A Turn in Trends?

I’m a writer, which should come as no surprise to those of you who read this blog regularly.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, but in case you forgot or are a first time reader, I’m a young adult writer.

When I first started trying to break into the writing business, I was trying to be a chick lit writer.  Those were the type of books I liked to read so I figured I should write them as well. In stepping back to look at my writing style, I realized I was better suited for the young adult genre. Having made this discovery, I had a grand vision for what type of novel I wanted to write.  My vision was to have a line of young adult novels with disabled characters in leading romantic roles.

Despite my grand vision, the timing was bad. The young adult genre was heading in a new direction.  Paranormal novels were the wave of the future. Teens wanted to escape reality and they wanted to do it through paranormal romance novels. At least that’s what publishers said.

I tried to write in this genre for publishers. Sad to say, I missed the boat. By the time I finished my own vampire novel, I was told the market was too saturated and I couldn’t compete with established authors. Ouch! Since then I’ve penned a few more paranormal romance novels that I’ve posted on line, and they’re doing quite well thank you very much. Still, I’ve always felt a bit sad at not having published those works I first set out to publish. I figured maybe one day I’d get the chance to share them.

Well, you know what? I think that day is almost here. Not too long ago, Australian publisher Hardie, Grant and Edgemont sponsored a young adult writing contest in which they asked for novels that featured real life issues only. They believed teens wanted and could handle more than the paranormal romance. I entered, and though I didn’t win, I made the finals with my manuscript. And it doesn’t stop there. Last week, I received an email from Reader View’s. One of their editors is starting her own small press publishing business and is calling for manuscripts in this genre. Not just any manuscripts but manuscripts that speak to real life issues facing contemporary teens. Guess you know I’ll be sending something in for that.

It seems to me that the paranormal genre is about to run its course. There’s a turning in trend back to what I think is the heart of the young adult genre. Let’s hope I can cash in on this turn in the trend!