Target Audience Dilemma

vicky271 · Dec 9, 2018

My apologies. I have another inquiry.

I'm suffering a dilemma concerning target audience. The books take place over a period of four years Zara time. Zara days are twice as long as ours. Four years Zara time is eight years earth time. So the main character is twelve when she arrives at Zara to start school and by the time the end of the series, she's twenty. So we're going from a children's story, to a YA. I'm having problems with a target audience.

cornflake · Dec 9, 2018

Worry about one book, not a series. If you have a 12-year-old MC, it'd be likely the book is MG.

lilyWhite · Dec 9, 2018

Starting with middle-grade and growing into young-adult is exactly what Harry Potter did. So it's not impossible to do.

Roxxsmom · Dec 9, 2018

Whether a book is for MG or young adults or for an adult audience depends on more than protagonist age. It's true that age is critical for MG and YA, as in the protagonist should be in the target age group. But there are plenty of adult novels where the protagonist grows from childhood to adulthood, and even some where the protagonist is a kid for the whole story. The voice and nature of the story are important as well.

How are you telling this story? What plot elements will be present? What kinds of themes are involved? Do you envision it to be a series more like Harry Potter, with a huge emphasis on being a kid or a student in a particular setting, or is it about something more external taking place over many years but being told via a character who is obviously going to get older and change as the plot unfolds (like the SF novel Spin)?

CathleenT · Dec 9, 2018

If you really want to write this whole series, I'd start the MC at fifteen, at least. Harry Potter is the outlier we all dream of. Best to aim for the center of the bell curve.

vicky271 · Dec 9, 2018

Roxxsmom said:
Whether a book is for MG or young adults or for an adult audience depends on more than protagonist age. It's true that age is critical for MG and YA, as in the protagonist should be in the target age group. But there are plenty of adult novels where the protagonist grows from childhood to adulthood, and even some where the protagonist is a kid for the whole story. The voice and nature of the story are important as well.

How are you telling this story? What plot elements will be present? What kinds of themes are involved? Do you envision it to be a series more like Harry Potter, with a huge emphasis on being a kid or a student in a particular setting, or is it about something more external taking place over many years but being told via a character who is obviously going to get older and change as the plot unfolds (like the SF novel Spin)?

Those are great questions. I'll look at them in more depth when I finish the first draft of the book!

vicky271 · Dec 9, 2018

CathleenT said:
If you really want to write this whole series, I'd start the MC at fifteen, at least. Harry Potter is the outlier we all dream of. Best to aim for the center of the bell curve.

Thanks for the suggestion. Taking into consideration that 15 would be here earth age, that would put her somewhere in her second year. That would be in the middle of some crucial development. I'm not sure I want to start in the middle of crucial development. However, things change as you write the first draft, so I'll totally consider it as I look at her life during this draft! Thanks

Harlequin · Dec 10, 2018

Earth years can be flexible. In some culture, in some time periods, girls were considered women at 11 and married off at 10, or earlier. In modern culture, we still have a huge range. Some consider 16+ adulthood, some 21 or 25 or whatever.

12 is an awkward area for MG or YA, I think 14 may do you better.

18 is generally the cut off for YA, but if she's a teen most of the way through, or is a teen for every book except the last, then it's probably okay. You could get round it anyway, by ditching earth years and giving her local years. Then maybe pitching the tone for YA across the board?

vicky271 · Dec 10, 2018

Harlequin said:
Earth years can be flexible. In some culture, in some time periods, girls were considered women at 11 and married off at 10, or earlier. In modern culture, we still have a huge range. Some consider 16+ adulthood, some 21 or 25 or whatever.

12 is an awkward area for MG or YA, I think 14 may do you better.

18 is generally the cut off for YA, but if she's a teen most of the way through, or is a teen for every book except the last, then it's probably okay. You could get round it anyway, by ditching earth years and giving her local years. Then maybe pitching the tone for YA across the board?

That's very true. I'll think about all of this as I go through my first draft! Thanks

DancingMaenid · Dec 12, 2018

Is she actually aging at a different rate than she would on Earth? Are the years shorter because of the planet has a faster orbit around its sun than Earth does, or does time itself function differently? Because if she's "20" but has lived the same amount of actual time that she would on Earth and has the mental and physical development that we would associate with someone under 20, then I don't think her numerical age based on the calendar system she follows is the most important thing.

Like Roxxsmom explained, there are additional things to take into consideration, such as the tone, voice, and the story. I think if you do decide that you're writing for a young audience, it can be easier from a marketing standpoint if your character stays in the MG or YA age range for the duration of the book or srries.

Target Audience Dilemma

vicky271

cornflake

practical experience, FTW

lilyWhite

Love and Excitement

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

CathleenT

I write

vicky271

vicky271

Harlequin

Eat books, not brains!

vicky271

DancingMaenid

New kid...seven years ago!