The Decline of YA Fiction? What's Going On With YA Publishing

Is YA dying? Should you even bother writing YA anymore? What's going on with YA publishing imprints closing? What's happening?!
I'm discussing recent major changes in YA publishing, and digging into YA category saturation, ongoing trends, and hope for the future.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction
02:08 YA Imprints Closing
05:42 YA History & Saturation
08:06 Sales Decline & Big Book Mentality
10:40 Debut/Midlist Bubble Burst
13:31 YA Course Correction
15:23 What's Next?
18:32 Don't Give Up Writing YA
22:25 Fewer Debuts & Consolidation
24:44 Writing IP to Survive
26:45 Final Pep Talk
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[@yowahana]

I think if the type of YA focus changed, it could help...I'm sick of all the "X of Y and Z" titles and the same faerie assassin/thief mary sue who's so badass on paper but does nothing in practice ditching the first boyfriend for the second boyfriend because he's more of a bad boy. it's become formulaic and tired. So tired. Time to breathe new life into YA!

[@nightdustVN]

here here

[@Disgrace_917]

Don’t be shy, say Sarah J Maas’s name.

[@mestimac]

Some themes do get repetitive. I'm tired of 16-year-old-girl-saves-the-world type books.

[@nixxdra]

The “X of Y and Z” titles are annoying, but I have a deep hatred of the “protagonist’s name and the _____ _______” titles. It’s literally just the protagonist’s name and then a two word summary of the A plot, so uncreative. This seems to be a highly unpopular opinion, though, because some of the bestselling YA books have these titles. (Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Serafina, etc.)

[@sukanyaparashar9474]

Throne of Glass, ACOTAR, Folk of the Air, all popular YA fantasy, all the same

[@trkavanaughauthor]

YA has entered it's winter. It's loosing it's leaves, will kill off some limbs, but in the end the tree will survive. There will be new buds in spring.

[@ThePoliticrat]

Is that an Oswald Spengler reference? If so, “The Decline of the West” is my favorite nonfiction book of all time!

[@ashleysteffy7224]

I miss when there was paranormal, vampires, boarding schools etc and books like you said that can be a bit more unique. I love fantasy and sci-fi but so many seem so...sameish. I've quite enjoyed your books so far because they are different. As someone who is 30, I think there should be a category focusing on college age as I feel so many books lately write characters who should be that age range but due to YA restrictions are 16/17. New Adult seems to only be romance/smut and that's just not what I'm here for. I hope 2021 on will be more unique and grow!

[@KillianWolf]

Have you read any of Annette Marie's books? She's UF/paranormal action-adventure. No smut/ very little romance. I recommend her Guild Codex series.

[@KammiLutz]

@@KillianWolf Sound great! I'll have to check them out!

[@KammiLutz]

I fully agree with you on this. I wish more writers included content warnings that not only listed r-rated level content but also PG-13 and PG. I personally prefer books that are more of a PG-13 feel. As a mom of precocious bibliophiles, I find it exhausting trying to sort through the more adult content to find books that are challenging and intriguing while still being age-appropriate (Hunger Games was in my daughter's Lexile level at the beginning of second grade. There's not a way in this world I was letting my 7-year-old read a novel gritty enough to give her nightmares). I was truly disappointed when they marketed A Court of Thorns and Roses as YA and only found out after I was partially through the book that she had intended for it to be NA. Sexually explicit is not my thing. I haven't read Alexa's books. I'll have to look into them. Thanks for the unintended recommendation.

[@JesusGonzalez-pg9mp]

In my opinion YA fantasy and sci-fi focuses too much on the romance and it takes way from the plot and world building.

[@cladthecrab]

Agreed! I wish New Adult had caught on like YA has, so we'd see more NA books across genres and maybe the quality would improve. I've wondered if part of YA's problem is its need to appeal to such a broad market. It seems like YA publishers are in this sticky spot where technically they're writing for a teen market, but they're also aware of millions of adults who still read YA, so they're trying to balance the needs of two different audiences. Fingers crossed that we see some great releases in 2021 -- maybe quarantine will churn out some new authors.

[@prtwriter4660]

I wonder why???? *Flooded market of Copycats*

[@frogpaintartist]

Two words: Love triangles

[@prtwriter4660]

@@frogpaintartist Yeah in a Battle Royale or between a vampire and werewolf. Or 🏳️‍🌈 triangle

[@AGlyn-ep9ic]

Honestly good. I'm sick of either having to choose from teens who don't know how life works, and gritty visceral adult genres. We need 20-something genre! Actual young adults not just teens! Also, do publishers not realize that most young adults who purchased all these books are now actual adults or at least late 20s??

[@HosannaRider]

A lot of people are trying to get New Adult resuscitated, moving it away from just shameless smut and romance to actual books that are market towards 17ish to 25 year olds.

[@lyragill3395]

@@HosannaRider There are actually a lot of well-written New Adult. It just so happens that all that was traditionally published years ago all followed the same formula, and that's what has given a New Adult a bad name.

[@lyragill3395]

@@HosannaRider Oh and I think there's nothing wrong with New Adult romance.

[@madisonmarie0613]

I wonder if we can have fresher trends like talking about real issues that 20 year olds face. everyone loves a great story and ending, but it's even better if it's a realistic story

[@AGlyn-ep9ic]

People hate on New Adult all the time for no reason. I adore all the NA books I've read so far.

[@chloelianna]

I think this was the kick I needed to accept that I'm not really interested in writing for YA anymore. As a teen writer (17) I've always felt pressured to stick to YA even though I actually prefer to read and write New Adult/Adult. A lot of YA characters - especially in YA Fantasy, feel more like college aged adults rather than teens around my age; I always struggle to relate to them as a reader because of how unnatural it felt. But with NA, the characters tend to suit their assigned ages more and I think that's why the category is more appealing to me as both a writer and reader.

[@angell.7469]

YES SOMEONE SAID IT. I've just turned 20 and I felt that it was about time I actually started writing what I prefer to read and write, which has been NA and Adult SFF for the past 3 years, rather than forcing myself to stick with YA for the hype (as arbitrary as 'hype' often is). I've been seeing other young writers around me venture more boldly into NA territory as well :)

[@LordofFullmetal]

@@angell.7469 NEVER write to hype. It's an exercise in pointless failure every single time, because you can't possibly get a decent book out fast enough to capitalise. Always write what you enjoy writing.

[@cheyennemarie7075]

Dear Publishers, Please shift your focus to New Adult literature, and continue to shift your publishing prowess upward at a one year per year rate to keep up with my personal age and life experiences. Sincerely, A former YA fiend who is now in her early 20s P.S. Also keeping publishing YA, because I am desperately trying hold on to my youth

[@violetverdict3760]

Also the ya crowd 20 something women who bought those books are getting older.

[@kckennedy1325]

@@violetverdict3760 yeah but the new generation in really into YA as well so ots still profitable I think the genre will be fine

[@renab.7390]

So basically what you're saying is... YA is growing up.

[@grace4683]

yeahhh that's why I've been thinking too. We just need New Adult Fantasy books. It's sooo unrealistic how 16 y/o have to save the world lol I'd love to read more books where the main character is in their 20s.

