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Re: Robots, sports, etc
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From: Lee Sullivan <hummingrk_at_aol.com>
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 12:41:35 -0400
You asked:
"But if it's true that many boys are only interested in reading about robots, WWII aircraft, sports, etc. (and I have no reason to doubt this is true, based on my own library experience), why aren't male authors out there writing engaging nonfiction about these topics?"
Good question! And very interesting that you asked about male authors, in particular. At any SCBWI event, the rooms are packed with women; few men attend. I have my theories why....
But back to writers. Let me give a shot at an answer from my individual experience. The short answer is one word: economies. The longer answer: I am a woman engineer working, now, full time as a pre-construction manager. I published 23 nonfiction books with imprints of the Lerner Group on topics such as bridges, towers, dams, motorcycles, jets, earthmovers, and even a book about libraries. I wrote while married and raising my sons and could afford to work part time as a construction estimator and part time writing because my husband supported the family. Today, stories fill my journals and brain, ready for the hard work of composing and rewriting and marketing needed to be a successful author. Unfortunately, the economics of children's writing in the school library market cannot compete with my salary in the construction market. I now live alone and need health benefits, retirement savings and basically putting food on the table. Writing nonfiction cannot support me. My job is demanding and includes many night meetings with school building committees (working on school projects right now). My guess is that the bulk of authors needed to write with enthusiasm on STEM topics (science, technology, engineering and math) expend their creative energy in STEM-related fields other than children's writing. What do other authors and publishers think? Lee
On Jun 5, 2014, at 10:16 AM, "K.T. Horning" <horning_at_education.wisc.edu> wrote:
This question has been asked at least since the 1920s and the whole discussion about the reading habits of boys hasn't changed much since then. Certainly authors, both men and women, write about what interests and inspires them. But if it's true that many boys are only interested in reading about robots, WWII aircraft, sports, etc. (and I have no reason to doubt this is true, based on my own library experience), why aren't male authors out there writing engaging nonfiction about these topics? I'm sure children's editors and librarians, most of whom are indeed female, would love to see more books on these topics. I freely admit that I'm not particularly interested in robots myself, but a good nonfiction book could pique my interest. I never thought I was interested in Yellow Fever, ice harvesting, or how baseball bats are manufactured until I read nonfiction on those topics.
One area where we have seen a welcome change in the past decade or so is with comics. There is an ongoing renaissance with comics and graphic novels for children and teens, and they are capturing the interests of all kinds of readers. Would that we'd see the same sort of thing happen with books about robots, sports, etc., perhaps in innovative new boy-friendly formats that are yet to be developed.
--KT
> On 6/5/2014 4:30 AM, Lee Sullivan wrote:
> Do they subconsciously write, publish and select books that are slanted to women's taste?
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 12:41:35 -0400
You asked:
"But if it's true that many boys are only interested in reading about robots, WWII aircraft, sports, etc. (and I have no reason to doubt this is true, based on my own library experience), why aren't male authors out there writing engaging nonfiction about these topics?"
Good question! And very interesting that you asked about male authors, in particular. At any SCBWI event, the rooms are packed with women; few men attend. I have my theories why....
But back to writers. Let me give a shot at an answer from my individual experience. The short answer is one word: economies. The longer answer: I am a woman engineer working, now, full time as a pre-construction manager. I published 23 nonfiction books with imprints of the Lerner Group on topics such as bridges, towers, dams, motorcycles, jets, earthmovers, and even a book about libraries. I wrote while married and raising my sons and could afford to work part time as a construction estimator and part time writing because my husband supported the family. Today, stories fill my journals and brain, ready for the hard work of composing and rewriting and marketing needed to be a successful author. Unfortunately, the economics of children's writing in the school library market cannot compete with my salary in the construction market. I now live alone and need health benefits, retirement savings and basically putting food on the table. Writing nonfiction cannot support me. My job is demanding and includes many night meetings with school building committees (working on school projects right now). My guess is that the bulk of authors needed to write with enthusiasm on STEM topics (science, technology, engineering and math) expend their creative energy in STEM-related fields other than children's writing. What do other authors and publishers think? Lee
On Jun 5, 2014, at 10:16 AM, "K.T. Horning" <horning_at_education.wisc.edu> wrote:
This question has been asked at least since the 1920s and the whole discussion about the reading habits of boys hasn't changed much since then. Certainly authors, both men and women, write about what interests and inspires them. But if it's true that many boys are only interested in reading about robots, WWII aircraft, sports, etc. (and I have no reason to doubt this is true, based on my own library experience), why aren't male authors out there writing engaging nonfiction about these topics? I'm sure children's editors and librarians, most of whom are indeed female, would love to see more books on these topics. I freely admit that I'm not particularly interested in robots myself, but a good nonfiction book could pique my interest. I never thought I was interested in Yellow Fever, ice harvesting, or how baseball bats are manufactured until I read nonfiction on those topics.
One area where we have seen a welcome change in the past decade or so is with comics. There is an ongoing renaissance with comics and graphic novels for children and teens, and they are capturing the interests of all kinds of readers. Would that we'd see the same sort of thing happen with books about robots, sports, etc., perhaps in innovative new boy-friendly formats that are yet to be developed.
--KT
> On 6/5/2014 4:30 AM, Lee Sullivan wrote:
> Do they subconsciously write, publish and select books that are slanted to women's taste?
-- Kathleen T. Horning Director Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) 4290 Helen C. White Hall 600 N. Park St Madison, WI 53706 http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc horning_at_education.wisc.edu 608-263-3721 (phone) 608-262-4933 (fax) ==== CCBC-Net Use ==== You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: hummingrk_at_aol.com. To post to the list, send message to... ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To receive messages in digest format, send a blank message to... digest-ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To unsubscribe, send a blank message to... leave-ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu ==== CCBC-Net Archives ==== The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at... http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp To access the archives, go to... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net ...and enter the following when prompted... username: ccbc-net password: Look4Posts ==== CCBC-Net Use ==== You are currently subscribed to ccbc-net as: ccbc-archive_at_post.education.wisc.edu. To post to the list, send message to... ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To receive messages in digest format, send a blank message to... digest-ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu To unsubscribe, send a blank message to... leave-ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu ==== CCBC-Net Archives ==== The CCBC-Net archives are available to all CCBC-Net listserv members. The archives are organized by month and year. A list of discussion topics (including month/year) is available at... http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/ccbcnet/archives.asp To access the archives, go to... http://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/ccbc-net ...and enter the following when prompted... username: ccbc-net password: Look4PostsReceived on Thu 05 Jun 2014 11:41:56 AM CDT
