Things That Make You Go Hmmm

"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children."

~ Madeleine L'Engle

Hmmm. Makes me wonder if I should switch to Young Adult. Here's the deal...Charlotte Bronte may have just cornered the market for dark and brooding historicals for all of eternity. My finished manuscript (which deals with an opium addict in the early 19th century) just isn't selling to publishers, leastwise not in the Christian historical adult fiction genre. So either I lower the ages of the hero and heroine...

Or I slap on bonnets and call it Amish fiction.

Which leads me to wonder...what in the world is it that makes some books too difficult for grown-ups? After pondering that for a few minutes, I came up with 3 reasons.

1. Life is too crazy-go-nuts. 

When leisure time rolls around, we don't want to think. We want to kick back and relax.

2. Life is too stressful. 

Reading an intense story adds to the frenzy. We want to stick our heads in the sand for a few minutes to escape.

3. Life is too gritty.

Extreme sex, violence and in-your-face hatred abounds. We want to hearken back to a lifestyle that was more innocent and pure.

I'm not saying those reasons are 'right', nor that every reader out there agrees with them. I'm saying merely that they are...which is something to consider if you're hoping to sell to the general market.