do their thing, blah, blah, blah….and the book finally makes it to the shelves, the trend ship has long sailed. Your book releases and you suddenly find yourself in a world where nobody cares about werewolves anymore. Your poor little book hunkers down on the shelf, making a permanent home for itself, while books about midget superheroes and functional families are being sold like hotcakes.

Secondly: market saturation. If there are 167 sasquatch novels on the shelves, why would you want to add #168? Wouldn’t you rather add something new, something fresh? Something original? I know I would. I also know that agents and publishers always have their eyes open for fresh new writing. What editor out there is going to want to pick up a book that is remarkably similar to one they already have on their list?

Number Three: Passion shows through in writing. When I read a book I can tell if a writer was passionate about her characters, her story, her work. When a writer is passionate about her book, that radiates off the pages and makes the book so much better. When a writer starts writing something just because they think it is the next big thing! that passion is just not there. And as a reader, I can sense that.

Now, don’t get me wrong here. While I don’t think anyone should try to write to trends, I also don’t think anyone should shy away from what they want to write because it is a trend. Strong new voices shine through every day, and you should never be scared to write what you want. Write the book you love, and work as hard as you can to make it great.

Okay, okay…I am almost done. One final thought on trends: in 1997, teenage girls did not know they wanted a movie about a sinking ship. But they did. They wanted it over and over again.

That is all.

I am not even going to pretend I know what the next big thing will be. I am not a trend analyst, and honestly I try not to think about upcoming trends too much. It is a lot harder to just be alone with my work when I have suggestions coming from all sides.

*Write steampunk–it’s the next big thing.*

*You should try your hand at writing about angels–they’re the next big thing.*

*Why don’t you try a Yeti romance–it’s the next big thing.*

I don’t know what the next big thing in young adult literature will be. And I really don’t want to know. I just want to work on writing the very best book I can, regardless of whether it will fit the trends or not.

While I don’t want to guess what will be big next, I do have some things I would like to see more of (all of which I have in one–or more–of my stories…curious ). I would like to see more:

• YA novels from a male POV
• gothic YA
• Southern gothic YA
• family bonds
• focus on friendship over a romantic relationship
• strong, independent female protagonists

Here’s another news flash for you: teenagers swear too. A lot. I heard a blip from a study today (I have no idea who conducted the study or how they came up with the results, so take this with a grain of salt) where they determined the the average teenager uses cuss words 83 times a day. That’s a lot.

So, it is safe to say that if you are a teenager, you are no stranger to the f-bomb.

And if you are a parent of a teenager, you kid and the sh-word have been acquainted. I mean, it is a big world out there and, unless you have been keeping your kid locked safely in the house for his whole life (in which case I should probably call social services – just sayin’), he has heard a cuss word or two. And probably used one or two as well.

So why is it that when someone comes across a curse word in a YA novel, all hell H-E-double-hockey-sticks breaks loose? Reviewers give lower reviews; older readers lament that they can’t pass the book on to teenagers; parents storm the school administration building demanding books be pulled from library shelves.

Some claim the writers have more responsibility to the young adult readers. To which I say:

Dear Parents;

Our responsibility as YA authors is to write, to explore, to entertain. It is not our responsibility to raise your children. That, dear parents, is your responsibility.

Curse words, when used organically, add depth and realism to a book. That is not to say I advocate cussing (remember? I am trying to stop), but I do understand that is how people talk – young adults included. It is only fitting that we find the occasional f-bomb (or [insert curse word here]) in YA books.

Finally, I leave you with a great video from Jackson Pearce on the subject. Because, well, Jackson is made of awesome.

1. Getting e-mails from teens who read my blog and want to read my books is awesome.

2. Getting e-mails from high school teachers who read my blog and want to use my books in the classroom is possibly even more awesome.

3. I am secretly still 15 at heart. I don’t wanna grow up, and with YA I don’t have to.

4. I get to experience all those exciting firsts of the teenage years over and over again through my characters.

5. I can do things like watch One Tree Hill and just chalk it all up to research. (I told you I would explain that picture!)

Your turn: what are five reasons why you love doing what you do?

Hey, that’s allowed sometimes! I am certain of it.

