I have no idea who these children are (too cute). But they seem to mirror my current facial expression quite well. You can't tell whether they're watching a train wreck, me talking to myself in public (it happens), or mating season at the gorilla exhibit. The possibilities are endless. Just like our writing. Which leads me to my current, well, BLANK. The subject of age crossing came up in a recent conversation with a friend. What if you had a series you'd been working on, and maybe, the first book or so in that series was on the middle grade level, but the rest of the series was young adult? I read mostly YA with the exception of the occasional historical romance or a good suspense novel. I used to read political non-fiction but my children held a family meeting and I'm no longer allowed to do that. Something about me being moody (whatever). But I'm sure books that follow along throughout the whole coming of age process are out there. In fact, during this post I thought about Harry Potter, and how it started as a children's book but then grew as Harry grew. So what comes to your mind when you think of the coming of age novel? And how difficult is this to sell to an agent? More so than usual? I'd love to know what you think.
Ah, interesting post and one I'm actually dealing with currently on a WIP. I can't say I have the answer but it's nice to find out that I'm not alone in this struggle:)
ReplyDeleteOoo, good question. I think its harder to get that idea picked up by an agent nowadays than it was say, 10 years ago. Only because YA has gotten so popular over the past few years. But I think if its an awesome idea, it would be a neat way to market. A lot of kids "grew up" along with Harry, so its easy to put it in both middle grade and YA sections. But I've seen other crossovers (plus some YA and adult crossovers like the Dragonriders series- I've seen it in both YA and adult).
ReplyDeleteI think it will be easier to sell now then it would've been years ago because of Harry Potter. If it's a good idea, it'll work.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of coming of age, I think of Catcher in the Rye. I can't remember how old the MC was -- but definitely a teenager, right? I'd say 16-18 is ideal, IMHO.
ReplyDeleteAugh, blogspot, why are you eating all my comments today?
ReplyDeleteI obviously have no expertise in this area, but from watching friends deal with series via agents, I think the key is to sign on the basis of the first book, then discuss the issue with an agent/editor. You may find they see the first book as older or the subsequent books as younger anyway, and either way, they'll have the experience to advise on what's best. (Also, your kids crack me up--family meeting!)
Thanks for the comments. You've all given me some great ideas. I think you're right on Amie. I think once you pitch a book to an agent and its accepted, then he or she will help you figure out the rest from there. Glad my kids can crack you up. We really do hold family meetings all the time. What's really cool is when some member calls one to order (anyone can do this at anytime) and some kid happens to be over visiting. We always include them in the meeting and get their opinions throughout mediation. It's a riot. Good times.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good question. Harry Potter did start as a MG and move it's way up to more of a YA level toward the end. I guess I'm not sure what the process is. Awesome post!
ReplyDeleteI think the novel growing with the kid is probably a good idea. I mean if the first makes a mark the kids who read will grow too, and they will need to move on, so the novel growing w/ them couldn't be bad. I think if you found an agent that represented both MG and YA it should be possible. I would focus on finding an agent for the first one and then talking about it once they're interested.
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