[@astouaiisha]

@@grace4683 That's so True!! Is there any dystopian/sci-fi/fantasy Books with characters in Their 20's anyway? I feel like YA Books are becoming less appreciated as we grew up too and so characters in Their teenage years are no longer appealing

[@camilleandreason9577]

@@astouaiisha I’m literally writing one right now! I was so worried that I was stuck somewhere between YA and adult. Thankfully, I decided to do what I wanted, and now I’m here watching this

[@astouaiisha]

@@camilleandreason9577 Nice^^ I'm gonna be looking forward to it then

[@Valentine-jo7ls]

@@astouaiisha I’m writing one!

[@Nanthecowdog]

One thing I’ve noticed is that YA just can’t seem to have protagonists that aren’t good people. They all believe in a set of morals, they never have to learn anything unless it’s ~self love~. Even authors who have had characters who are flat ass assholes have shifted into new characters being misunderstood. Oh, you drove drunk? You just need to learn to love yourself! It is so hard to find a YA novel that has interesting characters, or find a narrative that doesn’t try to justify the characters awful actions. I partially blame the current YA cancel culture, bad writing, and over saturation

[@EmilynWood]

Crime and Punishment is an amazing book while, not exactly YA (it's about a college drop out who commits murder), the author never excuses his actions.

[@frogpaintartist]

Percy Jackson's fatal flaw is that he cares too much about his friends. I slapped my forehead when I read that.

[@harshghoshal3352]

Exactly! I get really annoyed when I find that only flaw of the main character in a book is that he’s TOO selfless and kind. There are literally so many instances of this - Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Ned Stark, Jon Snow...

[@peppermint23]

you might like my books ;)

[@julianapegas2043]

@@frogpaintartist it's like when, in job interviews, they ask you "what are your flaws?" and people go "oh, I'm a perfectionist..."

[@toastlover]

I agree that the 'course correcting' would allow for fewer, but perhaps better, books being released which is ultimately a positive for the reader. I have picked up a lot of YA that is meh, and that has made me avoid the category.

[@ladyursala]

Yep. I don’t think YA, in general, is very good. I felt this way as a teenager reading YA during the boom, too

[@mestimac]

A lot of it seems to have been rushed to publishing without enough development or editing, tbh. I notice this especially with books published during 2008-2014. Publishers were just so eager to get hot ya books into the market that they sacrificed quality for speed.

[@ComedyLoverGirl]

Mary Stimac I agree. Especially because I was a teenager during this period and a lot of these books I read just felt...underdeveloped? Like they tried hard to make the prose good and the story interesting but the characters felt flat and it just didn’t feel like the books had any depth of feeling. It’s like they personalised all the typical writing advice to turn out a quite professional product but without much heart to it.

[@user-pg9hq1hn4f]

Yup as someone in the Ya age range there is something dull about it now. They always have a potential story line but replace it with badly/placed written love drama

[@WhileMirandaWrote]

As someone who really can't see themselves writing anything other than YA it was a little hard to hear a lot of these things, but I guess it's better to know and be able to anticipate these ebbs and flows. Thanks, Alexa for the real talk (as always).

[@allyaldridge]

I love writing YA too. So, this doesn’t discourage me either. Hopefully it means the genre will have authors that truly love the genre, rather than writing it because it was trending.

[@nicole9119]

Amen 😭

[@PajamaFeet]

Yeah, my 9th and 12th graders are still popularly reading Lightning Thief, The Hunger Games, Divergent, Michael Vey... I was so weirded out to become an English teacher and find my high schoolers reading the same middle grade and YA books I read in middle school. There’s absolutely no new trend, no fresh series attracting by anyone’s attention. Freshman missed Twilight and HP, though! Kind of refreshing, that.

[@jessip8654]

This is fine. Majority the YA books I've picked up in the last few years have been bland and uninspired. I've actually given up on reading YA for the foreseeable future because it's just so tiring being disappointed over and over again. If there's less but better books I'll happily come back.

[@anival9576]

Right? I used to love YA.

[@mitchellsmith4690]

I agree!

[@jessip8654]

@Samara Hamilton Yes I have read some of these and thanks but no thanks on the rest. I'm sure they're fine, but I'm really done on YA ATM (And yes, I get 90% of my books from the library, I'm a cheap mofo) . I'm currently enjoying plenty of "grownup" books right now.

[@mashat5231]

I am a person that gets bored very easily and I have to agree. YA is the same thing over and over again and it's predictable. I have always preferred fantasy over other genres and now I love adult fantasy. I also started reading historical fiction. I don't read YA anymore, the only YA series maybe I am going to start is Cruel Prince. I am not sure tho

[@J3ennife4]

This exactly!! It’s gotten so much harder for me to get interested in the stories because they’re all just the same as each other

[@lottevandewiele700]

Also one reason is because most adult books are wrongly sectioned under YA. Especially books written by women, are most likely to be sectioned as YA, whilst their books are for adult audience. We are in the time that the books are finally sectioned right.

[@Gabrielathebook]

Reminds me of in the film industry how a24 has risen to power. Ya needs their own A24. By being more selective and picking different unique stories, giving those films good marketing, they’ve created so many amazing films and have made a name for themselves

[@crybabycasper]

I agree with this statement!!! Also, I need more stories like a24. I want more horror YA that isn't so cliché 😭

[@angelscores4332]

A24,,, they’re so good

[@Iron-Bridge]

Very good point. The market segment is ripe for a fresh take. The talent is there.

[@WhiteBloggerBlackSpecs]

YA needs to go arthouse lol

[@rachelf2593]

*Me on the first draft of a YA novel, sees title* Alright forget it I'm just going to focus on getting famous with guitar now

[@sstar339]

NoooOOoOooOo, write it!!

[@gaz0428]

there is always self-publishing. if it's something you want to write, go for it.

[@M44Pumpkin]

Nope nope. Maybe yours revives it.

[@abigaledelarme815]

yo same

[@fransowrites]

I'm still writing mine. You might as well keep writing yours.

[@kendallh.18]

I also hope that the YA genre changes. In my opinion, the genre has a lot of potential but the characters aren’t relatable/don’t behave like most teens do. A lot of the characters are either perfect, or complete jerks, but I feel like there needs to be a balance. In YA I feel like the main character always has to have a love interest or be obsessed with popularity. In what I’ve read, they hardly ever talk about the stress of juggling schoolwork, sports, extracurriculars, etc. In reality, most teens don’t obsess over a crush so much that it takes over their whole life and they have real problems to worry about. I hope to see more authors in the future who write relatable YA characters and I think this whole thing will be good for the genre.

[@BooksAndChocolate]

One thing I notice a lot in YA characters is that they never worry about schoolwork or colleges. And if there's a character slightly more focused on this, they're automatically "the nerd" and it's never talked about the pressure the said character is through... Most kids I know are concerned about their future and don't spend too much time worrying about popularity or crushes. They are exceptions, but not the rule.

[@lucidmoth1023]

@@BooksAndChocolate I agree, I'm kind of tired of the whole, "teen obsessed with romance and popularity trope." While I do enjoy romance, I find forced love triangles and drama annoying. I say all this as a teen myself.

[@arielb98]

no lie, i felt that YA was saturated when the same cliches were popping up every year with nothing new. no mainstream crossovers hits in a few years. we need a flush out or something. i want something new.

