• Basic Writing questions is not a crit forum. All crits belong in Share Your Work

Prequels for children's novel getting pretty dark.

Joined
May 31, 2014
Messages
369
Reaction score
27
Location
Alabama
I wrote a story for middle grade students. It's basically Percy Jackson meets Lords of the Rings. I've started writing prequels to show how the world came about, but it's aimed at adults. It'd be like Game of Thrones being the prequel to Percy Jackson. Do you think this will work? Or would publishers be put off?
 

Brightdreamer

Just Another Lazy Perfectionist
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 22, 2012
Messages
12,977
Reaction score
4,514
Location
USA
Website
brightdreamersbookreviews.blogspot.com
Hmm... has the MG story been published? That may make a big difference.

Seems risky to write a darker, "grown-up" tie-in to an existing MG work. I've seen younger-aimed spinoffs to existing universes (Gail Carriger wrote an MG/YA series tying into her grown-up Parasol Protectorate series, off the top of my head), and I've seen MG series that "aged up" to YA over their run, so you can mix age categories in the same franchise... but that may be something you can only really get away with if you have sales like, say, Gail Carriger. For the rest of us, it might lead to brand confusion, especially if there's a big gap in tone; Carriger's universe is a bit tongue in cheek and light, at least what I've seen of it, so it's not like she was going from GoT-level grimdark to MG (which can get twisted and dark, but generally not that twisted and dark.)

If the MG story hasn't yet been published, maybe re-examine it to see if it's really MG or if it, too, wants to be darker and "older." (You can have MG-aged main characters in a book that otherwise is not aimed at MG audiences.)
 

BethS

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
11,708
Reaction score
1,763
I've started writing prequels to show how the world came about, but it's aimed at adults.

Am I understanding correctly that you're setting these stories in the established worlds of already published books? Because if so, no publisher is going to look at them, as they would be an infringement on both author and publisher rights. You could only do this if the original work is in the public domain.

ETA: Never mind. That was based on a mistaken reading of the OP.
 
Last edited:

frimble3

Heckuva good sport
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
11,574
Reaction score
6,396
Location
west coast, canada
I got the impression that 'Percy Jackson meets Lord of the Rings' was intended more to give an impression of the sort of story the writer is planning? And 'Game of Thrones' intending to give an idea of the level of 'darkness' in the prequel?
Not that TylerMarab was actually using characters etc from those works.

Although I would also be leery of doing adult and MG stories in the same world, with the adult version being very dark. At least not under the same name. To easy for an eager young reader to get into something they weren't expecting.

I agree with Brightdreamer:
"If the MG story hasn't yet been published, maybe re-examine it to see if it's really MG or if it, too, wants to be darker and "older." (You can have MG-aged main characters in a book that otherwise is not aimed at MG audiences.)"
Look at GoT itself - lots of children in there, but it's certainly not MG.
 

BethS

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
11,708
Reaction score
1,763
I got the impression that 'Percy Jackson meets Lord of the Rings' was intended more to give an impression of the sort of story the writer is planning? And 'Game of Thrones' intending to give an idea of the level of 'darkness' in the prequel?
Not that TylerMarab was actually using characters etc from those works.

I reread the OP and realized where I went wrong. Apologies to TylerMarab!
 

Vhb_Rocketman

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 11, 2018
Messages
58
Reaction score
4
Location
Canada
So I was debating the very same thing a month ago. Didn't really come up with an answer. My main WIP is Adult but I wanted to do a MG/YA tie in either before or after the main story.

I decided to do the MG/YA prequel. That way if I win the lottery and both get published it will flow better. Someone could start at the beginning when they are young and finish as an adult. It didn't seem to make sense the other way.

Though I have been debating if it would just make sense to use a pen name on the prequel works. I guess I have plenty of time to decide as I'm only on the first chapter of it lol.
 

Aggy B.

Not as sweet as you think
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
11,882
Reaction score
1,557
Location
Just north of the Deep South
So, my guess would be that you're telling the wrong story in one or the other. (Either the MG or the Adult.) It would be a good idea to examine the darker stuff carefully (since it apparently starts before the MG book) and decide if it leads naturally into the other book.

