Young Adult Fiction for Adults discussion
Ugh! I'm so annoyed ...
Alyson Noël, author of the bestselling Immortals series, has signed a four-book contract with St. Martin’s Griffin. The Wall Street Journal reported that Noël will receive a “healthy seven-figures with additional performance bonuses that could double that.” The new YA paranormal series, called Soul Seeker, will be set in the Southwest and will start in 2012. Bill Contardi of Brandt & Hochman was the agent.I'm not a writer, but at that point I wouldn't think twice about making a series out of my novel :P
rofl! me either! seven figures for one book series, that's nice.
Actually I do like reading series. The only problem with them is, that you often need to wait for the sequels. Lots of the series I've done this year (Twilight / Sookie / Succubus / Wicked Lovely / Mortal Instruments) did I just discover when all of the books were already published or would be published within the next weeks from the point I started to read.... So this was fine for me - I could just run trough the whole series.But I do understand Peep's key point: no book being published seems to stand alone anymore.
I think often the author does have a trilogy or a series of more books in mind as so many different characters are involved (such as Wicked Lovely) or the story itself circles too much of the character development (such as Twilight or MI). But sometimes they might think when the first book worked a sequel will do the same. Luckily I only read good sequels so far that I wasn't disappointed.
I can agree on the vampires *LOL* Actually I only read the Twi Saga and the Sookie Stackhouse novels and that's it for me. I don't have problems with vampires in books as side characters but another vampire love story sprobably would not get my attention... But I think that is just like it is with everything: these are waves and everybody wants to surr on them...
I don't mind reading a series....the hard part is waiting for the next book to come out...but I think it's nice to get longer than just one book to get to know the characters. I agree that 3 or 4 books is a good limit though. I'm not really a fan of vampire books either. I just think the topic is WAY over done.
Ahhh...the love triangle...I honestly don't mind it....most of the time....usually there is one obvious choice.....but then there are the times where both option is good....and my heart breaks for the one who's not chosen.
You know how it is in today's world, it's about what sells and we just have to hope we get a good story out of it. After awhile the love triangles, the vampires, wolves, angels, demons,and the silly high school girl that loves them all, and also the 10 book series will start to fade and we will be on to something else. But until then I just want to get the best out what I pay for in a book and enjoy reading. For me it boils down to just needing a good love story with a happen ending no happy ending no happy Meme.... :)
About series: Sometimes stories are easier to digest in series, especially in children and YA. Some teens are not big readers, so a few books of 300 pages is less intimidating than one book of 900 pages. It's less scary to commit to read.
I totally agree Julie.....300 pages is way less intimidating than 900!! good point!!
I wouldn't mind if it was 900 pages of goodness.
Amen Peep! Some of the best books I've ever read have been around the 900 pg mark. Of course the other best books I've read have been shorter.
yeah, i hate how i will read a book and then i find out it's a series, which is OKAY, not a big deal, but then i find out the next book doesn't come out for another year, giving me enough time to completely forget what happened in the first book, which frustrates me, especially if it's a really good book with potential to be put in the category of my favorites.
Emily Marion wrote: "yeah, i hate how i will read a book and then i find out it's a series, which is OKAY, not a big deal, but then i find out the next book doesn't come out for another year, giving me enough time to c..."If it is good enough to buy the sequel, I will re-read it. If I don't care enough to read it again, I probably don't need the next one!
Terry: it's not really that i don't care enough to re-read it, i mean, it could be a book that i really loved, and the only reason i wouldn't re-read it is because i'd rather spend the time on books that i haven't read & anxious to get started on, you know?
I understand. I am a huge Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) fan and read all of her books about five years ago. Then WAITED for the one that came out this year. They are BIG books with a ton of detail and I had to re-read the last two or I would have been lost. Don't regret it, but darn - a new book sooner would be nice!
Interesting discussion you started Peep! I'd like to comment from an...er...author's perspective. Publishers love series - bottom line - they sell well. If they didn't sell there wouldn't be as many.Personally, I'm not a big series reader - I hardly finish them if they go past four books (exceptions: HP and the Morganville Vampire books). As a writer, I run out of steam and enthusiasm around book 3.
Vampire books - again, bottom line - they sell well. Until they stop selling, the publishers will keep printing them. Right now, publishers/editors are buying vampire books, paranormals, Steampunk, and YA and not buying other types. If you want to sell your manuscript in today's climate, those have the best chance of getting you a contract.
