Yesterday we had a dreary January 1st. It rained all day and not just a couple spots of drizzle, it was a steady rain that made you want to curl up with a good book beside the fire. Or take a nap to sleep off the previous night’s 
revelry. My family and I decided a trip to Barnes & Noble was in order. I hadn’t been there in ages and forgot how much I love my favorite big box book store. I found four books I wanted within the first five minutes of browsing. I can’t tell you how much self restraint it took NOT to buy anything. I made it out of there with no damage to my wallet, but with more books added to my To Be Bought list.
I did notice something interesting… there were three cases (about six or eight shelves high) devoted to Paranormal Teen Romance. Four cases devoted to Teen Fantasy/Science Fiction. Three cases devoted to Teen Contemporary and then a spillover shelf or two with the New Releases which seemed to lean either paranormal or fantasy. I found that ratio very interesting considering so publishing insiders say that the YA Paranormal market is saturated. The same has been said about dystopian. Are they or not? It seems as if there’s a fairly equitable split between the three main YA categories and it’s nice to see such a wide variety of titles in each.
I think the advice writers are constantly being told is true – don’t write to the market, write what speaks to you and comes from your heart. Here’s to hoping that “heart” can sell the book.
I’ll end with this quote about New Year’s from Edith Lovejoy Pierce –
We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
Wishing you and yours a healthy, happy and successful 2013!!
