Why Young Adult?

Recently, a close friend asked why I decided to write a young adult novel and not a story for preschoolers or beginning readers. I guess she assumed that since I was practically the little old woman who lived in the shoe that I was the perfect creator for such a story.

Therefore, in effort to appease my friend's curiosity, I have decided to use tonight's post to answer her question.

You see, from the moment the storyline popped into my head, I knew teens and tweens would most likely connect best with the plot, setting, characters, and tone. So, for the next few months, I researched the publishing market and scouted literary agents who were seeking to represent first-time authors of multilayered, young adult fiction.

In my opinion, young adult readers (ages 14-21) are SUPER smart, have a passion for reading like never before, and are open-minded to anything and everything. And the best part: they are even attracted to books that are written by some nobody author as myself. Seriously, the YA market is exploding with talented, new writers which is encouraging not only for myself, but also the publishing industry in general!

There's no doubt that writing for teenagers when your 32-years-old is a bit tricky, mostly because it's difficult to determine the maturity of the context, language, and dialogue without sounding like a Mom telling the story instead of an adolescent. But thanks to technology and online resources, it's not as hard as it seems.

And after witnessing the success of Harry Potter and the Twilight series, there is now a spawn of interest in books that appeal to teens, tweens, and adults.

Well, I hope you enjoyed tonight's post. Have a great Friday, everyone! Tory