[@jillswan9654]

This actually gives me a lot of hope. I want a strong industry that can support me for as many books as I’ve got in me. Here’s hoping that the fewer books they do publish will have a more equitable share of the support now.

[@gail_blue]

I'm happy to see age categories dying in SF/F. I'm currently writing a book with a group of protagonists of various ages (14 to 38), which I see all the time in television (Rick and Morty, Stranger Things, Game of Thrones...) And I hate having to shoehorn all the main characters into a single age group (Like "Six of Crows"). I'd be much happier if we just added a simple rating system to books like they do with movies and TV. (maybe there should be a separate section for smutty books, but that's it.)

[@sicilyny5375]

Excellent point..100% agree❤️

[@IreensBeans]

This video is a godsend!! I finally decided I should self-publish my YA fantasy because the traditional YA market isn't as hot as it used to be. It kinda sucks 'cause YA was pretty much all I read in middle school/high school and now that I'm in college and finished writing my own novel I'm like 5 years too late LOLL. It's like a missed high-five. But I'm pretty excited to self-publish! Maybe afterward I can try writing a different genre.

[@allyaldridge]

Yay! Good luck! I decided to self publish this time last year. It took a year of work and my YA Fantasy releases tomorrow. 💛. It’s a lot of work but also a lot of fun.

[@frankundercoverdragon6288]

As someone who typically writes more niche YA, this video gives me hope.

[@josefinasotes796]

Sorry, I'm not a native english speaker, what does "niche" mean? I've been hearing that word a lot, specially in this type of videos (writing advice videos)

[@alyssa.h]

@@josefinasotes796 its a very specific part of the market. Like weird magical realism or surrealist YA fiction would be considered niche. It's stuff that at least in the book world isn't really marketable to everyone

[@josefinasotes796]

@@alyssa.h Ohh now I get it, thanks for the answer!

[@jay.hayabuza013]

My thought on this: change is the only thing constant in this world. As a YA reader, it hurts my soul a bit. And YA making some major "metamorphosis" is... throttling. 😂 But I'm still seeing it as YA stabilizing itself. Looking forward for more (much stable--since mostly, the standards will make some shifts and some criteria will change when it comes to publishing in this category) YA works in the future.

[@victoriouswreath494]

I hope they stop printing books with the same cover and title. Seriously I feel like I've seen a million YA books that all look and sound the same. Seriously its at the point where I avoid some books because I can't remember if it is the book I wanted read or not. And I was never a big YA reader so it just drove me away. As a middle school teacher I find myself recommending more middle grade becuase there is basically no lower YA that I can bring in without having to worry about possibly getting in trouble for it having problematic material for my students. (School policy.) Also, I don't know if it is just my experience but I really haven't ever read YA. I was more into manga and translated works or middle grade and now am reading both that and adult with only a handful of proper YA reads. But as a writer I find that my characters often straddle the upper middle grade and lower YA. So... I know where I will focus more towards.

[@editsbytam3132]

for example: book with the title *a/the **___** of **____** and **____*

[@samanthabledsoe7129]

Finding books for middle school kids is so hard! I've only found a few that I think that age group would enjoy. Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez, The Day of the Pelican by Katherine Paterson, the Berrybrook graphic novels, New Kid by Jerry Craft, Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo, Listen Slowly by Thanhha Lai, and Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina are a few solid choices. I'd even say Wish by Barbara O'Connor, but the protagonist is around age 10, I think.

[@allyaldridge]

Me too. I’ve noticed that YA has aged up. My book is young YA - the characters are 15 to 16, and behave like it.

[@allyaldridge]

I thought the cover thing was was due to covid. I thought that maybe they couldn’t do shoots so took people off the covers.

[@sbright1656]

@@allyaldridge I don't think Covid has anything to do with it. Even the big publishers use a lot of reworked stock photography that's been around for ages. I'm published with a Big 5 publisher, and the covers are done so far in advance (my last one came out in September, was done almost a year before the release date) the pandemic hasn't factored into cover design.

[@thefrancophilereader8943]

Traditional publishers have also priced their ebooks really high. They are probably suffering during the pandemic while self-publishers are doing better. I would like to know how much traditionally published YA is purchased in physical copies. If people prefer ebooks and the publishers are charging $14 a copy, no wonder trad pub is losing sales.

[@specialtwice4975]

I would pay $15 to $20 for a paperback, but for an ebook? Heck no. $7 I will do, which thankfully if I'm bored and have nothing to read most self published are $4 or $5.

[@Heothbremel]

This is one of the most weirdly cheerful market collapse videos in terms of seeing new options on the other end of it, which I love. Excuse me while I go revise my story again xD

[@jazzavalon5105]

tbh I'm glad YA will simmer down to a 'regular' category of its own, aimed at teens as it is suppose to, I'm so tired of looking up a book with a blatantly adult theme, characters that are no way underage, get excited and then figure out that they're 16-17 just so they 'fit' the YA category....

[@grace4683]

EXACTLY

[@violetverdict3760]

They are 17.9 years old in a fantasy word where the adults are dead without parents. They ought to make up their minds!

[@allyaldridge]

Yes! 🙌

[@kirakira1212]

I know!! As someone who is in her mid20s, reading about kids clearly acting and thinking like adults are off putting for me. It's weird cuz I know 16-18 yo don't usually act the way they do in YA books..

[@endo4682]

That's why you write literary fiction - it is not trendy, never goes out of style, and prepares author for low expectations for earnings!

[@nikkireigns]

Whew! I'm doing a rewrite (more like a redraft) during Nano and you've just helped me decide to go Adult. I am at the point where I could pretty easily age it up or down, and wanted to write up but thought it would be smarter to write down. I'm so glad you made this video!

[@alliecat1019]

As a consumer, the feeling YA is over saturated was something I had noticed but could not put my finger on. I have noticed there seems to be too many debut authors hyped within the book community and not enough follow ups from authors. I feel like everything has become both too niched and too mainstream. The audiences for certain YA trends are become smaller and more specified while big trends in the community oversaturate the market resulting in a lot of similar debut novels. As a book box subscriber I receive a lot of debut novels but of those novels I receive only a handful are interesting enough for me to want to follow up with the author. It is also interesting to see book boxes focus on the same three debut novels as the rest of the book community leaving the other 197 debuts of that year in anonymity.

[@AlexaDonne]

Yeah and book boxes also have tight relationships with only a small handful of the biggest publishers and they'll usually choose the biggest book that publisher is pushing, and nothing else. Owl Crate overwhelmingly features Harper Collins books, for example (unless that's changed recently but for years there it was almost every month).

[@alliecat1019]

@@AlexaDonne I did not realize that but after a casual look it completely makes sense. I didn’t even think about book box/publisher relationships. I noticed that in 2020 the book box overlap has been strong. I had about the third of the years book boxes feature the same book.

[@DrVVVinK]

@@alliecat1019 If you like book boxes, and want more of a variety of books, which are more honestly curated, I would suggest looking at small, local indi book stores, in limited supply they tend to offer book box, with books handpicked by their own staff. I would look on Instagram for indi stores through the american booksellers association account. You'll be able to find tons of indi stores, and around this time is when they start to advertize their book boxs.