I have seen book memes floating around the interwebs. Normally, I read over the lists to see what I have and haven’t read, but don’t actually mark them (with notable exceptions). But this one is all about young adult literature. And I write young adult literature! It is too good to pass up (and gives me a blog with very little thought).

So here it is, courtesy of the talented Melissa Marr:

Instructions:

Books I have read

Books I’ve read and loved

Books  I plan on reading

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams
2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor
12. Forever / Judy Blume
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus
19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card
20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins
27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45. The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause
47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. How I Live Now / Meg Rosoff
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling
80. Holes / Louis Sachar
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli
87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak

BOOKS MELISSA MARR ADDEED:
101. Wintergirls/ L. H. Anderson
102. The Graveyard Book/ N Gaiman
103. The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing/ MT Anderson
104. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone/ S Kuehnert
105. Valiant H Black
106. Reposessed/ AM Jenkins
107. Keeping You a Secret/ Julie Ann Peters
108. War for the Oaks/Emma Bull
109. Story of a Girl/ Sara Zarr
110. Rules of Survival Nancy Werlin
111. The Adoration of Jenna Fox/ Mary Pearson
112. Graceling/ Kristin Cashore

BOOKS I ADDED (hey, if Melissa can do it, so can I):

113. Rampant/ Diana Peterfreund
114. Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse/ Kaleb Nation
115. hush, hush/ Becca Fitzpatrick

Le Sigh. Now I remember why I shouldn’t do these memes. Notice how much more pink there is than blue or orange–those pink lines are all books that live on my to-be-read list. And these only account for the YA titles! There is always so much more reading to be done than there is time to read. Oy. In my ideal world, my eight hour workday goes something like this: four hours of writing, lunch, four hours of reading. Ahhhh. That’ll be the day.

If you are new to the game of young adult literature, check out the titles above. They are great ones to read.

Every Wednesday night, there is a YA lit chat on Twitter. A bunch of YA authors, editors, readers, whatever get together to talk about all things Young Adult. Some weeks we just have free discussion; other weeks there is a specific topic. I was not able to participate in YAlitchat last night, but Georgia McBride is great. She posted the full transcript of the chat on her blog. I just finished reading it.

The topic last night was “Teens and intimacy: how much is too much?” This topic spurred a great chat. The conversation started out very thoughtful and productive. There were parts I didn’t agree with (“Thing is, YA authors are right up there w/teachers, parents, mentors.” Um, no we are not. Things that should be taught by parents, teachers and mentors should be taught by parents, teachers, and mentors, not us). However, people are entitled to their own opinions, and while some did not match mine, they were still part of a really productive discussion.

What irritated me as I read the transcript is that a really great discussion turned into a Twilight bashing session at the end. Not only did this have nothing to do with the topic at hand, it is something I am really sick of seeing people do. As YA authors, we should be happy about Twilight and its success. We all have our own opinion as to whether we like it, but there is no need to openly bash it if we do not.

I have thought about this a lot over the last few months, as I have seen more and more authors bash on Stephenie Meyer and Twilight. I find that when the subject comes up, they are usually hitting on the same points over and over:

1. Poorly written! Purple prose!
   Stephenie Meyer is still a new author. Twilight was her first novel. Just like all other writers, she improves with practice. So the writing isn’t the strongest; you know what is strong? The story. She wrote a story people want to read, and that is a powerful thing (this same sentence can be applied to Dan Brown, by the way). As for the “purple prose“, refer to Natalie’s post, Teen Girls LOVE Adverbs.
2. Bella sets the feminist movement back 30 years!
   Apparently this argument comes from the fact that Bella chooses to get married at a young age instead of pursuing education and a career. The key word in that sentence is chooses. Choice is what the feminist movement is all about–the choice to work outside the house, the choice to remain unmarried, the choice to receive benefits equal to men’s, the choice to, the choice to, the choice to…The choice to marry young, if one wants. When the world is telling a young woman a career is the most important thing, Bella goes against the norm and chooses a family. At its core, it was actually a very feminist choice. And the education and career? Really? She is now immortal. She has all the time in the world to pursue those things.
3. Breaking Dawn promotes teen pregnancy!
   And Harry Potter promotes murder. I mean, Harry did kill Voldemort, right? Get a grip; just because something is in a book, it does not mean the book is promoting that thing. If that were the case, we would be hearing the same people who are crying, “Breaking Dawn promotes teenage pregnancy,” cry, “Twilight promotes saving sex until marriage,” and, “Breaking Dawn shows consequences for actions–unprotected sex can lead to pregnancy, even if it is not thought possible.” Why don’t we hear more of that from the nay-sayers?
4. Bella is weak! She is a poor role model for young girls!
   First, we should not be expecting our daughters, our sisters, our friends to find role models in books. Role models help shape a person, give them someone to follow. Role models are parents, siblings, teachers, friends, aunts, uncles, coaches. I could go on for pages, but “characters in books” will not make that list. Bella is a character, not a role model for girls. I have heard many reasons for the Bella is weak argument:
   1. She is wishy-washy and doesn’t know what she wants.
      Who remembers being a seventeen-year-old girl? Being wishy-washy is totally normal at that age. One week, you are sure of your life goal. The next, you are still sure of your life goal–it is just a different goal. This is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of normalcy. Teenagers are still learning all about themselves and the world around them. It is completely normal for their minds to change in the process.
   2. She is a pushover and does everything Edward wants her to.
      Am I the only one who remembers her running away from Alice and Jasper to meet James, against Edward’s will? Or running to La Push to spend time with Jacob, against Edward’s will? Or convincing Carlisle to make her a vampire, if necessary, against Edward’s will? Or not aborting her baby, against Edward’s will. There are more examples, but I think I made my point. Things she was passionate about, she did, whether Edward wanted it or not. And the things Edward wanted her to do? When one is in love, sacrifices are made. Things are done for the other person. I have done things that I didn’t want to do for my husband, because he wanted me to. This does not make me a pushover. He also does things for me that he doesn’t want to. This is called compromise.
   3. She falls for Jacob even when she says she loves Edward.
      For the life of me, I cannot see how this makes her weak. Love is a strange thing. It is powerful, overwhelming, scary. Sometimes everlasting. Many people never lose the love they had for their “first love”. It is not uncommon for people to still love one person as they grow to love another (it is also not uncommon for that to happen when they are still with the first person, but that is another post for another time). The love Bella has for Edward is intense. It came along quickly and burns brightly. The love she has for Jacob is another creature altogether. Bella chose to love Jacob. Their love developed slowly (from her end at least). They got to know each other first, and let the passion come later. If anything, I think Bella’s choice to move on and find love after Edward makes her strong.
5. Edward thinks Bella is incapable. He won’t let her do anything for herself!
   This is by far the most ridiculous cry I hear. And I hear it regularly. The Twilight bashers have decided that Edward opening doors and pulling out chairs for Bella means he thinks she is incapable. People, this is how a man should treat a woman! It has nothing to do with him thinking she is unable to do it herself; it is about respect. He respects her and he treats her accordingly.

Oy. I think I have strained my ranting muscle.

Whether we love the book, hate the book, or fall somewhere in between, I think we YA authors owe a lot to Stephenie Meyer and Twilight. Young Adult books have always been around, but Twilight really put them on the map, so to speak. YA has been much more prevalent in the media and in the bookstores in the last few years, and for a large part, we have Stephenie to thank for that. Teenagers are reading because of her books; someday teenagers might be reading my books because Stephenie Meyer blazed a trail for me. Like her books or not, I am indebted to her for opening the door of opportunity.

*Rant over. Feel free to go about your normal business now. Unless, of course, your normal business involves bashing Twilight and Stephenie Meyer.*

I read Strunk & White’s Elements of Style yearly, follow Grammar Girl’s podcasts religiously, and look up at least one grammar tip every day.

I correct grammar in my head when I listen to people talk (even in church, where I should really ignore the grammar and only focus on the message). I think LOLcats would be much funnier if they were grammatically correct. Or, yanno, even spelled correctly (some of the humor must be lost in the time it takes me to decipher what they say).

At least I am not the only one in the Carolinas using them...

I had been living in North Carolina* for around two months and was working for an interior decorating company. My partner, Cherrie, and I were trying to work in a single painting with the rest of the design (the owners wanted it prominently displayed, but it did not fit well with anything else they wanted in the house). After probably fifteen other suggestions, I turned and pointed to a spot where the stairs turned.

