Chapter book ?s

RainbowDragon said:

What's the typical wordcount range for chapter books?
3000-10,000 words.


Do agents who rep MG always rep chapter books, too?
No.

Does a collection of linked, published short stories stand a chance of being wrapped up in a bow as a chapter book
probably not.
or is it wiser to alter and lengthen the story and try to sell it as a novel?
probably.

What's a typical advance for a chapter book?
in the current economy, there is no "typical advance" for anything. But chapter books will typically be smaller advances than MG novels, because the market is a little smaller. Kids grow out of chapter books quickly.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Just a warning--there aren't as many agents who rep chapter books. A smaller pool to choose from.

Agree with all of JudScotKev's answers, but I'll add that you should check out the Ask Jennifer Laughran thread, as she recently answered a question (maybe a couple?) about chapter books - scan back from the last page and you'll probably find the answer pretty quickly.

Agree with both Jud and Suki. It's well worth a read through Jennifer's thread in the Ask the Agent forum. THere's plenty of good questions already been asked, and brilliant answers have been given by Jennifer. She is a saint for coming back here week after week to help members with their questions. Plus, if you find you have a question that hasn't been asked, simply pop it into the thread and she'll answer it for you.

Also be sure to read EVERYTHING in the Online Writer's Toolkit:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39596

Most any answer you seek will be answered in one of those resources.

suki said:

Agree with all of JudScotKev's answers, but I'll add that you should check out the Ask Jennifer Laughran thread, as she recently answered a question (maybe a couple?) about chapter books - scan back from the last page and you'll probably find the answer pretty quickly.

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Jennifer just answered one of my questions about chapter books - I think I posted that maybe just last weekend. Another particularly helpful post of hers re: CBs is #759 from p. 31. (Yes, I'm a bit geeky. I have a MS Office OneNote file with clippings from lots & lots of websites.)

Good luck!