Those of you who have followed my blog posts will remember my comments on the opportunities out there for writing a good teenage novel.
On 23rd November I commented on the record sales of the film adaptation of the Twilight saga which is specifically aimed at the teenage girl market. At that time, the movie took an incredible £13.9 million on its opening weekend.
I was eager to point out that those who are interested in writing for children should make a mental note that the teenage market is hungry for great fiction. In fact, I went a little further to emphasise that a great number books for the teenage market are aimed at girls.
I urged you to pay attention to the reporting of the Twilight saga. I was keen to demonstrate that this would be a phenomena that would spread beyond film reviews and into the main media. I closed my post back in November simply saying that you will soon discover for yourself that there is a true market for a well written teenage romance.
On 9th January of this year, I reported the next children’s novels that would be adapted to film in 2012 and one of the films that I felt would be of great importance in 2012 was the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games aimed at teenagers. At the time I was trying to point out that there is huge potential for a well written children’s story. I sincerely hoped when writing my earlier post that none of you were of the opinion that Harry Potter and Twilight would be the last teenage films to hit our screens.
The media have finally caught up and have started to report on the teenage film market. You will not be able to avoid the hysteria surrounding The Hunger Games. The reporting is well beyond the pages of film reviews, it has now found its way to main stream reporting in the media.
You will have noticed that attention is given to whether The Hunger Games is comparable to Twilight and whether it will make more money in the box office than the Harry Potter and Twilight movies. This week, the BBC reported the following:
“The Hunger Games arrives this weekend on a tsunami of hype and advance ticket sales...........according to trade paper The Hollywood Reporter, rival studios and other box office observers believe The Hunger Games could potentially gross $130-$140m. That would put it on a par with two films in the Twilight franchise, 2009's New Moon, which opened with $142.8m and the recent Breaking Dawn - Part 1's $138.1m.”
The BBC make the following direct comparison:
“Like Stephenie Meyer's vampire and werewolves saga, Hunger Games books have been a teen publishing phenomenon. A glowing endorsement from Meyer even appears on the back cover of the first novel. Much of the pre-movie hype has focused on asking whether Hunger Games is the "new Twilight", or even Harry Potter”
I hate to say I told you so, but that is really what I mean here. When considering whether you are going to write a children’s book, do not underestimate the power of the teenage market, particularly the teenage girl market.
There are tips on how to write stories for teenagers in the course Writing for Children. In the meantime, just watch how the hysteria surrounding the Hunger Games unfolds and, dare I say it, wait until we see the impact of The Witch Hunters soon to be released.
Until next time, good luck with your writing!
On 23rd November I commented on the record sales of the film adaptation of the Twilight saga which is specifically aimed at the teenage girl market. At that time, the movie took an incredible £13.9 million on its opening weekend.
I was eager to point out that those who are interested in writing for children should make a mental note that the teenage market is hungry for great fiction. In fact, I went a little further to emphasise that a great number books for the teenage market are aimed at girls.
I urged you to pay attention to the reporting of the Twilight saga. I was keen to demonstrate that this would be a phenomena that would spread beyond film reviews and into the main media. I closed my post back in November simply saying that you will soon discover for yourself that there is a true market for a well written teenage romance.
On 9th January of this year, I reported the next children’s novels that would be adapted to film in 2012 and one of the films that I felt would be of great importance in 2012 was the adaptation of Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games aimed at teenagers. At the time I was trying to point out that there is huge potential for a well written children’s story. I sincerely hoped when writing my earlier post that none of you were of the opinion that Harry Potter and Twilight would be the last teenage films to hit our screens.
The media have finally caught up and have started to report on the teenage film market. You will not be able to avoid the hysteria surrounding The Hunger Games. The reporting is well beyond the pages of film reviews, it has now found its way to main stream reporting in the media.
You will have noticed that attention is given to whether The Hunger Games is comparable to Twilight and whether it will make more money in the box office than the Harry Potter and Twilight movies. This week, the BBC reported the following:
“The Hunger Games arrives this weekend on a tsunami of hype and advance ticket sales...........according to trade paper The Hollywood Reporter, rival studios and other box office observers believe The Hunger Games could potentially gross $130-$140m. That would put it on a par with two films in the Twilight franchise, 2009's New Moon, which opened with $142.8m and the recent Breaking Dawn - Part 1's $138.1m.”
The BBC make the following direct comparison:
“Like Stephenie Meyer's vampire and werewolves saga, Hunger Games books have been a teen publishing phenomenon. A glowing endorsement from Meyer even appears on the back cover of the first novel. Much of the pre-movie hype has focused on asking whether Hunger Games is the "new Twilight", or even Harry Potter”
I hate to say I told you so, but that is really what I mean here. When considering whether you are going to write a children’s book, do not underestimate the power of the teenage market, particularly the teenage girl market.
There are tips on how to write stories for teenagers in the course Writing for Children. In the meantime, just watch how the hysteria surrounding the Hunger Games unfolds and, dare I say it, wait until we see the impact of The Witch Hunters soon to be released.
Until next time, good luck with your writing!
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