Middle Grade question - opinions encouraged

[John Berkowitz]

The last two books I wrote were aimed at an upper middle grade audience and ended up being around 60K words. For those, I felt most comfortable with chapters that ran around 10 pages (standard manuscript format), or around 3,000 words.

The MG book I'm just embarking on will be for a younger audience and I'm aiming for 40K. What do you think makes an optimum chapter length for 7-10yo readers? I'm thinking around 6? I need to know so I can structure my writing to fit a smaller format. I like to treat chapters like little self-contained stories.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Unimportant]

The last two books I wrote were aimed at an upper middle grade audience and ended up being around 60K words. For those, I felt most comfortable with chapters that ran around 10 pages (standard manuscript format), or around 3,000 words.

The MG book I'm just embarking on will be for a younger audience and I'm aiming for 40K. What do you think makes an optimum chapter length for 7-10yo readers? I'm thinking around 6?

Sorry, I got lost on that last bit. Is 6 the average age of your reader? Or are you thinking 6 chapters = 40K words? Or 6 words per chapter?

I agree that shorter chapters would make sense for younger readers. As for word count, Penguin says:

Picture books start children on their reading journey. Chapter books are then a stepping stone towards what the publishing industry refer to as ‘middle grade’ books.

Chapter books are typically written for children ages 5 to 10, and range from a few thousand words up to 20,000. Chapter books are often seen as the gateway to longer, more developed stories.

Middle grade books suit readers from ages 8 to 12 and are between 25,000 and 50,000 words.

 

[Woollybear]

@Unimportant : 6 pages.

John, I think you are overthinking it. I would have loved a quirky book at that age in which the chapters are all different lengths.

I would have loved a chapter in the middle with no words at all. "Chapter Seven. In which everyone disappears."

My advice, which is worth nothing, but hey it's free, is to make the story as fun as possible. Kids are very open-minded, as I am certain you are aware. Books are a great place to not impose strict marching orders like "every chapter is 6 pages."

And now I'm singing "Little Houses on the Hillside."

 

[Unimportant]

@Unimportant : 6 pages.

D'oh!

 

[John Berkowitz]

6 pages per chapter. Yes.

I would LOVE to write a quirky nonsense book, but I don’t think I have it in me. I’m too structured. I need structure or I collapse.

 

[Brigid Barry]

Just my unprofessional 2 cents, it's about the reader, not the writer. The best way to figure this out is to read widely in your genre and see how other authors handle their chapters. I write adult and the chapter is as long as it needs to be to tell the story it needs to tell.

I can only imagine the conversation when you have carefully and precisely crafted exactly six-page chapters and an editor tells you to cut words or add them.

 

[Helix]

6 pages per chapter. Yes.

I would LOVE to write a quirky nonsense book, but I don’t think I have it in me. I’m too structured. I need structure or I collapse.

Here's your opportunity to experiment with styles and story length.

 

[John Berkowitz]

I can only imagine the conversation when you have carefully and precisely crafted exactly six-page chapters and an editor tells you to cut words or add them.

Heh. Yes. I thrive on structure, but I'm not THAT structured. I'm looking for a target, not a bull's eye.