Want to up your chances of having a bestselling Young Adult novel? You, of course, want to get the publishing deal that you have dreamed of. There is a desire taking hold of you that has been gripping onto your writerly soul for years – to have your book in the hands of people across the world. This dream of yours is no dream at all. It is a completely accessible goal, especially if you can learn some formulaic rules that would constitute your novel as an impressive commercial success. Writing a Young Adult novel is a battle, but ensuring that it will appeal to the masses in that universal way that commercial successes do is a war you can win if you follow these tips.

You Must Plan Like You Are a Legendary Career Planner

If you are someone used to writing in a literary form, wherein you spill your mind’s contents out with no discrimination, then you must begin to start outlining your stories. This may not be your idea of proper self-expression, but it is a vital part of putting together a commercial YA novel. This genre may be targeted towards a young audience, but the effort that goes into packaging a novel that will grab their attention just for the sake of it being a novel “for” them is not to be taken lightly. As a witch puts together a brew with every ingredient chosen carefully, you must enact precision with your outlining, down to every chapter and scene.

Be a Copycat of Copycats

Learn to appreciate the lay of the commercial YA land. There are certain archetypes that must not be ignored, but rather embraced and utilized. Take advantage of the fact that there is an existing status quo already in place.

• Plot – See to it that you follow elements that you have read on repeat within the folds of the most successful YA novels. It’s simple; larger than life plots. The plot is what will make your novel fly off the shelves in this case, not the beautiful nuances of background characters. There needs to be the hovering feeling of urgency and risk that will keep the readers’ hearts racing in anticipation.
• Character – You can develop your characters, and let them grow with the story (there is nothing worse than a non-fleshed out character), but you want to make certain that your characters fit into typical molds. Your protagonist, for one, should be essential to the do-or-die major plot in a way that makes them special. The reader should want to root for them, and their underdog beginnings.

Keep It Simple…Yet Don’t Simplify

Yes, you may have preconceived notions about commercial YA novel writing but, seriously, you do not have to write bare-boned sentences. You can still write with your own personality, and tell the story as a storyteller does; unstilted, but balanced. You are not writing “Lord of the Rings” nor “Dick and Jane.” You have to stop yourself from writing in purple prose, and make your writing succinct, understandable, and to the point. After getting people to open your book, you want to them to devour it, and not lose interest from getting tripped up on an over-convoluted plot.

Do Not Forget Yourself

You must keep it in the forefront of your mind that, despite writing for the reader, you still need to stay true to your voice. You may follow the quintessential ways of commercial success but your novels can always be uniquely yours and that is what will truly bring your dreams to fruition.

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As a longtime dedicated story-writer turned Freelance Writer, Jasmine Rideau aims to provide original, vibrant, and entertaining pieces of original content for blogs, websites, novels, etc. with her specialized focus in Literature, Art, Culture, and Astronomy. She is passionate about her study/concentration on these subjects and will always enjoy the research and writing of them. Despite her razor-sharp focus in relation to her specialties, she is not opposed to providing content for anyone on any topic. She will always create well-written and studiously researched content regardless of the topic. Please visit her website, or email her at isleofthewrittenword@gmail.com.

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