I've often heard that YA writing isn't held to the same standards as adult-fiction writing. The explanation I've heard is that the YA reader is only interested in the story — they don't care all that much if it's told or shown, if the characters are cardboard cutouts, if adverbs and adjectives are used aplenty, if clichés abound, or if the Point of View is unstable. I'm also told that they aren't concerned about the mechanics of the written English: spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
I recently read an observation about self-published e-books that weren't worth keeping, and in that article was this comment:
My questions are:I had to hold a YA book to a higher standard than I might for adult fiction. It’s fine to say that I’m a grown-up and I know better and can ignore the odd typo or quirk of usage, but in a book geared to children, who will learn from and be influenced by their childhood reads, such errors are, in my opinion, unacceptable. I could not in good conscience recommend this story to a young reader who would absorb these errors and truly not know better.
- Is it (generally) true that YA writing is held to a lower standard than adult fiction?
- If so, does this set a poor example?