What I’m Watching:
As some of you may know after reading my bio, I have a 5-year-old daughter named Olivia who is the namesake of my business, Ollie Media, and the joy of my life. Last weekend we went to see the movie, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, as I had read numerous positive reviews and I am familiar with the book series. This movie was delightful and my daughter was glued to the screen, watching every minute of it. One of the executive producers is Julia Roberts, and she has done a beautiful job with casting and with the look of this movie. The movie takes place in the ‘30s during the depression era and makes you realize how much people struggled to survive during that time. It’s a good movie for both adults and children as it serves as a reminder of what is available to us now versus then. We are such consumers now and really have so much more than we need…thanks to Costco and WalMart.
In my work, I have done a number of publicity campaigns with YA (young adult) novels that have gone quite well. For a writer, this seems to be a growing genre with lots of opportunity thanks to J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer. It seems that more kids of this age are reading, which is great, and once they like what they read, they are waiting for the next book from that author. There are also more outside opportunities for YA authors, I’ve found. Once librarians and teachers know about your work and are a fan, there are speaking opportunities at schools as an “author in residence” or various conferences that pay very well as many times the library/school has received a grant for this sort of thing.
Something to keep in mind if you’re an aspiring YA author
July 24th, 2008 at 17:48
Oh My Gosh. I am so happy to hear you say that about the Young Adult genre. I write to the older end of the YA crowd and have been told “good luck finding an agent” by many people.
I think the high school and college age audience is so fun to write for. But maybe that’s just because I’m a big kid at heart? **LOL**
I’m going to keep at it, because I think that’s where God wants me, so thanks for the encouragement, Tricia.