All Things Middle Grade

timp67

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Did you ever have a nightmare about a scary movie that made it a hundred million times worse? :)

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wampuscat

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Ha ha ha ha ha!

Love that, Timp67!
 

AbielleRose

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I've lurked through a few threads and swear I once saw this somewhere, but do any of you know where I can find (or what is) the appropriate length for MG novels? I'm working on one right now and am thinking it'll end about 35,000-40,000 words and am not sure if that would be too short or since its MG if it would be just right.
 

Ferret

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I've lurked through a few threads and swear I once saw this somewhere, but do any of you know where I can find (or what is) the appropriate length for MG novels? I'm working on one right now and am thinking it'll end about 35,000-40,000 words and am not sure if that would be too short or since its MG if it would be just right.


35,000 to 40,000 sounds good for MG, although it depends on the genre. Fantasy can go longer, and funny contemporary tends to run shorter.
 
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MsJudy

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Nope, short is good for MG. Though I have heard a few agents say less than 30K is too short for MG these days... but I don't think there's a consensus on that.
 

AbielleRose

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After flipping through a few books I have (Some Roald Dahl, Babysitter's Club and Nancy Drew) it seems they do a good job of adding pictures every few pages. My guess is they budget size space for that, of course I'm new to the MG world so I could be wrong.

Flipping through these sure brings back some good memories. As a kid its so magical to find a book/series you love. For many kids books are the first possessions they get that they really hang onto for life. They're so much more important than a toy.

*feels all nostalgic*
 

Smish

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After flipping through a few books I have (Some Roald Dahl, Babysitter's Club and Nancy Drew) it seems they do a good job of adding pictures every few pages. My guess is they budget size space for that, of course I'm new to the MG world so I could be wrong.

Flipping through these sure brings back some good memories. As a kid its so magical to find a book/series you love. For many kids books are the first possessions they get that they really hang onto for life. They're so much more important than a toy.

*feels all nostalgic*

None of those books are current (though they're still fun to read, of course!). If you're new to the MG world, to get a feel for what the MG world and market is really like, you'll want to read current MG.

And what could be more fun than reading lots and lots of MG books? I love doing 'research' as a writer. :D
 

AbielleRose

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I've read the Wimpy Kid books and have looked over several other popular ones. I worked at Barnes and Noble as a manager for a while, so I mostly skimmed to help parents figure out ideas for their kids, but its been about a year now.

Any recommendations?
 

Smish

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The kidlit recommendation thread is a good place to start. It sounds like you may be more interested in chapter books than MG? Books aimed at younger kids that often include pictures? If that's what you're looking for, I'd recommend the Clementine, Judy Moody, Stink, and Ivy and Bean books. Those are my favorites at the moment. :Thumbs:
 

MsJudy

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yep, we're all cheering. Especially now that you are Hello Kitty Cookie Monster!
 

wampuscat

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My MG paranormal mystery is four pages long.

Well... The outline is. From the look of it the full MS should fit the ideal word length.

A four-page outline is a great start! It's four pages more than you had before, right?
 

auntybug

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Nope, short is good for MG. Though I have heard a few agents say less than 30K is too short for MG these days... but I don't think there's a consensus on that.

Mine are right around 30K if that helps :) Any shorter & I couldn't get imprint on the spine of the book. That's a goal to hit for me!

I keep trying to make my way back over here & it never happens :( I thought of you guys right away though. There are a lot of groups on facebook for promoting romance novels but I couldn't find one for MG. I started one up hoping to have a place for MG writers to come share their books, blogs, reviews, etc. It's new & I'm lonely! Come drop your book (or books you love) & spread the word! I'd like to see this start getting going & help promote other MG authors.

http://www.facebook.com/groups/424451804238916/
 

Smish

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Thanks for popping in, auntybug! Be sure to post a link to your blog in the stickied Kidlit Blog thread. :Thumbs:
 

MsJudy

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auntybug, while you're in the neighborhood, you should stop by the self-published thread we have going. You've got experience with that, am I right? Or is yours small press? Either way, you could probably share some good insights with the folks who were asking questions about it.