[@J3ennife4]

No comment on the book boxes thing but I felt the whole disappointment in follow ups in my soul!! For example, the Red Queen series- book one was great, I got sucked into it both times I read it. But I couldn’t even make it to 20% in book two and from what I’ve heard it only gets worse

[@alliecat1019]

@@J3ennife4 I completely agree with you about Red Queen. I have been stuck on book three for years. Read the first two easily enough but I wasn’t able to make it past book 3. Definitely want to return back and finish though (I am a completist and have all five novels).

[@Lisa-zx5kb]

"The YA genre is only around 15 years old" Me, who spent a year entrenched in academic research on the development of the YA genre for my honors degree: *deep breath* *cracks knuckles* Actually, the origins of the genre can be traced back to the 1930s. During the great depression, young people were losing theit jobs, so they were staying in high school longer. So teachers and librarians had to cultivate a catalogue of books that were more grown up than children's lit. Most scholars agree that the first YA novel was 'Seventeenth Summer' by Maureen Daly, which was published in 1942. There's a lot of ebb and flow to the development of the genre. But teachers and librarians have been pushing the charge for promoting and developing the genre for nearly a century. Much longer than 15 years 😅 There is definitely some truth to there being a YA boom in the last 15 years. This is when publishers took over the charge from teachers and librarians once they saw how profitable it would be. Cassandra Clare's books, Twilight and the Hunger Games are all good examples but I would even go as far back as the first Harry Potter book to trace the origins of this boom. Hope I didn't sound like an ass I just wanted to explain the complexity behind the genre, it's one of my favourite topics. 😅 Here is some further reading if anyone's interested about learning more about the history of the YA genre: Bucher, Katherine , and Hinton, KaaVonia. Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation. Third ed., Pearson, 2014. Campbell, Patricia J and ProQuest (Firm) Campbell's scoop: reflections on young adult literature. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, 2010. Cart, Michael. ‘Young Adult Literature: The State of a Restless Art.’ SLIS Connecting, vol. 5, no. 1, 2016, pp. SLIS Connecting, 09/26/2016, Vol.5(1). Cart, Michael. Young Adult Literature: From Romance to Realism. 3rd ed., Neal-Schuman 2016. Crowe, Chris. ‘Young Adult Literature: What is Young Adult Literature?’ English Journal, vol. 88, no. 1, September 1998. 120-122 Crowe, Chris ‘ Young Adult Literature: YA Boundary Breakers and Makers’ English Journal, vol. 91, no.6, July 2002. 116-118. Garcia, Antero. Critical Foundations in Young Adult Literature: Challenging Genres. Sense Publishers, 2013. The ALAN review is also a great place to find academic articles about the YA genre and you can access a lot of it for free. :)

[@HosannaRider]

Thanks for sharing! These sources may be good for one of my college essays I'm working on right now.

[@AlexaDonne]

Well, but it's labeling. YA is a marketing category. It was not MARKETED until it was officially created as the marketing category it now is--they literally changed where these books go in libraries in bookstores, and started to publish types of books that were not be published in any real volume before (also created imprints for them. I grew up in the 80s and 90s--I read fiction for young people, too. But it's NOTHING like what YA is. I jumped from "books for young readers" when I was 12 to adult books b/c there was just... a gap. Surely you recognize that as well? You cannot compare any of the books written for young people prior to the 2000s to what came before. It's not the same. (And most has been reclassed now as MG, not YA, if those books are still in print.) With all due respect, books for young people going back to the 40s just... doesn't matter to this conversation. YA is the category created by publishing 15 years ago, which had a massive boom, and is now tapering off.

[@mitchellsmith4690]

Hardy boys and nancy drew go back to the thirties...

[@AlexaDonne]

@@mitchellsmith4690 yes, I grew up reading them. Still not YA by current definition! (they are shelved in the children's/MG section NOT YA)

[@mestimac]

Yeah, I agree that there were books written for teens before fifteenish years ago, but they were very different. They seemed skewed toward a slightly younger audience and were usually shorter and less epic. I was a young adult in the 90s and I read a lot of christopher pike and Joan lowry nixon. They were great at the time, but not really anything an adult, or likely anyone older than 16, would pick up. The categorization and intended audience for current young adult fiction seems to be getting more and more vague, and it seems like books that should be adult are being pushed into ya. There are a few books I've read that would make more sense if their characters were older. They seem unrealistically mature. Also, more sexually explicit books are making their way to ya. I just realized that the "teen" series I'm reading right now has main characters that are all 18-23. Why is it ya? I realize that young adult books are supposed to have a certain tone or voice, but obviously lots of adults are reading them, so why can't we have adult books with that voice?

[@celinapeters6175]

Man - I knew I was out of the YA loop since March, but I didn’t realize HOW out of the loop I was...

[@maisyelizabeth9572]

I would rather have a tougher time getting a book deal for a debut to force me to write a better (different) book so that next time I try to get a deal, the book might actually do well as a debut and give more of a chance to get another deal.

[@RhyleeKJones]

Me in the beginning of the video trying to pursue YA: I’m so depressed. Me after Alexa’s pep talk: 🥺Ok. This is fine. I love YA so yeah. Just make it shiny. I got this. 😁 Seriously, Alexa, thank you for this video. I know it’s hard but as an aspiring YA author, it’s news that I need to hear. And kinda excited about, not gonna lie.

[@AlexaDonne]

Yes! Don't give up! Like, I'm not. I love YA--it suits me. Just gotta bring the A game! (though I also do have adult plans eventually)

[@oobiegooby432]

I have seen a YA decline as well, and I do notice that many YA books have sort of a cliche theme of their own.

[@Nihes1]

I noticed that the amazon kindle store has been absolutely flooded with bad self-published YA novels during the last few years. These books then clutter up the search pages and frustrate people who are looking for something new. I am honestly just done with YA at this point, but maybe I am just getting too old to find reading about the love life of 18 year olds interesting.

[@izstrella]

I agree with that yeah. I’m currently 19 and due to the plethora of poorly written YA protagonists, romances, and storylines in general I already feel “too old” to be reading YA, sadly. Which is so messed, because I AM YA and I need some good rep, haha.

[@Brakiros]

@@izstrella depends on the subgenere of YA as well I feel like

[@catsanddiamonddreams]

A lot of great self-pubs out there though.

[@madisonmarie0613]

The big question though is: how can we tell which self published YA books are actually good and worth it

[@izstrella]

@@Brakiros • Not really; there are older adults trying to write teenagers by making them just extremely emotional &/or dramatic in every sub genre sadly, haha. Dystopia to contemporary. There are good ones out there I love (Lish McBride is amazing), but I feel it would definitely benefit the publishing industry (and self-pub peeps) as a whole to get more YA perspectives before they publish. Kinda like sensitivity readers - puberty readers, haha!

[@lauramccullagh980]

The print on your shirt looks like cover art in the folky/magic/cottagecore genre. Also i do think YA will come back. Just like every few years people decide that oversized sweaters are cool, just to decide a few years later that only tight fitted sweaters are cool...rinse and repeat. I think the rise of the rom com is going to be great for YA.

[@AlexaDonne]

YA will become bangs. Every few years we have to try bangs again! :P

[@lucie2103]

@@AlexaDonne Ok so you don’t like YA or what? Like. Can you not. I haven’t seen you say a single good thing about it.

