From: Kathleen Horning <horning>
Date: Wed, 09 Jun 1999 08:54:19 -0500

Marian Drabkin asked:

"So -- what's a crossover? Those books that are left once you take all the ones deliberately written in simple language for early readers and set them to one side, and then take all the ones deliberately written in what is miscalled "graphic" language for adult readers and set them to another side? Are the crossovers the ones in the middle, whose authors didn't aim at any particular audience, but just wrote? I don't know -- but can we define our terms?"

Good question, Marian! I think of a "crossover" in the purest sense fo the term to be more related to the marketing end of book production, rather than the creative process. I seriously doubt that any author sits down to write, thinking: "I'm going to write a crossover book," although most authors would most likely hope for a wide and diverse audience for their work. I believe the conscious thinking about a book's potential crossover appeal happens first in the stages after a book is submitted for publication, as the company strives to fit it into the editorial department or division that is most suitable for the book and its potential readers. Deciding whether a book will be marketed to children, young adults or adults is one of the first and most obvious decisions that has to be made early on in the editorial process of book publishing.

Occasionally there seem to be books that fit into both divisions, as Susan Hirschman so eloquently described yesterday in her recounting of how "Watership Down" came to be published in the U.S. as an adult book. In her description, she indicated that length was initially a concern, as the book was about twice as long as a U.S. children's book typicially was at that time. And it also happened that the book had strong support in both the adult and children's divisions of Macmillan, and the adult division eventually published and marketed what had been a children's book in England. Eh, viola! ? a crossover is born!

When this topic was initially suggested for CCBC-Net, our plan was to look at books that have been specifically published and promoted to both children and adults, whether they are published in two separate editions for different audiences in one country (as has happened with "Harry Potter" in England); published for children in one country and adults in another (as with "Watership Down"), or published and promoted to two audiences simultaneously (as with "Middle Passage" by Tom Feelings).
 "Tibet" by Peter Sis (Farrar) is another excellent example of this third type of crosover book, as someone suggested earlier. Also I might add that the "Weetzie Bat" books by Francesca Lia Block, published by Harper, were published about a year ago in a special trade paperback edition called "Dangerous Angels" which was marketed to adults.

Perhaps someone from the publishing industry who is a member of the CCBC-Net Community would like to comment further on how decisions are made in terms of publishing divisions and promotion, using some specific examples.

Kathleen T. Horning (horning at ccbc.education.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center University of Wisconsin-School of Education 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 North Park St. Madison, WI 53706 608&3930 FAX: 608&2I33
Received on Wed 09 Jun 1999 08:54:19 AM CDT