Figuring out Book genres

I originally saw Mix Tapes and Stuff as a current  YA story. YA is a big genre in bookstores. It was the trend for a long time. Many writers adapted their prior stories to YA. James Patterson and Tom Clancy stories were adapted. Meg Cabot and Caroline Cooney sold thousands of books.

I read those writers.  I was young once. I had ideas on time and place for my stories but how to make it real was the tough part. I found Schuyler from the history of other areas. The late 1980s was a good setting. This changed how I went about the story. I could tell a story about life without worrying about what form of social media will be popular once it’s published. I originally planned to use a current time and had a character like a new band. That band never hit it big so the story would seem dated by publication. By purposely setting it in the past, I avoid current trends.

I figured the Mix Tapes trilogy would work with a YA crowd the way Happy Days worked in the 1970s. The 70s show ran in the 1990s. 

Adults read the book and it it sounded geared for them. I had so many pop-culture references that adults got into it. 

This made marketing difficult. I still believe the stories of sophomores at Schuyler High will be enjoyable to a YA crowd. Somethings are timeless.