[@AlexaDonne]

@@lucie2103 lol I literally write and publish YA.

[@fkdjdjcmckdjdjf3728]

@@lucie2103 Bro where did she even say that? This video isn't bashing YA, it's discussing its decline. This is an embarrassing asumption.

[@biologyboggs3885]

Part of me wishes we had publishing imprints for specific subgenres in YA so editors and their publicists would be less overwhelmed (like paranormal or romance). It might be a good way to see what's not doing as well and where the next big thing is. Regardless, good video as always, Alexa. Thank you!

[@miavelletri]

9:00 wow I hadn’t even thought about this. I’m 20 now but when I was 12/13, I remember going to the library and just picking up random YA books that were published 5 or more years before (they weren’t big names, I’d never heard of them) and when I loved them, I’d look them up from goodreads and they’d have 30,000 ratings in goodreads. Now, whenever I find random, untalked about YA books and look them up, they maybe have 1,000 ratings. Weird.

[@gabyhan1674]

This is definitely something I’ve noticed as well.

[@nikkimilton461]

While I used to love YA, recently I struggle with it. Maybe I've grown up, or the genre is overdone, or [insert soul searching comment here] but I'm ready for something else.

[@texasbelle333]

When I was a teen I could only imagine myself writing YA but now that I’m 23, I want to write content for those of us between 20 and 40.

[@bringing.mae.flowers]

I really love your channel and how honest and blunt you are about both good and bad news. It's refreshing to have someone tell it like it is, instead of rolling everything in sugar and wrapping it all in a bow.

[@sixofbooks3909]

Loved this video! I miss the "old YA" where the books were more unique and there weren't so many new books a year that it's impossible to keep up. It's an uncertain time but I'm excited to see where YA will be in 5 years. I've been writing YA for the past 5 years and I'm hoping to start my querying journey in about 3 years (after I'm done my PhD because grad school and trying to get published is too much at the same time!) I don't mind the wait, I feel like the goal of writing shouldn't always be to get published but to enjoy the process and being part of the community :)

[@KathrynFaye007]

This was one of the reasons why I felt so frustrated writing Adult or MG... here I am duking it out to be noticed and then here's a YA debut who's writing is not the best and they were getting six figure deals. I had friends say that writing a book is easy, and easy money just look at YAs. And the dreaded, why don't you have your book out yet? It looks so easy... it never was a breeze for Adult genre writers or even Middle Grade genre writers... and picture books are extremely difficult to get an agent for as there's only a small amount of agents who rep them. This might sound like gloom and doom, but trust me, people still need books (tv has writers too) and so it won't all go away. And, maybe, there'll be other YA that's not geared to strictly romance.

[@violetverdict3760]

I do cinematic slimmed down writing. I am aiming for graphic novels, had a contract for game writing, I realize I disliked reading most books these days so I minimized my prose. Length books are dead. People want short shot books 15-20 chapters or play your own story games.

[@allyaldridge]

People are already asking me when will book 2 be out. I’ve just been honest about all the steps involved, and they step back with their eyes spinning. Publishing is not easy 😅. Good luck x

[@josephcittadino6541]

@@violetverdict3760 Thats partly why you see the rise of LitRPG, Xianxia, and associated genres on Amazon. LitRPG, while a "western" genre, and Xianxia, while a Chinese genre, are both largely inspired by Japan's Light Novels, which have extremely slimmed down prose to the point of almost reading like scripts. LitRPG in particular is an odd beast in that LitRPG titles are fast-paced, quick reads that while heavily inspired by the Light Novels of Japan, have more "mature" prose than LNs: I.E. Light Novels tend to read more like middle grade, while LitRPG tends to read more like upper YA, albeit without YA's fixation on first person POV. That being said, LitRPG, Xianxia, and Light Novels all are much shorter than, say, an adult fantasy novel, and tend to be broken up into many smaller books instead of the trillogy of three big books thats common in the west, and this is mainly because many titles in all three genres start their lives as seralized web fiction, and then get either picked up by a publishers if they are Asian works, or if they are western works self-published by their authors to amazon once they gain enough of a following (as in the west, publishers will not touch LitRPG with a 10,000ft pole, at least not yet. Maybe the YA bust will change that as they scramble like chickens with their heads cut off to find a new trendy thing).

[@sailor.britters]

Useful content as always! I noticed YA starting to shift back when I was graduating in 2010, even then it was becoming oversaturated in the midst of Twilight. I'm glad to see the change even if it makes things a bit harder.

[@MRuby-qb9bd]

Do you think that part of the reduction in YA might be due to the age skewing up? As in they aren't capturing those younger readers (to keep them reading) while the existing readers are either moving to adult books or just growing out of the tropes?

[@nikki9808]

I was wondering the same thing. there are some gaps in the ages that I’ve noticed while working at a bookstore that seems to frustrate certain readers, that being between middle grade and YA, and between YA and... adult? essentially a sort of upper-MG and upper-YA or not-solely-romance-New Adult seems to be what more and more people are looking for. I’ve been noticing a few more college-age YA like Mary H.K. Choi’s books and I think Gloria Chao’s too?, so I wonder if that will continue and if it does, how it will affect all of this going forward

[@AlexaDonne]

I personally do feel that is a contributing factor. There is nothing more passionate than an engaged, fannish 14-16-year-old... and there's less material for them (esp those who don't care for darker/edgier YA). Actual Teens tend to like different books than Now Adults Who Got Into YA As Teens and acquisitions skew toward the latter. When I talk to friends who work at bookstores, they remark that Actual Teens don't pick up the buzzy/awards bait/serious upper stuff--they pick up the cheesy stuff on the lower end that people take less seriously. I think we need both ends. There is so hope with the resurgence of romcoms (they serve that younger end well), but I'd love to see fantasy and other genres publish books that suit the younger end as well as older. Or, honestly: some of the books ARE acquired but aren't marketed much. The buzziest books tends to target adult readers of YA.

[@allyaldridge]

Yes. When I started writing YA 10y ago, I was told to lower the age of my characters so readers could enjoy a series with my characters growing. There was a need for 14y olds. Then I was told 14y old like to read older characters, so I increased my characters age to 15/16 (I needed them in a UK high school). Now, I’m finally self publishing, and the other YA books have older characters (some I’d say are new adult).

[@roserainier5917]

I really think this is a huge factor. I was a teen during the 2008-2012 YA boom and over the past decade I’ve gradually moved in my reading habits to the point where the past couple years I pretty much exclusively read Adult fiction. I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s done this. But if YA keeps trying to cater to my age group they’re competing with adult fiction while neglecting the original target age range (13 through 18 ish)

[@AlyssaReids]

Thanks so much for this video. Happy Reading!!! 😀

[@jennamorganbooks]

I really appreciate these videos, Alexa! Thank you for your hard work. ❤️ I’m on my third draft of a YA fantasy, but I also have another idea brewing that I might transition to a MG now haha. Can’t wait to see what the future holds.

[@KammiLutz]

This is a fantastic video! Thank you for keeping those of us who 'live and breathe' YA up to date. I'm publishing a follow-up video of sorts talking about what a writer can do to polish their work enough to debut even when the market is volatile. I truly believe the answer lies in flash fiction.

