Why I Stopped Using Industry Terms on My Website

This is an arcane little post with high potential of being of little interest to anyone. So why post it? Because, perversely, it is sometimes those tiny details that end up being useful in some fashion, to someone, somewhere.

I am speaking of the Publishing Industry Terms I (up until quite recently) used to define my book categories on my website:

MAINSTREAM BOOKS - Okay, so this is a term that comprises most mid-list novels. It's fine for boardrooms and bookstore buyers. But why the heck would I describe my books that way to my READERS. Especially since I am an Indie writer and publisher? Mainstream equates to boring, middle of the road, BLAH. I must have been high. I have since changed the Title and Page Tag to BOOKS. 

Phew. That works.

YOUNG ADULT BOOKS - Or YA this and YA that. YA is quite its own subculture. and accounts for a good chunk of book sales. And now the industry and others hoping to jump that marketing train are espousing a separate term for those readers that are no longer on the cusp of adulthood but have entered that first phase of their independence: NEW ADULT. Readers of all ages read books that are labeled YOUNG ADULT and NEW ADULT, but that doesn't stop the labeling machine.

My experience is that in using the term YOUNG ADULT on two pages of my website, I received over 300 hits daily. Success! I am SO savvy in attracting my readership. Woot! Except that my site stats say that most of those hits came from RUSSIAN PORN SITES. (And oh, am I going to pay for typing those words on the interwebs.) So, I have since changed the Title and Page Tag to BOOKS FOR TEEN READERS.

Phew. That works. I hope.

And for ANY someones, somewheres, (except the RP sites, boo, go away) who read this whole thing, here's a reward:

Vintage circus girl from The Graphics Fairy