Does YA fiction sell?

Question

Do teens really read these days? I've been to the bookstores and I haven't seen a single teen looking at a book in the YA section except manga. But I still want to write YA fiction. Do you think this would be a waste of time?

Answer 1

You can't judge a market based on one store. Even if you did surveillance at that one store from the time it opened until it closed five to seven days a week...you'd still only know how that one store is doing in regards to teens buying books. You're really asking two questions I think. One is do teens read...and do they read YA books....so will my books be read and enjoyed...and the second is will I be able to make money from writing because my books will sell well.

To the first, I think teens do read. They may get books from a variety of sources (school library, public library, friend) without paying...and the buying market isn't just your local bookstore anymore...there are so many places to buy books online for a cheaper price...that they may be buying there instead of browsing at the local bookstore. You don't have to own a book to enjoy it. Adults (librarians, parents, and adults who never quite grow out of YA) also make up the audience. As long as someone somewhere is reading your book and finding enjoyment...then it is not a waste of time. If you're in it NOT because you love writing...but because you want to make money....then it might be a waste of time. To write you have to have a passion for it. It has to fulfill some need in you. You'd write regardless of how difficult it may be to get published and attain 'established' status in the field.

Answer 2

I think that some teens still read. I have noticed that a majority of the YA books nowadays are about drugs, sex, and the like and I think those get old. I'm only 19 and when these books started to become popular, I really didn't read many of them because they were all basically the same. Try to write something other than that, even if those may be what sells more. Write something unique and it just might get noticed.

Answer 3

YA fiction doesn't sell at my store the way I would like it to. The teens and pre-teens seem to cluster around the manga (no offense to manga readers, but I don't consider them books). Some of the best books out there are in YA, and I read some of them so I can recommend them to younger readers, and I order my old favorites from when I was young. Maybe it just depends on the market; I wouldn't let sales discourage you from your dream. Part of a book's sales depends on its marketing, and whether it could appeal to other groups of readers. Eragon, for example, is a YA book that readers of all ages have loved. And just think... your YA book could be the one to inspire teens to pick up real books, not manga!

Answer 4

There are a lot of YA Authors. I'm looking into getting into the genre myself. (I also work at a bookstore, so). Meg Cabot has a lot of YA books. We have a fairly big section at my store (okay, not real big, but there's no Manga in it). Plus, you never know until you try. Good luck.

Answer 5

lots of teens read teen books. i know this as a fact. if you take an interview, the majority of teens actually DO like reading, just books that they choose on their own and not stuff they have to read for school. if you are writing about things that you think teens will find interesting and can relate to, you are definately NOT wasting your time.

Answer 6

Yeah it does since I read them. Here's some:
The Chloe and Levesque Series
The Outsiders (classic)
The Mike and Riel Series
The Giver
Zig-Zag
In Your Face
Johnny Kellock Died Today
We All Fall Down
Double Helix
Looking For JJ
The Heaven Shop
Our Stories Our Songs
More...
We usually read books if they have a good short summery at the back that doesn't give away the story. I've realized most of my friends like reading mystery and stuff based on things happening in the real world. "The Heaven Shop" is based on things that do happen in Africa.

Answer 7

I think so. I buy those types of books. (NOT MANGA) my cousin, for some odd reason, bought me 3 manga books. I promptly sold them so I could buy other books.
I like Scott Westerfeld's Uglies Triology. He seems to have done pretty well with YA fiction. I say go for it! Stay away from drugs, sex, and alcohol, though. I like my books clean.

Answer 8

i ought to wish that HP don't have sex in it. it is a center Grade (9-12) novel, no longer YA, even regardless of the actuality that many people imagine it is YA. Publishers, and fogeys, do not go with their childrens interpreting about sex in a distinct. sex would properly be in top YA, yet no longer some thing image like it is in human being. i do not imagine father and mom must be to thrilled with publishers and authors. in case you go with to study image sex then %. up an human being romance novel and also you'll examine each and every of the sex your head can manage. Even better, %. up an erotica novel if it matches you. you should do not forget that each and every parent would not go with their teen interpreting about it. Violence and sex are like comparing apples to spinach, they're too diverse to study and must be judged through itself and under no circumstances both or.

Answer 9

If nobody reads it, yeah it would be a waste of time..But ur choice. If u do ur job as a hobby then u can write but if u do for money then don't write.

Answer 10

I'd read it for the sake of something new and different from my usual pursuits.