[@rebeccahamilton7116]

Sara Raash shouted you out on Tik Tok with this video! Interesting information. I honestly think that the industry needs to move to more New Adult content. Most of us grew up reading the big YA novels and now most of us are in our 20s. It's irritating to have to read about 16-19 year olds saving the world when those characters should really be 25 because that's how they act. I'm hopeful for the new publishing era. This video was really great!

[@briannatakesonlife4441]

That’s exactly where I just came from haha!

[@danikaehollis]

The readers of 2000's YA grew up and are reading New Adult. The kids of today are interested more in viral breakouts. The transmission style has changed and publishing needs to change its' format accordingly. With the issues of Covid, many teens will start to try to process what is going on in the world, so we will move away from Dystopia and we will swing back into Fantasy stories that deal with lockdowns and shutdowns.

[@taylorthatwriter6865]

This is a really helpful video, and it helps me to make a choice on how I'm writing / what I'm writing.

[@violetverdict3760]

I don't even want to write for YA. I haven't thought to write for YA in years. My book has adult characters with adult things with gray characters and no, it's not erotic work. I sort of fell out of love with YA for 5 years or so, I would love my plot to become a graphic novel as I've doing screenwriting classes or write for games. This is fascinating. I had a game writing offer but the pandemic happened and they weren’t hiring new teams and put me on hold until further notice. Sigh! I’ll get picked up again someday. I’ve had my writings/novels handpicked and got attention from the game writers in industry. My friend has connections to Netflix writers too so they’ll be fine in the long run. Short term is a killer though.

[@bytheBrooke]

All this makes complete sense! What goes up must come down, unfortunately. You did good by balancing the bummer news with some positive silver lining though! Thanks for the real chat, Alexa :)

[@booksvsmovies]

I'm terrified as an undergrad who has plans to work in the YA publishing industry. It was already an insanely competitive job market and now with imprints folding and houses streamlining this does not bode well for the job market there.

[@fkdjdjcmckdjdjf3728]

I recommend that you read the specific complaints people who are starting to shift away from YA have. These readers tend to enjoy YA, so the reviews you read will be from people actually interested in the type of book you want, and the complaints will be specifically about YA, not something else (For example, a biography person might dislike YA because it's not detailed or something, which wouldn't be helpful(.

[@kehcowan]

I stopped reading a lot of YA when each. Friggin. Character. ended up having “The Tortured Prince” as her love interest. Red Queen was probably where I lost my love for that genre :(

[@thedigitalautist]

I really appreciate your candor in this video. I just signed with my agent at the end of January this year, and we're already on our third round of subs (although some of the editors of the initial subs from March and June STILL haven't gotten back with us). When I talked to my agent, she said that publishing was really weird this year due to COVID, but I definitely think it has more to do with the changes you pointed out within the YA sphere. (My novel is a YA fantasy with an [ownvoices] autistic protagonist). I wish I had a friend like you I could share my publishing (or lack thereof) woes with. I'm super excited to eventually be able to sit at the "grown-up table" on Twitter (with the published authors) once I do get published. Anyway, thank you for the honesty, even though the news wasn't the greatest. I still am holding onto hope.

[@waltermanson999]

Amazing video !!! I haven't heard any one else talking about this, Thanks for sharing the news !

[@prtwriter4660]

MAYBE ???? Sci-fi will rise back up ☕

[@DalCecilRuno]

We all wish...

[@jemimajanvier4706]

YA Sci-fi is my fav❣️

[@Faerieshimmer]

Not a fan of sci fi but I want to try reading Alexa’s books.

[@252nom3]

@@jemimajanvier4706 I know of a really good one 😊

[@HollyByGollyBooks]

YESSSS I hope so!!!!!

[@jimenatierna3408]

On one hand, I’m a bit scared of what will happen in YA. But your video has given me hope... so thanks.

[@mparker6278]

you give excellent, grounded pep talks and i appreciate the heck out of you 🖤

[@jasperelizabethsmith5699]

Thank you for sharing this. Although it greatly saddens me to hear this, I really needed someone to spell it out for me, especially since I've been ignoring the signs (like fewer new YA authors being published, and current authors struggling financially)... I've subscribed to your channel -- thank you for the honesty. 💖

[@kate_dee]

Honestly, this so far as I am listening 5:04 mark relates only to trad publishing. I have read, and make a point of reading, indie published work and there are some excellent books out there. I have been following the trends for about 6 years now and since the birth of self-publishing, I have noticed the panic in trad. At first, they thought they had nothing to worry about, but it became apparent that this was not the case. Self-publishing has impacted trad and that is one of the major reasons it is reorganising. YA is still going grand in indie publishing. I know a few who are indie in this publishing choice and they are doing really well. What's your thoughts on this?

[@floppsymoppsy5969]

I remember an interview with Madeleine L'Engle way back when. It took something like 10 years to get a Wrinkle in Time published because none of the publishers at the time were willing to take a chance on something they couldn't categorize an audience for.

[@elizaebthdochnal9957]

I feel the Publishing Company kind of killed it's self when it comes to YA books. Maybe it's because of is a younger genre but it really seemed like they didn't know how to handle it. One thing would do good and then suddenly we were absolutely flooded with everything like that. Twilight said good and suddenly the only thing on the Shelf was vampire books. For a long time they acted like why I couldn't take on serious topics and everything and then six of crows did really well and now every book on the Shelf has darker themes. Maybe it's because it's younger and they don't have the decades like general fiction has of Tyrends and how to handle everything.

[@jeremyfee]

Oh no! YA, please, don't die. Great video, as always. Thank you for the inside information.

[@bhsprinkle]

Thank you so much for the information in this video.

[@corarara6482]

Fascinating stuff! I am both scared and inspired haha.

[@joannakoter9159]

Hi, your videos are so cool and informative! I want to study Publishing at Master's level and this is very interesting to watch your videos to find some stuff about book markets and stuff. Thanks for your work!

[@Laura_DiNunno]

I had no idea Simon Pulse closed. Dang.

[@BrittanyArtPoetry]

Can you do a video about switching a story idea or plot from YA into adult or Middle Grade. Where do they overlap and can you re write your ideas to make your story work in one of those areas

[@joanderson4860]

9:33 "it's like our economy" ain't that the truth

[@mical7582]

📚 I want to see more books like 'To all the boys I've loved before' or *Kasie West* or *Amy Sparling* type sweet romances. I am just tired of all these self published steamy darker romance books dominating every sub category in YA romance and adult romance.

[@allyaldridge]

Check out Sarah Sutton. She writes brilliant sweet YA Romances. They are very American (which if you are American you won’t notice). I’m sure Americans will notice my teens are very British lol. It’s just slightly different school set ups.

[@samyboynton6129]

I was really sad when my YA Book of the Month Subscription morphed into just a regular Book of the Month subscription back in March. Thought it was odd and wondered what was happening.

[@laurenpurnell5290]

A very insightful video. I’ve been meaning to try new adult novels recently, and this was the push I needed.

[@ZeinaIan]

I grew up around the height of YA, I was literally 13 when Twilight was big. So it's a little sad to see it go down even though I myself don't really read YA anymore.

[@grethen123]

Miss this kind of videos lately. Would love to see them return!

