As aspiring YA authors, how can we help kids kick the supernatural romance habit?

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Don't Mess With Texxxas

New member
I appreciated Twilight a few years ago, and I am not here to criticize the series. However, the number of supernatural romance books that have come out since then is just ridiculous. It's like YA authors are scrambling to find the next new supernatural creature for a teen girl to fall in love with. Vampires, werewolves, warlocks, fallen angels. There is even a book coming out this summer about a girl in love with a Sandman! I fully intend on writing a bestselling YA book, but I don't know how to do so, considering the state of the literary market. Kids only want supernatural romance. Do you have any advice on how I can overcome this market and get past all of the supernatural stuff?
 
If you write something that stil appeals to them then theyll start reading it. The genre doesnt matter, as long as its good theyll like it.
 
Just like trending topics on twitter, some things come and go, others are permanent. Unfortunately, society's obsession with the supernatural is an almost constant, so the romance section of YA novels may always be largely magic-related. We can, however, remedy this as much is as possible by encouraging reading that is just as interesting but unrelated. I found a suitable alternative in historic fiction- there is nothing quite like romance in the past! If you read Libba Bray novels, it is a bit supernatural, but put in the historic setting it is, they're much different than most magic novels. That is solely one example, though.
My best advice is to let the wave ride its course, and write what you write best. This is the best way to contribute in a positive manner. If you are a writer, you write even if you know your books will not sell, let alone sell as successfully as Twilight. It wont matter if you write a vampire-zombie forbidden romance novel if you're a writer whose strength lies in steampunk or historic fiction (or even those slice of life novels we all know we love!). Setting your goal as bestseller is great, but if that is the only thing you write for, you will quickly find yourself hating it. You have to write what you like for yourself, otherwise books come out half-hearted and hardly bearable.
 
If you write something that stil appeals to them then theyll start reading it. The genre doesnt matter, as long as its good theyll like it.
 
Wow! It really seems like its getting ridiculous!

I would suggest an 'action - supernatural' for the genre. Why? Because the supernatural always intrigues us, and if you can write about magic in a way that people will like, then you're pretty much there.

Action - because let's face it. Not all of us like boring books, especially young adults.

Young adult readers want to get to the action. They don't want to read fifty pages of description before someone makes a move.

Or maybe you can write about ancient mythology?

That's just my suggestion. But above all, write what you're good at. Write about what really interests you.





Good luck!
 
Just like trending topics on twitter, some things come and go, others are permanent. Unfortunately, society's obsession with the supernatural is an almost constant, so the romance section of YA novels may always be largely magic-related. We can, however, remedy this as much is as possible by encouraging reading that is just as interesting but unrelated. I found a suitable alternative in historic fiction- there is nothing quite like romance in the past! If you read Libba Bray novels, it is a bit supernatural, but put in the historic setting it is, they're much different than most magic novels. That is solely one example, though.
My best advice is to let the wave ride its course, and write what you write best. This is the best way to contribute in a positive manner. If you are a writer, you write even if you know your books will not sell, let alone sell as successfully as Twilight. It wont matter if you write a vampire-zombie forbidden romance novel if you're a writer whose strength lies in steampunk or historic fiction (or even those slice of life novels we all know we love!). Setting your goal as bestseller is great, but if that is the only thing you write for, you will quickly find yourself hating it. You have to write what you like for yourself, otherwise books come out half-hearted and hardly bearable.
 
It will fade out on its own. Just be sure you are ready with your manuscript when it does. It takes a while for a book to be written, rewritten, sent to an agent, sent to a publisher and finally published. By then, bye bye vampires and onto the next thing. Hopefully your book will be the next big thing.
I remember when it seemed like every YA book on the market had something to do with gangs. Where are they now?
 
I already have...I'm a teenager and i've started to read novels about wild animals and writing my own about the life of a lion cub..
I'm leaving the fantasy genre behind..
 
I already have...I'm a teenager and i've started to read novels about wild animals and writing my own about the life of a lion cub..
I'm leaving the fantasy genre behind..
 
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