Beth Neff's Blog - Posts Tagged "ya"
Who Are We Writing For?
The audience. That’s the big ‘if,’ isn’t it? Who is the target audience? Who will read what we’ve written, tell other people about it, participate in Goodreads discussions and share postings on their Facebook pages?
It starts with a label, of course: YA, contemporary, sci fi, magical realism. The list is long. But it’s considered important to communicate – articulate – what it is that defines this product, who will be attracted to it, and then find a way to sell it to them.
Any marketing strategy requires achieving the proverbial balance between something familiar and something unique. If one author hits the big time with vampire romance, you can be sure that a blitz of vampire romances will follow. But the new ones have to be different enough to avoid saturation, copy-cattedness, creative stagnation. It’s a game, certainly, a crap shoot in some ways. And it’s most assuredly ruled by the marketplace, the almighty dollar. You can’t be a ‘success’ without it. You can’t get published again without it. You can’t pay the electric bill without it.
I’m not knocking book sales. I want them and need them as much as the next author. It’s just that, if we operate exclusively from this perspective, write from this perspective, we become purveyors of a product, can find ourselves determining audience by consumption and the promise of ‘value’ – as in ‘getting your money’s worth,’ or ‘entertainment value.’
But what else might fall under that broad and somewhat intangible ‘value umbrella?’
This is where my story comes in.
This week, a bookstore in my area (thanks, Kazoo Books) arranged for me to visit a private juvenile detention center. It’s called ‘an academy.’ The kids are there by court order, spending anywhere from six months to a year-and-a-half in the program. They’re not there by choice but whatever value they might derive is by their own volition. They can participate or resist but the consequences, as explained to me by the director, are primarily peer-driven. I had no idea what any of the girls had done to get there, only learned a bit about the circumstances of their lives from what they told me while I was there.
Some of the girls in the group arranged for my visit had read my book. A few others had read part of it. The discussion was lively, dynamic, challenging, fun. In fact, it was one of the most stimulating experiences I’ve had in a long time, certainly the most rewarding in direct relationship to my fairly embryonic writing career. Why?
The main reason was that the story I had written provided an excellent opportunity for engagement. It also allowed us to digress a bit into issues that were of particular interest and importance to the audience (teen pregnancy, the juvenile criminal system, lesbian experience.) The girls liked talking about the story. They had questions I hadn’t considered. They made suggestions I wished I’d thought of. But, more than anything, they found the story real. It made sense to them. The characters felt authentic. The results of the characters’ choices seemed, if sometimes disappointing, at lot like what might happen in the world they were familiar with.
One girl said that it was the best book she’d ever read.
No member of this particular ‘audience’ had paid a penny out of her own pocket for the book. Not one had read a review, knew the reputation of my publisher, had met any other authors to compare me to. And that made their opinions more valuable to me than anything else I have so far experienced.
I left in an exhilarated daze. We all could have spent a lot more time together and that was a great way to end. I hope I get to go back. I wish I could follow up on what happens next in their lives but I know that’s not going to happen. I think they might agree that they’d like to follow up with mine.
The point is that, among those girls whose futures are about as up-in-the-air as any teenager’s can be, I found a critical component of my audience. Far outside and beyond the marketplace, we found valuable points of connection.
They, and anyone else who is motivated to think more, feel more, discuss more, evaluate more, are the audience I care most about. They are who I’m writing for.
It starts with a label, of course: YA, contemporary, sci fi, magical realism. The list is long. But it’s considered important to communicate – articulate – what it is that defines this product, who will be attracted to it, and then find a way to sell it to them.
Any marketing strategy requires achieving the proverbial balance between something familiar and something unique. If one author hits the big time with vampire romance, you can be sure that a blitz of vampire romances will follow. But the new ones have to be different enough to avoid saturation, copy-cattedness, creative stagnation. It’s a game, certainly, a crap shoot in some ways. And it’s most assuredly ruled by the marketplace, the almighty dollar. You can’t be a ‘success’ without it. You can’t get published again without it. You can’t pay the electric bill without it.