“We might could put it up there and make it work,” I said. And immediately paled.

Cherrie laughed the whole way home.

I have not been able to shake the use of double modals since. For a while I tried. I made a focused effort not to use them, and chastised myself every time I did. Having trained myself away from other instances of bad grammar, I was sure I could do so in this case.

But those darn double modals wouldn’t budge.

And you know what? I have come to like them. Love them even. They have become part of who I am and I use my double modals with pride (in speech at least, they kindly stay away from my writing).

Wait! No links today? Never.

Talking to people about YA, I often hear about The Vampire Craze. “Why are vampires so hot right now?” they ask, along with “When will we be over this whole vampire thing?” Slate.com has an interesting article on just that thing. So, before you blame Stephenie Meyer for our vampire obsession, head over and learn that  it is actually easier to pinpoint when we have not been in the midst of a vampire craze than to talk about when we have. Vampires have been here for a long time, folks, and it seems they are here to stay.

*I dream of living in the south again. Bubba is not swayed. For now, I make due by setting my novels in the south (which also allows me to used double modals in dialogue if I want).

So, I had started writing a different post today (which will now be posted tomorrow), but after reading Jamie Harrington and Elana Johnson‘s blogs today, I decided it was time for me to address this as well. This is a topic that has been on my mind for quite some time.

I have heard (okay, probably read) people talk before about Young Adult authors being responsible for what their audience is reading. “We are the adults,” they say, “we need to use our writing to teach the readers about life and the world.” Jamie wonders if by having her characters engage in bad behavior, is she promoting bad behavior or telling it like it is? Elana, on the other hand, believes young adult authors have a solemn responsibility to show readers the consequences of bad behavior. So where do I stand on this?

As a young adult author, I believe I have these responsibilities:

• Tell a great story.
• Write real, believable characters.
• Stay true to my characters and plot.
• Entertain.

You will notice that nowhere in this list is the term “teach readers morals and good judgement.” That is not my job. My job as a writer is to entertain the reader, nothing more. Morals and good judgement should be taught by the parents. Unfortunately, the sad fact is there are parents out there who do not teach their children these things. But that doesn’t mean the bill falls on authors.

If an author puts a scene in her book of characters participating in underage drinking at a party, it does not mean the author is trying to promote underage drinking. The author is merely putting a real element of life into her book (and hopefully it propels the story, so it isn’t just gratuitous). Yes, there are consequences of underage drinking, and maybe the author will show these. Maybe not. It should be shown only if it helps move the story forward.

Young Adults are smart, perceptive people. They will know if they are being preached to. I believe it is only appropriate to put lessons and consequences in a novel if they directly help move the story along. Are these lessons being learned by a character? Then great, they are an important part of character development. But if we as writers put lessons into our books to try to teach our readers morals, we are doing them and ourselves a disservice. Teenagers hate to be preached to, and they know when you are doing it. Chances are, they will put a preachy book down and not pick it up again.

I write novels, not lesson manuals. I am not writing to teach a moral code.

Also, this is a must read post. I have been asked many times why I write young adult (and even a couple times when  I was going to write a “real book”). Someday I will address why I personally write YA. Until then, I am going to just say “what she said” to Mary Pearson’s thoughts on writing YA.

Now, finally, my intended post:

I have been reading a lot lately about the publishing industry facing impending doom (haven’t they been facing impending doom for, I don’t know, forever?). Well, if you have been paying attention to the movie business (and I will forgive you if you haven’t-it is not everyone’s job to stay on top of it), you know movies are still doing well. Movies just had their biggest summer of all time.

What do movies have that books don’t? They are both escapist, so that isn’t it. Movies do have the beautiful stars, but with a book you can imagine anyone you want in the roll. Books may be more expensive (if you don’t live in a big city), but they also last much longer. So maybe it isn’t a matter of what movies have that books don’t as much as it is a matter of what books have that movies don’t.

Returns. The publishing industry allows returns. This means if a bookstore WAY over-orders on a title, whatever they don’t sell to the public can be sent back to the publisher for a refund. I don’t know of any other industry that allows this. I think the publishing industry can learn a lot from the movie business.

