All Things Middle Grade

jvc

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I'm thinking about starting a thread here with a comprehensive list of MG Agents. I'll provide a link to their webiste (if they have one), contact details, and a link to their thread in Background and Bewares forum.

So, two questions:

1) Is this a good idea?
2) Does anyone have a list I can copy, then I'll fill in the other info as I go?
 

sissybaby

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Jed - sounds like a great idea to me. Could you consider also linking their blogs if they have one? Sometimes one can glean additional information from those.
 

playground

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That is an amazing idea! And it would be a great help for sure.
 

swachski

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I'd love a comprehensive list too. :)

Sheila, I haven't had luck querying either, so we're in the same boat. I'm curious who you queried, to see if they're the same agencies I tried. You're minion story is so unique and from what I've seen it is well written, so I'm surprised you haven't had any luck!
 

JoyMC

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the spotlighted agents list here is a great place to start for agents that do children's in general: http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/ i'll happily PM along my list of agents i've queried or plan to, specifically for middle grade.

it's so hard out there! getting a few full requests has encouraged me that my query and opening pages don't absolutely suck, but i've also gotten SO MANY form rejections on the query that i do wonder. (and yes, i've gotten feedback on the query.)

everybody stick with it! onward!
 

MarleyB

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sounds like a great idea to me too. The Casey McCormick site is great (it's called Literary Rambles, and she does a really in-depth listing including links to interviews, buzz about the agent, etc.) You can also go to Query Tracker and sort agents for middle grade. When I did this I came up with 170, but some were from the same agency, so the actual query-able number must be less than that. Query tracker does miss some, usually because the agent has noted they do "children's" but not mg specifically. So it helps to sort for childrens, middle grade, and young adult and then read their websites to see what's up.
 

jtrylch13

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Hey everyone! Still working on revising my MS, but I'm close. I've taken my 130k monster and pared it down to under 95k. Still a little long, but I shudder at the thought of removing much more. I could, and still have main story in tact, but I'm afraid I'll be cutting too much of the humor and parts that help it to stand apart from other stories out there. Anyway, I had a question. My chapter lengths range from 1800 words at the shortest to 5700 at the longest. This is for an MG fantasy novel. Should I attempt to restructure my chapters so the word counts are a little closer, or is this common? I've never done word count ananlysis per chapter of published books before.
 

MsJudy

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I would try to have the chapters all more or less the same, or at least break up some of those monster long ones. It's sort of a practical concern... Most people like to read to the end of a chapter before stopping. If it's 6K long, that's not going to be possible. So kids either stop in the middle and get a little lost, or they end up avoiding the book until they know they have a couple of hours of uninterrupted reading time--which might not happen.

It also has to do with pacing. Your action will flow better if things are paced more evenly. Really action-packed chapters can be longer than quieter, transitional moments. But action-packed chapters can also be broken into smaller, cliff-hanging chapters.
 

jtrylch13

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Thanks Judy. That's kind of what I was thinking, but I needed someone else to say it and justify more time spent on this MS. This August will be the five year mark and I'm ready to move on, but I want to finish it the best I can.
 

MsJudy

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Thanks Judy. That's kind of what I was thinking, but I needed someone else to say it and justify more time spent on this MS. This August will be the five year mark and I'm ready to move on, but I want to finish it the best I can.

Yep, I spent about 5 years, off and on, on my first book. It just takes so long to acquire the skills! But it does get easier. I can write a book in about a year now. (Let's hope some agent thinks I've spent enough time on it...)
 

Smish

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Just dropping in to wish jtrylch good luck with the revisions! Sounds like you're doing a good job. :D
 

DSA

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I'm thinking about starting a thread here with a comprehensive list of MG Agents. I'll provide a link to their webiste (if they have one), contact details, and a link to their thread in Background and Bewares forum.

So, two questions:

1) Is this a good idea?
2) Does anyone have a list I can copy, then I'll fill in the other info as I go?

Over at QueryTracker.net you can get a list sorted by Middle Grade Fiction. You can even sort out those who are currently closed to submissions. Hope this helps you. Thanks.
 

Smish

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That is a great list. I've read a whole lot of them, but there's still a great deal of books on the list that I haven't read. :D
 

MsJudy

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oh, my. if Kitty hasn't read them all, it's probably not humanly possible.
 
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Kitty Pryde

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:D I counted--I've only read 68 out of 193 books. Two I won't read on principle (but let's not get me started), three I started and thought were terrible (Skulduggery Pleasant, Emerald Atlas, Artemis Fowl), and one my library refuses to order even though I requested it. Not bad, but I clearly have some work to do :D Almost all of the ones I have read have been brilliant, and very powerful. (In my nerdy excessive reading defense, I started reading MG in first grade and kept reading it long after I started on adult books, frequently through eighth grade, and even occasionally through college. AND I've been unemployed for the past year and a half--bicycle plus library equals awesome free entertainment :D )

On a related note, I saw Where The Red Fern Grows on the list and had a massive attack of nostalgia--I'm really curious to read it as an adult and see if it's still as good. I loved it as a kid and read it many times.
 

Morrell

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Timp, thanks for posting the link to the list. You've got me beat, Kitty--I've read a nice, round 50, though I'm reading or about to read 2 more (reading The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, and just got Moon Over Manifest).

There were several others I tried but didn't like enough to read cover to cover (most recently The Emerald Atlas).
 

Eldritch

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:D I counted--I've only read 68 out of 193 books. Two I won't read on principle (but let's not get me started), three I started and thought were terrible (Skulduggery Pleasant, Emerald Atlas, Artemis Fowl)...

Waah...I LOVE the Skulduggery Pleasant and Artemis Fowl books. LOL, guess I'll have to check out Emerald Atlas.