I'm thinking of editing my book to make it YA

Hello,

I'm conflicted. I wrote an entire book around a MC who is 21, but she just started college. I'm not sure why that happened- for a few reasons I guess. First, she was sick in high school so it took her some extra time to graduate. Second- I don't know. It just seemed right at first. So now I have a MC who is in college, deals with college-ish stuff like frat parties and shopping but she has a vampire lover (in the end they finally have sex.)

Now I've learned that college age is not a good age for marketing novels- and also, Cassie *seems* a little younger. She always has. I am thinking of rewriting a few things and making her a regular age 18, right out of high school, and marketing the book as YA. I'm hoping to turn it into a series and the rest would all play out during college.

Do you think this would work? There is a large coming of age theme in this novel as Cassie grows from being a slightly immature adolescent to an independent adult.

Please let me know your opinions.

Thanks!

Thanks!

I just hope 18 is old enough to land it in the YA market.

I do have to say the entire time I wrote my Cassie she felt a bit YA but I ignored it. Oh well, nothing says I can't revise- just unfortunately I've already queried 25 agents with the more adult version!

Sage said:

I agree.

And have also had the problem of having to lower the age of my 18- and 21-year-old MCs for YA

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LOL- I actually wrote that incorrectly. What I meant to write was, "I hope she is young enough to be considered YA." Not old enough.

I've actually read a lot of YA- I think that's why Cassie feels to have a more juvenile voice. It just happened naturally but I told myself, "You are an adult- write adult fiction." But obviously Cassie wants to be YA!

I will definitely read some more though- once I finish C. E. Murphy's "House of Cards" (for the second time.) I must read to stay sane while I write.

Thanks

Kathleen42 said:

Most YA I've read actually has slightly younger characters so there should be no fear of 18 being "old enough".

You may want to (if you haven't already) pick out some YA titles to familiarize yourself a bit more with what's out there. I know you already have a fairly complete ms, but you are considering moving it to a different genre.

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Ha! I feel the same exact way! You and I seem to have some things in common! No matter how hard I tried Cassie still turned out with a youthful tone.

Have a great day!

Kathleen42 said:

I had a similar problem with the my current WiP. I kept trying to make her 23/24 and it just wasn't right. The story she had to tell just didn't happen to her at that age.

Characters can be very stubborn.

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