I’m not knocking book sales. I want them and need them as much as the next author. It’s just that, if we operate exclusively from this perspective, write from this perspective, we become purveyors of a product, can find ourselves determining audience by consumption and the promise of ‘value’ – as in ‘getting your money’s worth,’ or ‘entertainment value.’
But what else might fall under that broad and somewhat intangible ‘value umbrella?’
This is where my story comes in.
This week, a bookstore in my area (thanks, Kazoo Books) arranged for me to visit a private juvenile detention center. It’s called ‘an academy.’ The kids are there by court order, spending anywhere from six months to a year-and-a-half in the program. They’re not there by choice but whatever value they might derive is by their own volition. They can participate or resist but the consequences, as explained to me by the director, are primarily peer-driven. I had no idea what any of the girls had done to get there, only learned a bit about the circumstances of their lives from what they told me while I was there.
Some of the girls in the group arranged for my visit had read my book. A few others had read part of it. The discussion was lively, dynamic, challenging, fun. In fact, it was one of the most stimulating experiences I’ve had in a long time, certainly the most rewarding in direct relationship to my fairly embryonic writing career. Why?
The main reason was that the story I had written provided an excellent opportunity for engagement. It also allowed us to digress a bit into issues that were of particular interest and importance to the audience (teen pregnancy, the juvenile criminal system, lesbian experience.) The girls liked talking about the story. They had questions I hadn’t considered. They made suggestions I wished I’d thought of. But, more than anything, they found the story real. It made sense to them. The characters felt authentic. The results of the characters’ choices seemed, if sometimes disappointing, at lot like what might happen in the world they were familiar with.
One girl said that it was the best book she’d ever read.
No member of this particular ‘audience’ had paid a penny out of her own pocket for the book. Not one had read a review, knew the reputation of my publisher, had met any other authors to compare me to. And that made their opinions more valuable to me than anything else I have so far experienced.
I left in an exhilarated daze. We all could have spent a lot more time together and that was a great way to end. I hope I get to go back. I wish I could follow up on what happens next in their lives but I know that’s not going to happen. I think they might agree that they’d like to follow up with mine.
The point is that, among those girls whose futures are about as up-in-the-air as any teenager’s can be, I found a critical component of my audience. Far outside and beyond the marketplace, we found valuable points of connection.
They, and anyone else who is motivated to think more, feel more, discuss more, evaluate more, are the audience I care most about. They are who I’m writing for.
I could use your help...
READ THIS! THE WRITERS RETREAT FOR EMERGING LGBT VOICES (quoted directly from the Lambda Donor Pages appeal)
By far one of the most important initiatives the Lambda Literary Foundation undertakes is to support up-and-coming writers. In the long run, maybe it’s LLF's most important job. The Foundation does so through The Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices – this year in Los Angeles, July 28 - August 4. After 5 years of existence, the Retreat has earned a sterling reputation, and for good reason.
The Retreat is unlike any other writing program in the world. It’s the only residency established specifically for promising LGBT writers. Classes are taught by a brilliant and diverse faculty, themselves all successful LGBT writers. The sad truth is, many who want to come to the Retreat just can’t afford it. Though some scholarship money is offered, it does not cover all costs to ensure the very best aspiring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender writers can attend. They need your support today. Your contribution to help send a talented emerging writer to Los Angeles this summer is critical.
The “Retreat” – a misnomer, really, since one former student delighted in calling it a “queer writers’ boot camp” – gathers LGBT writers from every walk of life for one rigorous, immersive week. Lives are changed. Students arrive with manuscripts in hand, a novel or short story collection, a book of poetry or a memoir, a mystery or young adult novel that will soon extend the fabric of our literature. At “boot camp” they polish their craft. They work on plot, develop more convincing characters and explore their own distinctive voices. Teaching is personalized. They gain a better understanding of what works and what might need re-working. Besides one-on-one instruction, students forge connections to publishing industry professionals, and most importantly, build a community of peers on whom they’ll depend for years of encouragement, inspiration and friendship.