In my experience, writing darker material comes with the territory of growth as a writer. (And no, this doesn't mean you *have* to write darker as you hone your skills, but there are certain things you grow less afraid of as the storytelling craft grows more advanced.) As a reader, and a mother, I would be put off by finding that a book that was suitable for my nine y/o had prequels that were intended for a very adult readership. (Shel Silverstein wrote a number of very adult pieces, but they were published primarily in venues/markets kids couldn't find.) But finding the right tone for the stories I, as an author want to tell, is a part of the process. Out of a bunch of novels I've written only one has come even close to falling into the YA category. Not because I dislike young adult fiction, but because that's just not how my brain works.

Find your sweet spot and make the most of it. But be careful of breaking up your stories because that is frequently fiction written only for you.
 

pingle

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
575
Reaction score
84
Location
United Kingdom
As a parent that buys MG, I would avoid buying a book that had a dark, adult prequel. If my daughter enjoys a book she wants to read the rest in the series or more by the author. I found her brief obsession with Jaqueline Wilson annoying as the most famous ones were age appropriate and then she'd pick up one that was tackling more grown up themes (if they had changed the covers to black and white or something it would have helped as they would all be bunched together at the library in similar bright colours).

As a writer though, I don't imagine there are any rules against it.
 

Lakey

professional dilettante
Staff member
Super Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 20, 2017
Messages
2,714
Reaction score
3,967
Location
New England
As a parent that buys MG, I would avoid buying a book that had a dark, adult prequel. If my daughter enjoys a book she wants to read the rest in the series or more by the author. I found her brief obsession with Jaqueline Wilson annoying as the most famous ones were age appropriate and then she'd pick up one that was tackling more grown up themes (if they had changed the covers to black and white or something it would have helped as they would all be bunched together at the library in similar bright colours).

How many children of the 70s feasted on Judy Blume and then picked up Wifey? *raises hand*

It does happen. But I would think that in the fantasy realm, setting the books in the same universe, is particularly fraught - it's not only the author name, but the entire milieu that is familiar to your MG readers and their parents. They may have no idea what they are getting into when they dip into your prequels.

All of that said, if none of these is yet published or represented, then you might just write whatever you're drawn to and decide later what to do with them.
 

Toothpaste

THE RECKLESS RESCUE is out now!
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 18, 2006
Messages
8,745
Reaction score
3,096
Location
Toronto, Canada
Website
www.adriennekress.com
I'd just like to jump in here and state that there is a difference between MG and YA, so if one is desiring to write an MG/YA tie-in to a series etc . . . you actually have to choose which one. You can't just write something and assume it'll cover both markets. It doesn't work that way.
 
Joined
May 31, 2014
Messages
369
Reaction score
27
Location
Alabama
Hmm... has the MG story been published? That may make a big difference.

Seems risky to write a darker, "grown-up" tie-in to an existing MG work. I've seen younger-aimed spinoffs to existing universes (Gail Carriger wrote an MG/YA series tying into her grown-up Parasol Protectorate series, off the top of my head), and I've seen MG series that "aged up" to YA over their run, so you can mix age categories in the same franchise... but that may be something you can only really get away with if you have sales like, say, Gail Carriger. For the rest of us, it might lead to brand confusion, especially if there's a big gap in tone; Carriger's universe is a bit tongue in cheek and light, at least what I've seen of it, so it's not like she was going from GoT-level grimdark to MG (which can get twisted and dark, but generally not that twisted and dark.)

If the MG story hasn't yet been published, maybe re-examine it to see if it's really MG or if it, too, wants to be darker and "older." (You can have MG-aged main characters in a book that otherwise is not aimed at MG audiences.)

Yeah, it hasn't been published yet. And yeah, there's a really big gap in tone. Thanks for the reply.
 
Joined
May 31, 2014
Messages
369
Reaction score
27
Location
Alabama
As a parent that buys MG, I would avoid buying a book that had a dark, adult prequel. If my daughter enjoys a book she wants to read the rest in the series or more by the author. I found her brief obsession with Jaqueline Wilson annoying as the most famous ones were age appropriate and then she'd pick up one that was tackling more grown up themes (if they had changed the covers to black and white or something it would have helped as they would all be bunched together at the library in similar bright colours).

As a writer though, I don't imagine there are any rules against it.

Yeah, this is what exactly I was afraid of. I have no idea why the prequels turned into A Game of Thrones.
 

frimble3

Heckuva good sport
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
11,574
Reaction score
6,396
Location
west coast, canada
If you went through GoT and picked out all the bits with Arya in them, and knitted it into one story, it still wouldn't be MG. Ditto for Bran.