This post rated at a 5th-grade reading level

[mollyringle]

My editor/publisher Deb at Scheherazade Tales is considering offering one of my older novels as a young-adult ebook, maybe around the end of the year. It needs a lot of editing, as it rambles and is silly and has some sappiness I'd like to kill; but I do agree that "young adult" girlies would probably like it after it got polished up.

However, it's about college freshmen - 18-year-olds - and she mentioned specifically "college kids" as potential readers. I say, sure, college kids; but high school kids as well. Wasn't it the case that when we were middle-schoolers we liked to read about high-schoolers, and when we were high-schoolers we liked to read about young adults? And then once we're adults we revert and read about Harry Potter, I guess. :D

So here's a poll on the subject:

[Poll #341895]

Comments

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

I think my answer now would be different from when I was a child. I don't care now, but when I was younger, there was a certain glamour in reading about older people (and playacting as them, of course).

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Same here! I was even considering listing that as an option: "I used to have a preference in my youth, but don't anymore." :)

[tenaya-owlcat.livejournal.com]

There are still some series that I follow that are categorized as young adult. But I've been reading them since I fit into that category m'self! Why would I want to give up on them just because I'm older? *befuddled*

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Sounds fair to me. I wish more publishers would realize that their demographics are a lot fuzzier than they think.

[tenaya-owlcat.livejournal.com]

Well, I've noticed that young adult books are getting ads in more of the mainstream sci-fi/fantasy mags, so maybe the trend is moving towards the realization that a good story, regardless of "age group", is what counts.

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

Years ago, I remember reading a survey that said the target audience for Sixteen Magazine was eleven years old--that kids like to read about kids a few years older than they are to get an idea of what it's like. Assuming their parents let them live that long.

[rachel2205.livejournal.com]

Yep - here we have a magazine called Just 17. I think when it started out it was intended for 17 year olds, but they discovered that mostly girls of about 12 buy it. Older teenage girls buy things like Cosmopolitan, which have articles written about women in their 20s.

[jazzypoet.livejournal.com]

That would be so cool if your novel was offered as an e-book! Good luck with that. :-) This was a very interesting survey, by the way!

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'll be sure to keep you guys posted. Seems like it might be a project for a future month...