A writer’s life is full of challenges. Lambda’s emerging voices Fellows come from big cities and rural towns all over America. In many of these places the LGBT community is still under a lot of pressure, subtle and not-so-subtle. When a writer is committed to our queer literary traditions – to stories of unconventional lives and social struggle, to girl-meets-girl and first gay love – work becomes so much harder in isolation. Your gift today will give a talented LGBT writer a real chance for professional growth and personal achievement. Our Lambda Fellows go on to achieve an impressive record of publication and community involvement. They are both prolific artists and ambassadors of the literary arts.
Your generous donation to a student's tuition, room and board will give these shining artists a leg up in their careers, and – not a small side benefit! – it will empower them as agents of social change. Remember, they’re the ones who’ll be telling our stories and continuing our fight for LGBT equality and freedom.
You can make a direct, meaningful difference in the life of a writer by making a tax-deductible contribution to send an emerging writer to Los Angeles this summer for what will undoubtedly be an experience of a lifetime.
Thank you!
GO HERE!
http://lambdaliterary.donorpages.com/...
By far one of the most important initiatives the Lambda Literary Foundation undertakes is to support up-and-coming writers. In the long run, maybe it’s LLF's most important job. The Foundation does so through The Writers Retreat for Emerging LGBT Voices – this year in Los Angeles, July 28 - August 4. After 5 years of existence, the Retreat has earned a sterling reputation, and for good reason.
The Retreat is unlike any other writing program in the world. It’s the only residency established specifically for promising LGBT writers. Classes are taught by a brilliant and diverse faculty, themselves all successful LGBT writers. The sad truth is, many who want to come to the Retreat just can’t afford it. Though some scholarship money is offered, it does not cover all costs to ensure the very best aspiring lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender writers can attend. They need your support today. Your contribution to help send a talented emerging writer to Los Angeles this summer is critical.
The “Retreat” – a misnomer, really, since one former student delighted in calling it a “queer writers’ boot camp” – gathers LGBT writers from every walk of life for one rigorous, immersive week. Lives are changed. Students arrive with manuscripts in hand, a novel or short story collection, a book of poetry or a memoir, a mystery or young adult novel that will soon extend the fabric of our literature. At “boot camp” they polish their craft. They work on plot, develop more convincing characters and explore their own distinctive voices. Teaching is personalized. They gain a better understanding of what works and what might need re-working. Besides one-on-one instruction, students forge connections to publishing industry professionals, and most importantly, build a community of peers on whom they’ll depend for years of encouragement, inspiration and friendship.
A writer’s life is full of challenges. Lambda’s emerging voices Fellows come from big cities and rural towns all over America. In many of these places the LGBT community is still under a lot of pressure, subtle and not-so-subtle. When a writer is committed to our queer literary traditions – to stories of unconventional lives and social struggle, to girl-meets-girl and first gay love – work becomes so much harder in isolation. Your gift today will give a talented LGBT writer a real chance for professional growth and personal achievement. Our Lambda Fellows go on to achieve an impressive record of publication and community involvement. They are both prolific artists and ambassadors of the literary arts.
Your generous donation to a student's tuition, room and board will give these shining artists a leg up in their careers, and – not a small side benefit! – it will empower them as agents of social change. Remember, they’re the ones who’ll be telling our stories and continuing our fight for LGBT equality and freedom.
You can make a direct, meaningful difference in the life of a writer by making a tax-deductible contribution to send an emerging writer to Los Angeles this summer for what will undoubtedly be an experience of a lifetime.
Thank you!
GO HERE!
http://lambdaliterary.donorpages.com/...
