I am trying to figure out if a book I have written is YA. It is part of a series of fantasy-alternate history. The other books in the series feature 17- 20 year olds, but the first book is back story and tells about the characters when they are 7-12. (This is partly world-building but goes more to character development and motivations so that readers don't think what happens when they are 12 is impossible.)
I am having it beta-read right now by superior 12-year-olds who like it. One remarked that she loved the book but the vocabulary is fairly advanced. Adults who have read it like it, too, and say it transcends ages, that, like The Hobbit, it has things for all ages. All of them seem anxious to find out what happens next, which I take as a good sign.
Another thing I am wondering about is if it really is YA. I have read several recent YA books, and they seem thin and shorter. Mine is about 95000 words.
I have read that teens like to read about children their age or older. If I were to take out the first third of the book, when the children are seven, it would lose a lot but still be a viable adventure tale. (I could simplify the vocabulary, too, if absolutely necessary.)
So one question is, should I pitch it as YA? Another question is, should I tailor it to the market as I understand it or submit it as I think it reads best? And the most important is, is it really YA or do I need to make changes?
Obviously, I like the book as it is, or I would not be tearing my hair out over this, but if I leave it as it is, how do I pitch it?
Who do I ask? I don't have an agent and all of my writer friends write for adults. If I queried an agent, would they even be willing to look at it long enough to give me advice?
I hope someone can help me with this.
Thankyou.
I am having it beta-read right now by superior 12-year-olds who like it. One remarked that she loved the book but the vocabulary is fairly advanced. Adults who have read it like it, too, and say it transcends ages, that, like The Hobbit, it has things for all ages. All of them seem anxious to find out what happens next, which I take as a good sign.
Another thing I am wondering about is if it really is YA. I have read several recent YA books, and they seem thin and shorter. Mine is about 95000 words.
I have read that teens like to read about children their age or older. If I were to take out the first third of the book, when the children are seven, it would lose a lot but still be a viable adventure tale. (I could simplify the vocabulary, too, if absolutely necessary.)
So one question is, should I pitch it as YA? Another question is, should I tailor it to the market as I understand it or submit it as I think it reads best? And the most important is, is it really YA or do I need to make changes?
Obviously, I like the book as it is, or I would not be tearing my hair out over this, but if I leave it as it is, how do I pitch it?
Who do I ask? I don't have an agent and all of my writer friends write for adults. If I queried an agent, would they even be willing to look at it long enough to give me advice?
I hope someone can help me with this.
Thankyou.