Writing Teenage Characters for Boy Readers
by Mary Kole | Former literary agent, now a freelance editor, writing teacher, and IP/story developer for major publishers and creators.
Here is a question posed by one of our Good Story Learning members about writing teenage characters. He’s wondering how popular young adult fiction for boys and male protagonists are in YA novels:
Is there a demand for this type of fiction? Most agents and publishers in the market seem to be focused on genres like Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, and Steampunk, and the majority of published works appeal to teen girls. Am I only supposed to be writing teenage characters for one audience? So what is the true state of the market for young adult fiction for boys?
Thinking about writing teenage characters in the YA age range, and how to deal with the perceived gender divide? Here is what you need to know about the male protagonist factor in today’s young adult market.
Can Writing Teenage Characters for Boys Work?
I don't want to start any arguments, so before I go any further, let me note that there is The Way It Should Be and The Way It Actually Is, along with What People Try to Do to Close the Gap with the male protagonist problem in YA. What is the problem? A lot of YA novels are marketed to girls, or feature primarily girl characters. Fewer feature boys as the main protagonists. This has changed in the last decade, but the split still isn’t equal. So what is a writer supposed to do when it comes to writing teenage characters?
Here’s The Way It Should Be: Boys reading enthusiastically until they reach their teens, publishers releasing expansive lists of books for these readers, educators, booksellers, librarians, agents, and editors highly excited about this segment of the market. Authors are writing teenage characters who are male and female (and nonbinary or gender non-conforming) in equal measure.
Here’s The Way It Actually Is: There isn't a strong market for YA contemporary realism compared to writing fantasy and sci-fi genres, and there are fewer people willing to try writing teenage characters for boy readers in the YA market. This is a prevailing attitude because some people believe that most boys in this age group have either stopped reading altogether in middle school or have moved up to adult fiction around age twelve or thirteen. As such, teen boy books up rather neglected.
The conventional wisdom says that books aimed toward teenage boys don’t tend to sell well, and the YA section of bookstores is mainly filled with paranormal romance and female-centered novels. All of those purple and pink covers featuring girl characters might be an obvious turnoff to teen boys browsing the shelves. So is it smarter to try writing teenage characters that actual teenagers will actually read?
Writing Teenage Characters For YA “Boy Books”
There's not much to be done right now about making YA more of a “boy book” and writing teenage characters who are male. This is based on the conversations I've had with my peers and colleagues, though there is effort being put toward changing that. If you have a male protagonist whose story appeals mainly to female readers (like the work of John Green), then you may have an easier time, as girls make up the bulk of book buyers in this age group.
For example, Through to You by Emily Hainsworth follows Cam, a boy narrator who travels across parallel universes in search of his lost love. He's a male, but the premise is romantic enough to attract mostly female readers.
Recent stories with male leads have also incorporated female protagonists. This helps dispel the myth of "young adult fiction for boys" since what we actually have are books centering around both genders ... but mainly girls. Think The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon and All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven.
But is the point of writing teenage characters to attract only one type of audience, or to present a variety of stories that anyone can get interested in? While books such as Ready Player One by Ernest Cline contradict this idea, it’s important that this book was not published as young adult literature, and instead found what is called “crossover” appeal. Sometimes authors find themselves writing teenage characters but for books geared at adult readers.
Writing Teenage Characters Who Are Boys: Why Not?
This is part of a much larger conversation about gendered marketing, and the idea of gender as a social construct. While I don’t want to spark a political debate, these are all issues to consider when choosing your main character’s demographic profile and think about your ideal reader.
The sad reality is that publishing is a business, so unless YA books written specifically for male readers start to become wildly popular, I don't know how many editors will be able to make their publishing houses invest in them (or if they do publish such works, how often these acquisitions will happen). Writing teenage characters who are female might be a more strategic move for aspiring authors, especially writers who are assigned female at birth (given the emphasis on writing from one’s lived experience).
At the end of the day, trying to serve boy readers when writing teenage characters is a very valid mission, and I encourage you to pursue it if that’s who your heart wants to reach with your work.
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