Personal note - I never thought I'd write a vampire story because it seemed like everyone is. However I was asked to write a short story for an anthology with vampires (either good or bad) and I considered it a challenge. I really liked how that story came out and I'd like to expand it into a novel (if I had the time). I think I added an unique spin by making my characters fencers... but who knows? I'm not as well read in that genre :)
And love triangles... no publisher pressure on that one and I agree with the majority - I don't like them. So why did I write one? I didn't intend to...the characters changed and one became very determined despite my intentions.
Okay - that's my 2 cents :)
I just was looking over my book list and discovered for as much as I say I don't like love triangles most of my favorite books have them! Oh and as far as series go I do like series as long as there is still a story to tell. The House of Night books is in my opinion an example of a series that has just continued for the sake of selling books. The Morganville Vampires was a series that I didn't think I was going to like and got slowly sucked (Ha!) in by the developing story and I get super excited when a new one is coming out now. Same with Georgia Nicholson books, she stopped at 10 and I would have kept reading those for as long as she wrote them.
I read the House of Night books but can't bring myself to read the newest one. The story is just going absolutely nowhere. I really wanted to stick with it to see how it ends but now I just don't care.
then don't bother reading the latest one because that was how I felt and stupid me bought the dang thing (gift card purchase at least) and forced myself to finish it. What really makes me annoyed is that I was totally into the series for like the first three books and then it went downhill. I eat up PC Cast's books usually so I keep on picking up the new releases but I should know better - I will not read the next one, at least I tell myself that.
Hi Peep! I find that teens do like a short series of books (3 or 5 in a series), a drawn out story that involves a love interest (not necessarily sex), competition of some sort and has a fantasy setting. The fantasy mixed with modern day is intreguing to teens - my 15 yr old son included. He tells me straight up what he does/does not like and I use that for my writing as well.
TJ,I think that I agree with your son about 3-5 being an OK length for a series. Some series can get away with having more (how many Harry Potter books are there, after all?), but it sometimes gets to be too much after the sixth book.
You're right. You can overdo any particular subject like all the vampire chick-lit. Ugh! Next it'll be ghost love stuff chick-lit! Argh! My publisher asked me to do a 5 book series and I felt that was a bit much, but I'm giving it a shot. Afterall, how much can you really drag out a story until the reader wants you to just get to the outcome?
I agree vampires are way over saturated right now.... My favorite vampire stories are all tv shows anyway, not novels. Buffy and True Blood(I've not read the novels) are at the top of that list. My favorite vampire novel is a one shot, not a serial, Chalice(it does have the cliche love triangle, but she deals with in in a non-cliche way.).
Not only vampires, but werewolves too. There everywhere (Ji Mei's eyes are looking fearfully around)! It gets boring when authors put out the same stuff.
It's just the way the world works: toys, tv shows, books. The market is saturated with what sells and what's hot until we all get so sick of it we latch onto something else. I enjoy the different takes on fantasy creatures that authors use. I don't believe a faery/werewolve/vampire/etc. needs to be defined in one certain way. I love it when an author gives his/her own unique spin on the traditional creatures.
I agree, Lani. If ones loves fantasy then let it be fantasy and fantasy does not need to follow rules for the creatures that inhabit it. If one does not like fantasy, that is okay too - there are a lot of great books out there about humans! LOL
Well said Terry. I got so annoyed by people who dogged Twilight because "those aren't real vampires". How can you define and put characteristics to a fictional being???
I am more into "real" people I guess. That is why I love the Hunger Games so much.
Except that pres snow might turn out to be a vampire.
Becca wrote: "Except that pres snow might turn out to be a vampire."That will really piss me off Becca. Keep your paranormal creatures out of my series!
And that lost district is really full of zombies.
hehehehe! Collins hasn't put anything paranormal in there so far (unless you count the muts) so I wouldn't really plan on anything outside the norm for the last book. But hey, maybe pres snow is a mut. And I should be discussing this on the HG thread, lol!
I like trilogies and series, but I can never stomach more than two books of a series in a row usually, which is why I still haven't read Fire Study (it's been long enough; I should get it out of the library next time I go). But that's my problem. What I dislike is when someone writes a novel, and then writes a sequel which is really the exact same book (Son of the Mob, I'm looking at you).And for the record, I'd like to state that I AM in a love triangle, and a very complicated one at that (me and my friend like the same girl, I took her to prom, she liked and still likes me, but she didn't think I liked her for some reason, so she's going out with him but it's an open relationship so who knows what could happen, and to top it off her boyfriend likes me too. Sheesh). So, it DOES happen. Just sayin'.