[@johnnam1380]

I'm so surprised to hear about Simon Pulse. So many of the books on my shelf are from them. Wild. Also I think you nailed it with the YA boom. 2008 was when I actually got into reading and I was 13 and started on my contemporary YA addiction lmao

[@Owlzindabarn]

I think they need to free up every genre. There's a lot of good ideas out there. But I think publishing is getting a little too interested in "identity politics" narratives. I've literally seen Agents and publishers saying they are closed to queries unless the writer is a woman of color, or they only want to hear from the unheard, transgender people, foreign writers and on and on. They're not interested in genres so much as novelty. And when that kind of thing wears off...what? They go back to teen vampires? Idk...

[@jetastic17]

This was always going to happen, YA was always going to be so condensed that it'll implode and then settle in itself. I just thought that New Adult was going to take over the boom, but that hasn't happened and I'm not so sure it will. Maybe once YA course correct itself NA can finally have the boom it's been needing.

[@flutistmom]

I think YA is shifting toward more of a New adult/young adult hybrid as the group of people who were reading YA are growing up and honestly I have always preferred reading 20+ stories. But it's sad about the imprints... I wonder what the future will be.

[@samanthabledsoe7129]

I've seen YA go through several shifts. I used to read a lot of it because I taught high school English. The YA market forgot they should focus on quality and not quantity. I read so many poorly written books that were published to capitalize on the Harry Potter, Twilight, and Hunger Games popularity. They also went through a period where none of the characters felt like real teens. These characters didn't talk or think like real teens. Some sounded like they were written by 35 year olds. Sorry, John Green, you're guilty of this one. Others sounded like naive children. Then YA forgot who their market was and started publishing stuff that shouldn't even be called YA. I've seen some improvement in the books published in the last 3 or 4 years. One of my favorites is Elizabeth Acevedo, and I think her being a former middle/high school teacher contributes to the authenticity of her characters' voices. People who write YA need to spend time with teens and get in tune with their voices. It is really easy to forget what being a teen is like. We get old enough that we start seeing those years through rose colored glasses and filter out all the petty, impulsive, goofy details.

[@allyaldridge]

I’ve had to mention on my blurb that my characters are Young YA, as so many readers are expecting adults. 🙄

[@samanthabledsoe7129]

@@allyaldridge that illustrates one of the huge problems with YA today. People have forgotten who YA is written for and about.

[@dorothyinman4632]

I was one of those authors years ago who was going to write a YA because it was selling. I never really pursued finishing a book, but I think the background you've given here is fascinating. I also love that even though you have to be the bearer of bad news (which I love your frankness) that you still give hope to the writer. As always thanks for your content.

[@MargaretPinard]

Useful and informative video, thank you, Alexa!

[@ArabellaKFederico]

So is this the launching pad of New Adult? I aalllmooooost hope so. I think we'll make it, and we'll land where we're meant to, but it does sorta blow. The fans are gunna wanna go somewhere, and we're gunna have to adapt.

[@brittainxgoffy7989]

I miss the reading communities that form around these big books. The general reading community is great, but when you're all gushing over the same book and creating fanfic and fan conventions...They were special.

[@TheEccentricRaven]

I see hope that in 2024, many agents and editors still crave YA, like me and many other writers and readers❤😁

[@Neorewn]

I dropped out of reading YA around 2010, around 15, because every time I picked something in the 'new to the library' section I found the books to be vague copies of each other, the paranormal themes felt really washed out, the 'grit' it claimed to have on the back wasn't there or a facsimile of it, and the main protagonists felt bland. Even to this day when a friend recommends a well-received and awarded YA novel to me, my gut reaction is to avoid it after being burned so many times. Thanks for this video - hopefully in a few years I can check back into this genre(?) and see who made it through :D

[@Rose_Bride]

Sadly, this is happening across the board. DC's publishing division just shuttered. AT&T is uninterested in cultivating DC comics, and it sounds like the same thing is happening with novels. I am praying this just means that most of these books/comics will move to ebooks. But I really want the option to still have a paper book... just for my personal home library. Nothing beats settling down on a Friday evening after a week of work and losing yourself in a nice book series for the weekend.

[@AmaniCarson]

I don't know if this is a US vs UK thing, but I vividly remember YA being a thing when I was a child in the late 90s/early 00s (though maybe by a different name). I remember for years I would pine over the very large section of the bookstore that was dedicated to books for teenagers, not being able to wait until I was old enough to read from that selection. The excitement that I had from looking at the dark and brooding covers as a child - and then finally starting to read them when I got a bit older - is one of the main reasons I write YA. Some of the books were British (Love is the Drug, Lucas, Witch Child, Sugar Rush) but there were definitely American authors among them too (LJ Smith and Cate Tiernan come to mind).

[@AlexaDonne]

I mean the books existed, but certainly in the US (but honestly I believe also the UK--even when I browsed in 2001 in UK stores I don't remember a firm section--that's when I bought HP! Everything was altogether for "young people" pretty sure? Just like in the US) there was nothing called Young Adult--all children's books were shelved in the same place, sequentially--so chapter books, then what we now call middle grade, then YA on successive shelves in one section of the bookstore. Goosebumps and Fear Street were one shelf a part and when you aged out of Fear Street or Sweet Valley High, you jumped to adult fiction. Nothing inbetween. I read books we'd now call YA or middle grade... but there was NOTHING beyond what we now call lower YA--books specifically targeted to 14-16-year-olds, etc.--LJ Smith is really lower YA; you aged out of those by 13 or 14. The huge shift was books acquired and marketed beyond that--the birth of YA as we know it. In the US at least YA has it's own bank of bookshelves and they are in a totally different section from all the rest of the children's books. And just volume. There were a small handful of books and series for young people in the 90s... now there's hundreds of books released a year. (and YA itself has shifted; Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants could never sell today, and a lot of upper YA might have been pubbed as adult 30 years ago YET it's written in a totally different style to books 30 years ago--books are shifting and changing, very interestingly)

[@lorettaknoelk3475]

Yeah she forgot the 90's. Remember R.L. Stein? Francine Pascal? Babysitters Club?

[@AmaniCarson]

@@AlexaDonne The difference may be that in the UK YA is still next to the children's books. So even though back then they were sometimes sectioned off from the younger kids books, they were still right by them. Which is similar to how it is now. The slight sectioning off may have been a choice from the individual books stores, I'm not sure. And I don't know if there was an actual term for the books for older readers then, but the segregation was implied. And there were at least a couple of whole cases dedicated to the books for older readers (in my local shops anyway). I'd say that some of the old British YA had mature themes (like the ones I mentioned) and explored things like sexuality and drug use, which I think read as a bit older. But yes, YA has definitely shifted as a whole.

[@AlexaDonne]

@@AmaniCarson I mean the UK may be smarter about all this overall haha. They haven't been over-acquiring--it's not easy for a US YA book to sell in the UK, for example. I did but most of my friends haven't. The UK keeps their market tight!

[@AmaniCarson]

@@AlexaDonne Maybe why the shift doesn't seem as huge here!

[@greyjediwriter]

This is why I’m hoping to publish adult with YA potential because then it’s easier to help readers transition into adult that way. The Year of the Witching is a great example of adult horror/thriller with YA potential. The next big breakout may very well be in the adult category - specifically in fantasy - because of shows like The Witcher and the soon to be released Wheel of Time and Lord of the Rings series. That may cause a rise in sales for adult fantasy, thus a need for new fantasy books in that category. I do hope once the economy gets better that the YA market will get better and bring new imprints to help create a midlist again. If you don’t have a middle, the whole system will break. Plus, so many voices need to be heard through that category - teens deserve to see themselves in the books marketed to them.

