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This week: Young Adult Vs. Middle Grade Novels Edited by: Crys-not really here  
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| Welcome to the For Authors Newsletter! I'm Crys-not really here . As an extension of one of my former newsletters, today I'd like to address the differences between young adult and middle grade novels. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with that question! |
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Young Adult Versus Middle Grade
Awhile back, I wrote a For Authors Newsletter on Young Adult novels. Since then, I've had more than one person ask me "What is the difference between young adult and middle grade novels anyway?" atwhatcost wrote:
"Do you know when children's chapter books turn into YA books or what consititutes no-longer-for-YA books?"
I've wanted to do a newsletter on this exact topic for a long time, but the problem is, there are no easy answers! If you do a Google search for "differences between middle grade and young adult novels" you will come up with hundreds of guidelines, some of them conflicting. So, who are we to believe?
One of the common things writers for young people hear is that a book's intended audience should be dictated by the age of the book's protagonist. Although it's true that kids like to read about kids their own age of slightly older, (characters younger than the reader risk being "babyish"), that's a much too simplistic explanation. Don't we all know teenager who are more interested in their baby sister's picture books or their parents' Stephen King novels? Although a publisher will likely use the age of your main character as a guideline for determining a target audience, there are lots of other factors they will consider as well:
1) Middle grade novels tend to be shorter, with fewer if any subplots. Young adult novels have more subplots and ask the reader to put more work into reading the text.
2) Middle grade novels are often about an event and what occurs because of that event; young adult novels are often about an event and how it effects the protagonist personally. The protagonist usually has some sort of "light bulb" moment where he/she realizes that the world is more complex than it seems.
3) Young adult novels tend to address more controversial subjects than middle grade novels. Although middle grade novels may touch on issues like sex, the young adult genre is where teens can feel comfortable reading about all of the issues that they face in real life. Many novels do not sugar coat what's important to teens. These novels are obviously written for a slightly older audience than the 10-13-year-olds who sometimes read middle grade novels.
Of course, there are exceptions to all of these guidelines. Many of the Harry Potter books are well over the expected word count for middle grade books, yet they are considered middle grade. (Note, though, that as Harry grows older, the issues become more complex and the books begin to edge into the young adult category). And what about all of those novels written for adult audiences, like The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, that have become hits with teens as well? As far as I know, The Lovely Bones was never marketed to a teen audience, but its 14-year-old character and compelling storyline (not to mention a movie version) brought younger readers anyway. Should "accidental" young adult novels be considered young adult?
Let's take our original question one step farther: "what consititutes no-longer-for-YA books?" That's tricky, too, because no one can quite agree on when "young adult" ends. Most say 18, some say 21. Some writers think novels that take place in a college setting with characters over 18 can't be considered young adult. As a general rule, I tend to agree that any novel that takes place outside the realm of the high school years should be considered "adult." At the age of 18 or 19, many readers have gone on to stealing their parents' books or browsing the popular fiction section at the library anyway. They may see some "young adult" novels as irrelevant to their worlds once they enter college. They may give up "reading for fun" altogether. (Sad, but true.) Of course, I'm sure there are exceptions to this guideline as well. As always, consider the content of the novel, not just the age of the characters.
Now that you've considered all this, tuck it away into your brain's vertical file and don't worry about it. Write the novel you want to write. When you're finished, take a look at it in terms of what I've talked about in this newsletter. Chances are, when you submit your novel for publication the publisher will ask you your intended audience. You may also need to consider that some publishers will publish young adult, but not middle grade, or visa versa. Once the book has been accepted and needs to be marketed, the publisher will figure out the best classification. But until that step, just write!
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Thanks to everyone who wrote in with their experiences and opinions on my last newsletter. The topic: Should you pay to publish?
I have had nothing but trouble with self publishing firms. The latest problem comes with my latest book which is a collaboration between myself and friends. They made me pay for my proofs and not one of the four proofs have been printed correctly. I asked them why, they said it was trouble on my end. I fixed the problems, tried again and still the printing was horrible. I withdrew our book and now, I don't know what to do. I feel I have let the folks down, but none of us have the money that these guys are looking for to do a proper job. The proofs cost 10.50 a pop and I can't do it any more. So, what to do with our book? I haven't any idea. -bertiebrite hoping for peace 
I enjoyed this newsletter tremendously. Especially since I have self-published. I would like to send my work into a small publisher, but I haven't found one that I like or that will accept my work. I used createspace.com and it's a fairly easy concept. It's completely free, but you do have to edit everything on your own. Then I make money everytime it's purchased! Thanks again, it was a good read. -tylerhess
I had a book published by PublishAmerica and PA NEVER charges for publication. Also PA never forced me to buy anything ever. -DB Cooper
Great post and I agree 100%. Having been published with a small and relatively new publisher, I learned very quickly how much work it takes to sell books. I certainly would not take that on lightly. It's simply too much to juggle when my real focus should be on writing. -michellekeyes
I self-published so I could see what my writing would look like in book form and to give to my family.-Zeke
Great article. Self publishing can be a double edged sword if done wrong. There are some other options you didn't mention. With eBooks being the new thing, there are places like Barnes and Noble and Amazon that offer free (they get 40-60% of sale price.) publishing in their formats. I went the submission and rejection route first. I agree, it is a good experience but short stories don't sell well these days. Fewer and fewer magazines actually publish them. And small press publishers pay little to nothing for your hard work. I published my short story through Barnes and Noble and probably doubled what any magazine would have paid me for the piece. I can always try to get it in a magazine or anthology later but for now ePublishing is working. Sold over 115 copies so far. Not much, but better than nothing. Thanks for the great newsletter. -jbenj
Yes, it's always better to let someone else take the financial risk for publishing when possible. -Vivian  |
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For Authors: September 21, 2011 Issue [#4620]
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