Hahaha, I know it happens! It just gets tiring after reading in almost every book that said heroine has two or more prospects - and said heroine isn't that likable! I have come to an understanding with sequels since writing the initial post. Sometimes I have to make a compromise! I understand why they're popping up these days so I won't complain - unless it's dragged out. Then, all bets are off.
Bluemoon wrote: "I really think some of them can just be made into one really good book. Example: Twilight. On its own it was a good..."The original manuscript was only one book of about 600 pages that ended with Bella and the vamp together. I suspect it was the editor who broke it into four.
Here's something, although it may have been mentioned. I am an author, (albeit, and unpublished one so far) And I actually enjoy writting trilogy books. In my oppinion, trilogies help to spice up the climax to the whole plot. I enjoy it a lot actually.
As long as the plot is worth spicing up and is worth the extra reading, I don't mind a trilogy or an even longer series. But it has to be worth it, not just drawn out for the heck of it.
Becca wrote: "As long as the plot is worth spicing up and is worth the extra reading, I don't mind a trilogy or an even longer series. But it has to be worth it, not just drawn out for the heck of it."The crux of the situation. As long as there are new and exciting stories to tell, the series should continue. If not, wrap it up on a high note and move onto something else. both for the readers' and authors' sanity.
Adrian wrote: "...off her boyfriend likes me too. Sheesh). So, it DOES happen. Just sayin'"That sounds like way too much hassle! :)
Becca wrote: "As long as the plot is worth spicing up and is worth the extra reading, I don't mind a trilogy or an even longer series. But it has to be worth it, not just drawn out for the heck of it."I completely agree!
Emily wrote: "Adrian wrote: "...off her boyfriend likes me too. Sheesh). So, it DOES happen. Just sayin'"That sounds like way too much hassle! :)"
Ha, it's like a soap opera plot, it's amusing. Too bad I don't like him too, then everything would work out like a polyamourous fairy tale.
Peep wrote: "Hahaha, I know it happens! It just gets tiring after reading in almost every book that said heroine has two or more prospects - and said heroine isn't that likable! "Yeah, while I think most people have two or admirers at a time (formspring can really be an eye opener), they never find out because people don't usually confess their love. And a lot of times when that happens, the choice is easy (sometimes the choice being "none of you. Ew.")
It seems every book you buy these days is part of a series. I have purposely bought books assuming there was no way it would be a series only to find out that it is. I have to start making a list. It's hard to keep track of what I have read and when the next book will be coming out. I also hate when they end with a cliffhanger and then you are left waiting for a year for the next installment to come out. It's so frustrating. Isabella- I was tempted to buy "One Night Changes Everything" then put it back down deciding I'd wait for the paperback now after reading your comment I'm happy I didn't buy the hardcover for seventeen bucks.
THE FOURTH BOOK IN THE ERAGON SERIES,HOW LONG DO THEY EXPECT US TO HANG ON THE RELEASE OF THIS BOOK WHEN IT TAKES FOUR YEARS TO RELEASE EACH BOOK :( LIKED THE FIRST THREE BUT LOSING INTEREST FAST
Becca wrote: "I prefer series where the first story is about one person, the story is finished as far as that character is concerned and there's no need for a follow up but the second book is about their kid or ..."I totally agree with you!
I too am waiting on that release date Michael and it this point I'm beyond annoyed and just plain getting aggravated that he hasn't said a word about it! At least give us a hint, a light at the end of the tunnel. Is it too much to ask?
Theresa wrote: "It seems every book you buy these days is part of a series. I have purposely bought books assuming there was no way it would be a series only to find out that it is. I have to start making a list. ..."I know, it totally throws me off when I think it ends and then BAM, there's another one!
Young Adult Fiction for Adults
Books mentioned in this topic
Linger (other topics)Ape House (other topics)
Chalice (other topics)
Dark Flame (other topics)
Marked (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kim Harrison (other topics)Alyson Noel (other topics)
I never watched Lost, it was too confusing, but I get what you mean with the love triangles. The reason there are so many love triangles is because authors are trying to appeal to teens and a lot of teens want to be in a fantasy world where really good plot, characters and writing don't matter as long as there is romance action, and the girl (since that's who love triangles are usually appealing to, sorry guys) gets to feel special. Special as in well maybe two guys ARE in love with me. I AM beautiful. Which isn't too too bad except for the people who want to be morally and intellectually challenged and entertained when reading.