[@alicet5123]

As a reader I hope this leads to better YA books. It's seems like they only try to tick the diversity checklist rather than focusing on good stories. More diversity is amazing but you still need to have a good book!

[@alicet5123]

@I Said What I Said the goal should not be to release bad books. Period.

[@alicet5123]

@I Said What I Said ok whatever.

[@kaalad3666]

@alice t I agree!

[@kaalad3666]

It's the same thing with "diverse" shows where the diverse characters' whole personality is whatever trait makes them diverse. Turns them into nothing more than a stereotype.

[@kekayoewa]

Emily Henry is an example of a YA author who, writing her first adult, found so much love in the community!

[@AlexaDonne]

A lot of YA writers are moving into adult, especially romance, and I love to see it. We're seeing YA writers transform other categories, bringing the style and freshness to those spaces. I hope this sees YA readership expanding what they read--so maybe we can return part of YA back to Actual Teens? (and I say this as an adult reader of YA!)

[@kekayoewa]

@@AlexaDonne I definitely agree! It’s been sad to see it shift away from its initial teenage audience, because there’s just so much buzz for the darker, edgier YA (which, don’t get me wrong, I love at times) but I’m really hoping that we get more sort of “lower” YA books! That specific age group needs to feel the love again.

[@vanessaebony529]

I only plan on publishing a few YA then doing Adult and MG. YA is just to me some of the stories are picky for me.I think one of the reason it that when teen reviewers read them it reads like adults in high school not so much teens in high school.

[@angelxxsin]

@@AlexaDonne A couple of years ago I read that trad publishers weren't interested in publishing romance anymore and had left that entire genre to indies as they couldn't keep up with the pace, is this shifting again?

[@AlexaDonne]

@@angelxxsin Uh no romance is alive and well? Never went away. And is currently in a HUGE boom, especially on the romcom side.

[@ericarobbin]

I feel like I completely missed the YA trend. The category didn't exist so much when I was a teen/YA. I remember the YA section, when it came about as a distinct category, needing its own shelf space, being super small at my library and most had elements of fantasy that I wasn't into and narratives seemed to be written for "teens" with a YA label, particularly portraying characters that were in less mature in stages of life with limited personal experiences such as relationships, jobs, educational focus, responsibilities, lots of teen angst. They didn't speak to me or sound the least bit interesting during the explosion of YA, which grew mostly in sameness, though I gave some a try especially because it was exciting to also see an explosion of reading in general that I wanted to be a part of, but by then I felt too old for those themes by the time most were published. Now I'm way out of the loop of YA but often wonder what types of books will appeal to the upcoming generation? What types will be carried on in the generation of YA explosion when they seek out something different from what they used to read? Reading communities and accessibility is so much more than what I had growing up, it will be interesting to see where the trends go and how they are influenced. Like I guess my teen generation we didn't have so many choices of books within our reading level, basically it was mostly Nancy Drew, Baby-Sitters Club, R.L. Stine, all through word of mouth, borrowing from friends, the Scholastic school fair, but they were all different themes from each other, whether moral lesson or imagination, sense of community among characters, triumph, problem-solving, covers looked way different from each other, genre-driven. You could keep up with every series. When I visit the bookstore now, YA takes up an overwhelming 2-3 rows of shelves, the only shelf that beats them in shelf space is James Patterson. I wonder what's next, if YA as we know it will fade away (assuming that the closing of imprints is a reflection of a downward trend of sales) what

[@brittneysbookshelf9491]

Having a small anxiety episode. I a currently writing a YA book. And 20,000 dollars is way more than I would expect to get. I don't want a 6 figure deal. I mean, of course I do, but I wouldn't expect it. This has been helpful and thank you for always being open and honest with us about the publishing world. I truly hadn't noticed the decline nor did I know the other imprints besides Jimmy were closing.

[@LeahRummel]

I love your perspective on this. YA has definitely been super inflated. The past few years it’s felt impossible to keep up with so many debuts!

[@BrittanyArtPoetry]

The current project I’m working on is YA, and I am yet unpublished which means this story is especially concerning, but it’s a project I’m really excited about and I think it has an original enough concept to work, so I’m sticking with it, fingers crossed

[@ashat4061]

As a reader of YA, I feel like a factor could also be how many major succesful series there have been previously. Teenagers aren't going to be motivated to search out debut authors writing the first book in the series when we can binge series. For example, if someone picks up Cassandra Clare books they could read 20 of them in a row, meaning they're not buying from new authors.

[@giuf175]

I hope it is. It's gotten ridiculous at this point that they have grown ass characters but then their age is 16 or something ridiculous. Like no 16 year old is behaving like that. Just let people be 20-22-25-27 or whatever instead of forcing these weird ages onto characters that don't fit at all with the story. It's also a bit creepy tbh, when you start adding romantic relationships and smutty scenes. Why would you wanna be a grown person and read or write about that?

[@jessip8654]

Like Six of Crows? You can tell me those people are 17 all you want. They're not. They act like 25 year olds.

[@KaterynaM_UA]

@@jessip8654 I wish people actually cared. 99% reviews were like "ahaha I have aged them up in my head but loved the story" but they are not aged up in the story. It's either a cashgrab or just weird and disturbing and both are strange thing to like?

[@sukanyaparashar9474]

@@jessip8654 I love six of crows with all my heart but you're right, it would've been so much better if the charecters were older

[@kirakira1212]

This is the reason why I stopped reading YA when I was about 20yo. Its weird reading about kids acting like grownups when I know they don't usually act like that.

[@user-pg9hq1hn4f]

@@jessip8654 for goodness sakes you can be young and still mature due to .... Trauma stop this ignorance

[@frogpaintartist]

It was the love triangles. It became a romance genre. I just want fantasy and adventure. That's why I like Harry Potter the best. When the Hunger Games and Percy Jackson were new I thought there would be more of that, but I soon realized now it always, always revolves around romance (or comes to revolve around it eventually). And I think people got depressed about that and gave up.

[@AlexaDonne]

YA was always a romance category, actually. Less romance I think is part of the decline in sales. Harry Potter and Percy Jackson aren't YA, but middle grade. If you like adventure and no romance, look at more middle grade.

[@frogpaintartist]

@@AlexaDonne That would make sense. Since the later books are longer and the characters get older there is overlap, and that's why it's confusing.

[@CassiesBookishCorner]

Great video as always! I work at an indie bookstore and I’m one of the few that is able to help with customers coming in asking about YA books so I have to be current in what will be and what is released. A huge majority of the time it’s parents coming in wanting books for their readers coming out of middle grade. I have to be very careful with what I recommend because some of the books now have older characters with mature actions. This is where I wish we could separate into YA and NA. I’d love to have the lower YA more pronounced as well as older YA. I also think that there was a huge boom because those that didn’t get the YA books when they were in their teens were so excited to finally have something that they ate everything up. Me, for example. I look forward to seeing where YA goes in publishing. I want to see how it’s handled by publishers, authors, libraries, bookstores and schools.