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NF: Barriers to entry and assumptions
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From: Christine Taylor-Butler <kansascitymom_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 09:53:04 -0500
I would add two observations to this wonderful conversation:
One - we get what we measure. I do think boys are large consumers of nonfiction but worry that we use the stereotype to define the reading preferences. My anecdotal experience over hundreds of school visits is when I'm invited to stay for lunch with the gifted readers in a particular school (mostly elementary) the boys are also large consumers of fiction. But you can tell that they're embarrassed to say that initially. Once encouraged I hear quite a lot of details about what they loved and how stories where shaped and what books they think "I" should read. That bears out later when I'm sitting down, one on one, with MIT applicants. A lot of nonfiction (sometimes to impress me that they are ready for MIT) but also a lot of adult and YA fiction.
So the trend to say "boys" read nonfiction leaves out the need to turn girls on to nonfiction. It's only through much effort is MIT now half female. I see a lot of girls steered towards fiction and boys towards nonfiction rather than a healthy sampling of both. I don't think "genes" and DNA determine reading preferences. I think nurture has a healthy does of influence in this process. Kids mimic what they see around them or what is expected of them. Note the growing movements to start providing more math and science related toys and activities aimed at girls. And certainly, my new editor at Move Books started her company to provide more action related fiction for boys (and has been getting quite a lot of interest from teachers and librarians for her first series The Mapmaker's Sons).
So yes - we need more nonfiction that starts at pre-K and continues into high school - interesting, engaging, relevant. But I think we should tread cautiously assigning a gender to the effort given our standing in the world in terms of STEM preparation overall.
Two -To grow quality nonfiction we have to reconsider compensation. Nonfiction is undervalued in terms of return on investments to authors. Most of my publishers are paying less than they were ten years ago and unfortunately, it takes a lot of time to do primary research. Authors are often tasked to provide (and pay for) their own photos. More often than not they pay their own way to conventions even when book signings are involved. But while many authors do it for the love of the art and extreme interest in the subject matter - there is also the pesky issue of needing to put food on the table and kids through college. So we need to embrace and celebrate nonfiction in a way that allows consumers to see it's value and to allow for more generation of revenue from it. Sales of nonfiction books tend to trail that of fiction even with the school and library market involved so the royalties generated are not often enough to attract more talent. I would compare this to the dearth of Primary Care physicians and Pediatricians compared to specialists. The cost of entry is the same (schooling) but the pay scale is 1/3rd that of a surgeon or radiologist.
IMHO....Christine
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Received on Mon 09 Jun 2014 09:53:35 AM CDT
Date: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 09:53:04 -0500
I would add two observations to this wonderful conversation:
One - we get what we measure. I do think boys are large consumers of nonfiction but worry that we use the stereotype to define the reading preferences. My anecdotal experience over hundreds of school visits is when I'm invited to stay for lunch with the gifted readers in a particular school (mostly elementary) the boys are also large consumers of fiction. But you can tell that they're embarrassed to say that initially. Once encouraged I hear quite a lot of details about what they loved and how stories where shaped and what books they think "I" should read. That bears out later when I'm sitting down, one on one, with MIT applicants. A lot of nonfiction (sometimes to impress me that they are ready for MIT) but also a lot of adult and YA fiction.
So the trend to say "boys" read nonfiction leaves out the need to turn girls on to nonfiction. It's only through much effort is MIT now half female. I see a lot of girls steered towards fiction and boys towards nonfiction rather than a healthy sampling of both. I don't think "genes" and DNA determine reading preferences. I think nurture has a healthy does of influence in this process. Kids mimic what they see around them or what is expected of them. Note the growing movements to start providing more math and science related toys and activities aimed at girls. And certainly, my new editor at Move Books started her company to provide more action related fiction for boys (and has been getting quite a lot of interest from teachers and librarians for her first series The Mapmaker's Sons).
So yes - we need more nonfiction that starts at pre-K and continues into high school - interesting, engaging, relevant. But I think we should tread cautiously assigning a gender to the effort given our standing in the world in terms of STEM preparation overall.
Two -To grow quality nonfiction we have to reconsider compensation. Nonfiction is undervalued in terms of return on investments to authors. Most of my publishers are paying less than they were ten years ago and unfortunately, it takes a lot of time to do primary research. Authors are often tasked to provide (and pay for) their own photos. More often than not they pay their own way to conventions even when book signings are involved. But while many authors do it for the love of the art and extreme interest in the subject matter - there is also the pesky issue of needing to put food on the table and kids through college. So we need to embrace and celebrate nonfiction in a way that allows consumers to see it's value and to allow for more generation of revenue from it. Sales of nonfiction books tend to trail that of fiction even with the school and library market involved so the royalties generated are not often enough to attract more talent. I would compare this to the dearth of Primary Care physicians and Pediatricians compared to specialists. The cost of entry is the same (schooling) but the pay scale is 1/3rd that of a surgeon or radiologist.
IMHO....Christine
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Received on Mon 09 Jun 2014 09:53:35 AM CDT
