tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post6579450727801752488..comments2018-03-06T22:45:03.764-05:00Comments on Bittersweet Trail: Edgy as I Wanna BeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03627629480720815352noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-90722050139720979572010-08-24T15:49:17.684-04:002010-08-24T15:49:17.684-04:00I guess the question would be, am I making a mista...I guess the question would be, am I making a mistake even by calling myself a YA author? Does that limit me? Should I just be "a writer" and let everyone else decide. I'm told that since YA is hot, no matter what, call your book YA if it's got teens in it. I didn't set out to be YA, I was told to be YA as long as I was going to be writing about teens and wanting teens to read it. I think the only reason I did so well with my agent meeting is because she was just getting into YA and wants to build a YA client list. So just by saying the word YA in my query, I got an opportunity I would never have had otherwise. I'll let you know how that goes in about a week or two! =)William Friskeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13892220496102673299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-3925020997155948322010-08-24T15:42:50.354-04:002010-08-24T15:42:50.354-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.William Friskeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13892220496102673299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-18772350193166225402010-08-24T15:36:29.834-04:002010-08-24T15:36:29.834-04:00I guess it's the rock star in me. It just so h...I guess it's the rock star in me. It just so happened that the word came up when discussing my latest novel that I'm working on in a workshop, and when I looked it up and realized it was an actual sub-genre of YA, I liked the idea of using that label for my work. Basically, there's so many out there that think YA shouldn't have "edgy" material in it, but there's also so many who are frothing at the mouth for the next novel that's going to push what acceptable or not. I see that novel I'm working on, if it were to ever be published, to fit into that trendsetting mold of pushing what is acceptable and changing the genre a bit.<br /><br />The problem that arises is that the envelope has been pushed so far that the debate comes up over whether we even need the term anymore. Although I think what I've written pushes the edge, chances are there's more edgy out there. And from the adult fiction sect at that last residency, I got the impression that my book goes beyond what can go into YA, so then the rebellious rock star in me takes that as a challenge. And with all the people, like yourself in your comment, saying edgy has lost its meaning, it just makes me want to use the term even more.<br /><br />It seemed to me, at the time I created my website and blog, that it makes it easier to find the right market. An agent or publisher who has no interest in something edgy will know not to deal with my stuff, where the ones that are chomping at the bit for it, will focus on me.<br /><br />That being said, if and when I can get an agent, my first question will probably be, should I cut that out of my profile altogether because it might limit me. But I like the term as a way of separating what I do from the pink, girlie, supernatural romance that some automatically associate with YA. Things like Monster and Andrew Smith's work, or anything that's a little less romantic and more dark and real, to me, is edgy.<br /><br />Am I making a mistake there? Is my problem with authority going to hurt me in the long run?William Friskeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13892220496102673299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-86819061624609064122010-08-24T15:08:19.649-04:002010-08-24T15:08:19.649-04:00Why do you want to call yourself edgy? When I see...Why do you want to call yourself edgy? When I see a word like that (risky, controversial, mature, etc.) on a book jacket, I feel that it's a lure to kids and a warning to parents. "Hey, you bought the book -- don't tell me you didn't know it was edgy!" Do we need these descriptors at all? <br /><br />As for YA, I began trying to publish in the late 80s when YA was DEAD. My agent predicted it would be back, and he was right. But why was I trying to publish in a half-dead (or whatever %) genre? Because that was the audience. I wasn't writing for children or adults, but for teens. <br /><br />Much of what you'll be looking at during this semester will be books that have teen protagonists and trying to understand why some are marketed for adults and some for YA. I suspect that we'll find that the difference is that edge. Moving the edge -- of so-called adult issues of violence, sex, etc. -- is what you're trying to do as a writer. So calling yourself edgy is including yourself in the tribe of others who are doing the same. . . What do you think about this?Karen Romano Younghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17247467378375997627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-2500201921919222962010-08-18T14:25:03.719-04:002010-08-18T14:25:03.719-04:00I'm working on that. Hopefully that's what...I'm working on that. Hopefully that's what my individual aesthetic and process course will tell me this semester. If not, I got nothin' other than it's popular so throwing a YA under it on the shelf moves more product.William Friskeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13892220496102673299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-47342633939467849962010-08-18T14:15:27.554-04:002010-08-18T14:15:27.554-04:00Did you ever answer your own question about why we...Did you ever answer your own question about why we label YA as a separate genre from regular fiction if anything goes for subject matter? Is it only because the main characters are young adults? Because if it doesn't have anything to do with subject matter, there's gotta be a reason. Is the language simpler?M. Bailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12811654487507824088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-42216240568362776152010-08-18T12:17:24.607-04:002010-08-18T12:17:24.607-04:00I didn't even think of the compassion part. T...I didn't even think of the compassion part. That's so important. Takes the narrow good vs bad morality out of it. Take the metaphor - it's yours to convince greater numbers than I can get to this semester! (back to my proposal!)Laura B. Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11707267303403391146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-73375140403297195222010-08-18T10:39:13.891-04:002010-08-18T10:39:13.891-04:00That's an amazing metaphor, Laura. You win a p...That's an amazing metaphor, Laura. You win a prize. I like that. If they haven't gone through any of these "edgy" situations by the time they get that far, at least they'll know they are out there. They may even have more compassion for those they meet that have gone through some stuff.William Friskeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13892220496102673299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214755599534126678.post-23896671842554817282010-08-18T10:28:58.571-04:002010-08-18T10:28:58.571-04:00Just read a few of these. The rationale makes so ...Just read a few of these. The rationale makes so much sense. I wish there was a study that would show how these control-freak parents and communities put kids more at risk by deliberately hiding the edge, leading them down only rose-colored paths. What happens when the over-protected kids go to college or into the service? Aren't they more likely to overreact in the campus or military netherworld? Parents immunize their kids by having them injected with traces of real disease. A dose of society's ills - through edgy YA - can only make them stronger.Laura B. Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11707267303403391146noreply@blogger.com