***Disclaimer: I admit to knowing relatively little about the inner workings of publishing and returns. I don’t claim I can fix the system. These are just my rambling thoughts.***

What publishers can learn from movie studios

Let me break down for you how a movie is placed in a theatre (this is general-things are different in different situations, but this is basically it):

1. Theatre decides what film it wants to play.
2. Theatre orders the film from Studio.
3. Studio charges Theatre a guarantee-this money must be paid before the film is shipped to Theatre.
4. Studio presents the terms (percentage of Theatre’s revenue to be paid back to the studio).
5. Theatre grumbles about the terms being unfair.
6. Negotiations ensue.
7. Terms are finalized-generally they are exactly what Studio originally offered.
8. The film is shipped to Theatre. Theatre plays it for the adoring public and makes their money.
9. Theater sends Studio their percentage of the sales.
10. Everyone is happy.

So, let’s put this all in perspective:

Fabulous Cinemas in Fabulousville, Maine wants to play The Time Traveler’s Wife. Their booker calls up the Warner Brothers salesperson and says, “we need to date Time Traveler in Fabulousville for next Friday”.

“Great, I’ll put you in,” says the salesperson, “terms will be 51.5% with a $1500 guarantee.”

“Not a chance! That is not a 50% film.”

They argue. In the end, terms are finalized at 51.5% (this is a trend-Studio rarely budges).

The fabulous people at Fabulous Cinemas send Warner Brothers $1500, and in return Warner Brothers sends them the movie.

Fabulous Cinemas plays The Time Traveler’s Wife for all the fabulous citizens of Fabulousville. They rake in the dough.

At the end of the movie’s run, Fabulous Cinemas send 51.5% of all their profits to Warner Brothers. If they didn’t sell many tickets, well bummer, the studio is not going to cover that!

So, how does this apply to publishing?

Well, for all I know, it can’t. But, just for fun, let’s pretend it can. Here’s how that would look:

1. Awesome Bookstore in Awesometown, Illinois wants to sell Paranormalcy.
2. Awesome Bookstore orders their copies of Paranormalcy from HarperTeen.
3. HarperTeen charges Awesome Bookstore a guarantee-this is the cheapest level they can sell them to the store.
4. HarperTeen presents the terms (the percentage of each sale Awesome Bookstore has to give to HarperTeen)
5. Awesome Bookstore grumbles about the terms being unfair.
6. Negotiations ensue.
7. Terms are finalized-they are exactly what HarperTeen originally offered.
8. HarperTeen ships the copies of Paranormalcy to Awesome Bookstore. The citizens of Awesometown, Illinois rush to get their books and Awesome Bookstore makes their money.
9. Awesome Bookstore sends HarperTeen their percentage of the money.
10. Everyone is happy.

Notice how there is no #11 saying “Awesome Bookstore” sends any copies that didn’t sell back to HarperTeen. HarperTeen eats the cost of unsold copies.” That is because returning the books to the publisher is not an option! Awesome Bookstore is now held accountable for their rampant over-ordering.

Will this model work for publishing. Who knows? I certainly don’t.

And I have officially rambled for way to long. Anyone still reading this?

Bueller…Bueller…Bueller?

I get asked occasionally if I only read YA, since that is what I write. Answer: absolutely not. I love YA-I wouldn’t write it if I didn’t-but there are way to many great books out there for me to limit myself to just young adult. (For the record: I also have  a notebook with many, MANY non-YA plots jotted down in it-they are just not the ones I feel compelled to write right now.)

Yesterday, Nathan Bransford challenged his blog readers to support an author by going out (or going to Amazon.com) and buying a book. So, during lunch break, I headed to my friendly neighborhood bookseller and got FOUR new books. Bubba just shook his head and reminded me of the stack I already have to read. He is very patient with my book-buying tendencies.

The stack of to-be-reads...only the ones that don't fit on the shelf.

As you can see, in my stack of to-be-reads, the YA is far outnumbered by the non-YA. I will learn from each though, and my writing will be helped by my reading them-YA or not.

I better get some reading done before the stack takes over the house! Stephen King once said his ideal work day would involve four hours of reading and four hours of writing. I would like to live good ol’ Steve’s ideal.