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Re: Robots, sports, etc
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From: kellymilnerh_at_aol.com
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 14:48:09 -0400 (EDT)
Though I'm not a male nonfiction writer, I grew up with boys doing traditionally male activities -- baseball, wrestling, lizard catching, bug collecting, sister teasing, forest exploring, fort building, etc. -- so my writer's sensibilities have always leaned heavily toward books of high interest to boys. The books you seek could come from men, or women like me. Explore my body of work to confirm my premise.
That said, it's not as easy to get a publisher to buy a proposal on topics boys and many girls would love. I'm not sure why. Maybe because they aren't out there connecting with boys the way working writers and librarians are. I have been trying to sell a large meaty book or series of meaty books on video games for several years. I know for a fact kids want the books, because when I do festivals or school visits (and I do a lot of them) and mention these books, the rooms erupt with cheers and applause. I've been gaming since Pong, and my daughters have never known a day without controllers in their hands. I am precisely the right person to write about this topic. But no one wants to do it. I won't give up because I write for these kids and I know how important the book or books would be to them. But the reluctance puzzles me.
Another barrier to creating the books boys flock to is the trivialization of the subjects they love. I've spent an average of four years to research and write each of my books, TALE OF THE CRYPTIDS, IN SEARCH OF SASQUATCH, ALIEN INVESTIGATION and GHOSTLY EVIDENCE (Oct 2014). I made that investment of time and study because most books that cover these topics make too many assumptions that may or may not be well founded. I dig deep with an open mind to unearth whatever evidence I can find. In other words, I respect the reader's desire to be taken seriously in their curiosities. Boys are slapped down for what some people consider "silly" passions, but I am not among those people. I put myself in their shoes and try to ask and answer the questions I know they have -- respectfully.
Someone mentioned the cut size of nonfiction, and that could not be more true. Tween boys would be far more likely to welcome nonfiction books if they didn't look like picture books -- what they consider baby books. They still love nonfiction in middle and high school, but the books make them targets outside of the library, so the peruse then leave them behind. If we could package the same books two ways for two markets, we'd double the readerships.
Last but not least, I've wanted to write a book about robots forever. So maybe I'll fill that niche for you someday soon. But if ever you have ideas you'd like to see brought to fruition and you don't want to write the books yourself, tell me -- or any of your favorite nonfiction authors. Smart writers welcome good ideas, and if they are a good fit for our passions, we'll write them -- assuming we can find a publisher to fund the idea.
By the way, my books are of high interest to boys, and I love that, I'd guess two out of three of my biggest fans are boys. But that means a LOT of girls like me, too. Those girls want the freedom to love the same subjects, and I love them, too. I WAS them. So I am especially grateful for the way librarians select with boys in mind but build no barriers. Like writers, you love ALL readers and the inclusiveness built in to any really good book. THANK YOU!
Great topic!
Kelly
Writer, Kelly Milner Halls kellymilnerh_at_aol.com www.wondersofweird.com
-----Original Message----- From: K.T. Horning <horning_at_education.wisc.edu> To: CCBC NET <ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu> Sent: Thu, Jun 5, 2014 7:16 am Subject: [ccbc-net] Robots, sports, etc
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 14:48:09 -0400 (EDT)
Though I'm not a male nonfiction writer, I grew up with boys doing traditionally male activities -- baseball, wrestling, lizard catching, bug collecting, sister teasing, forest exploring, fort building, etc. -- so my writer's sensibilities have always leaned heavily toward books of high interest to boys. The books you seek could come from men, or women like me. Explore my body of work to confirm my premise.
That said, it's not as easy to get a publisher to buy a proposal on topics boys and many girls would love. I'm not sure why. Maybe because they aren't out there connecting with boys the way working writers and librarians are. I have been trying to sell a large meaty book or series of meaty books on video games for several years. I know for a fact kids want the books, because when I do festivals or school visits (and I do a lot of them) and mention these books, the rooms erupt with cheers and applause. I've been gaming since Pong, and my daughters have never known a day without controllers in their hands. I am precisely the right person to write about this topic. But no one wants to do it. I won't give up because I write for these kids and I know how important the book or books would be to them. But the reluctance puzzles me.
Another barrier to creating the books boys flock to is the trivialization of the subjects they love. I've spent an average of four years to research and write each of my books, TALE OF THE CRYPTIDS, IN SEARCH OF SASQUATCH, ALIEN INVESTIGATION and GHOSTLY EVIDENCE (Oct 2014). I made that investment of time and study because most books that cover these topics make too many assumptions that may or may not be well founded. I dig deep with an open mind to unearth whatever evidence I can find. In other words, I respect the reader's desire to be taken seriously in their curiosities. Boys are slapped down for what some people consider "silly" passions, but I am not among those people. I put myself in their shoes and try to ask and answer the questions I know they have -- respectfully.
Someone mentioned the cut size of nonfiction, and that could not be more true. Tween boys would be far more likely to welcome nonfiction books if they didn't look like picture books -- what they consider baby books. They still love nonfiction in middle and high school, but the books make them targets outside of the library, so the peruse then leave them behind. If we could package the same books two ways for two markets, we'd double the readerships.
Last but not least, I've wanted to write a book about robots forever. So maybe I'll fill that niche for you someday soon. But if ever you have ideas you'd like to see brought to fruition and you don't want to write the books yourself, tell me -- or any of your favorite nonfiction authors. Smart writers welcome good ideas, and if they are a good fit for our passions, we'll write them -- assuming we can find a publisher to fund the idea.
By the way, my books are of high interest to boys, and I love that, I'd guess two out of three of my biggest fans are boys. But that means a LOT of girls like me, too. Those girls want the freedom to love the same subjects, and I love them, too. I WAS them. So I am especially grateful for the way librarians select with boys in mind but build no barriers. Like writers, you love ALL readers and the inclusiveness built in to any really good book. THANK YOU!
Great topic!
Kelly
Writer, Kelly Milner Halls kellymilnerh_at_aol.com www.wondersofweird.com
-----Original Message----- From: K.T. Horning <horning_at_education.wisc.edu> To: CCBC NET <ccbc-net_at_lists.wisc.edu> Sent: Thu, Jun 5, 2014 7:16 am Subject: [ccbc-net] Robots, sports, etc
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: kellymilnerh_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 01:48:34 PM CDT
