Let’s Talk About Middle Grade! Content, Voice, Issues, and More

If you’re a middle grade author, you’re in luck! Lots of agents and editors are on the hunt for middle grade in this YA-dominated writing world, myself included. Anytime I get a middle grade query I’m excited to take a peek. It really is a wonderful age to write for, and there’s a reason that we remember all the books we read at that age so fondly.

With that I wanted to talk a bit about this age range, which is an age range not a genre (a mistake I see often), and the common challenges that come along with writing for it. While there is a bit of a higher demand for middle grade projects from agents right now, you still hear many saying that they just aren’t seeing the kinds of projects they want to see. In my opinion MG is one of the toughest areas to nail. If you can do it, agents will be after you. Promise!

Age Range
So first, let’s talk about what middle grade is. Middle grade is the step between chapter books and YA, for ages roughly 8-12. Within that you’ll have lower middle grade (for the younger end of the spectrum – think things like THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX or FRINDLE) and upper middle grade (more mature, complex books for the older kids – think THE WAR THAT SAVED MY LIFE or HOOT). Of course, there can be some variation, but generally lower means shorter and less complex, suitable for a kid in 2nd – 4th grade. Upper is for older kids as they bridge to YA and allows for more serious subject matter, more sophisticated writing and humor, etc. That’s not to say that lower MG books (or books in lower age ranges) are not sophisticated (because, lord, they can be), so think of the difference as both reading level and emotional accessibility.

A good rule of thumb is to take a look at what age the protagonist of the story is and remember that it’s normal for kids to read about kids who are either their age or a little older than them. The cutoff for a MG protagonist is generally 12 – any older and we’re getting into YA territory. Writing difficulty plays a part as well. If you’re writing middle grade, it’s important to think about how your manuscript fits for readers. The leap from 2nd grade to 5th or 6th grade is pretty big! Which kids do you imagine picking your book off the shelf?

Content pt. 1 – Stories to Tell

Bearing in mind that MG is not a genre unto itself, remember that you can basically write anything here. I, for example, want to see all kinds of genres in MG – mystery, fantasy, contemporary, historical, and more. MG is an area where agents and editors are loving to see some outside-the-box thinking at the moment. Your story doesn’t have to be about school, doesn’t have to have dragons, doesn’t have to have anything you might think of when you think “kids book.” It certainly can, of course! But there is so much more room for different kinds of stories than ever before. Explore them all!

One note of course is that while there may be adult characters in your story, your story should definitely focus on your children characters and be told from their perspective. For example, don’t write a chapter from mom’s perspective about getting your character ready for school, lamenting about kids misbehaving, etc. If you’re telling a father-daughter story (side note: can someone please tell a father-daughter story), we want the daughter’s perspective, not dad’s. Know your audience!

As long as your story is oriented around your kid characters, one of the beautiful things about MG is that it’s significantly less trend-driven than YA. For example, it’s really really hard to sell a dystopian YA novel right now, because we just had the whole HUNGER GAMES thing. MG doesn’t quite operate this way, with huge trends that rise and fall so dramatically. There are some, and you should definitely know what’s out there, what’s working in the market, what will stand out, etc. But there is much more freedom in this age range. I most commonly hear editors say they will jump at any MG that has a good story and really nails the MG voice. That’s a very broad window to shoot for, and it gives you a lot of opportunity to tell the kind of story you want to tell. That said, you’ve gotta know what kind of stories are flourishing in the market as well as what readers are connecting to.  This involves reading what’s been published. Consider this your official excuse to go read a ton of kids’ books. For *research.*

Content pt. 2 – How Much Is Too Much? 

No matter what kind of story you wind up writing, you want to do it justice, of course. Here is the biggest mistake I see in MG queries that I pass on – underestimating the reader. Kids are so smart and perceptive. They have a wide, complex range of emotions. They can understand a lot more than you think if you just gently guide them to the water. I see many submissions that lack subtlety and depth because the author is afraid that kids won’t get what they’re saying. Show them the story.  Kids will get it. Let them make the leap.

Middle grade books have dealt with all sorts of serious topics – war, death, illness, divorce, friendship, first love, class issues, peer pressure, politics, loss – the list goes on and on. You may worry about whether or not these things are MG-friendly as you’re writing. My rule of thumb is that what is more important is a mindful presentation of these elements rather than the thing itself. Death is a part of life. Violence can be scary. Illness is sad. Sometimes your friends turn out to be not so friendly. Sometimes your parents don’t get along. Kids really do get all this stuff. You can definitely present it to them (if that’s the kind of story you’re writing). Just be mindful of the presentation – don’t be overly detailed, gory, or gruesome. Use common sense and trust your readers to handle the story. They will do so beautifully.

Two exceptions here are sex and swearing. Those typically age a story up into the YA range. If there’s an f-bomb in your book, it’s definitely not MG. Otherwise, though, don’t shy away from the hard stuff, if you’re writing a hard story. (You can also write a fun, light story with none of this, that’s okay, too!). Just remember that all kids deal with hard stuff and fun stuff. It might be nice for them to have a book alongside them to know they’re not alone.

Voice and Characters
On that note, apply the same logic to your writing and characters. MG writing should not be dumbed down (another sadly common issue I see). Don’t be afraid to use big words! In fact, many published MG books have writing that is just as complex as a YA novel. The only difference is presentation, like I said above.

Here is 100% serious advice, to nail both voice and characters in MG: if you’re writing for kids and have kids in your life, use them as a resource. Talk to them. If you’re basing your writing on what you imagine kids at the MG reading age to think or be, or what you remember from many moons ago, it will not feel genuine, and will likely do this gross but often well-intentioned thing of turning your kid characters into flat, one-dimensional beings that say things like “Gee whiz!” or complain all the time. Seriously! I honestly don’t know exactly how this happens, because I don’t think anyone knows kids like this in real life. But for whatever reason when writing for this age group, many authors struggle to make reality appear on the page.

The reality is that kids are people, which we sometimes forget as adults who generally have to do a lot of things to keep them alive. If in your real life you take care of kids as a parent or otherwise, it might be even harder to separate yourself from that role and see kids as characters with the autonomy and agency that will drive your story forward. But you have to, or the story won’t work! It’s honestly one of the hardest things about working in this age range. However you overcome that obstacle, it’s one of the most important things to get right. (Hint: if you aren’t sure if you have this problem, have a kid read your work.)

Writing for middle grade when you’re an adult involves taking a step outside yourself and seeing the world, a challenge, a relationship, again through the eyes of a child, remembering that “young” is not a personality trait or a worldview. Every kid in your story should have their own. So, talk to some kids in your life. If you don’t have any children in your life to chat with, time to go to your local independent bookseller and pick up that big stack of middle grade books.

I wanted to write this post to address some of the issues I see with new authors who are writing MG, and I hope it helped! Like any writing, MG comes with practice and research – it being for kids doesn’t get you off the hook. I, for one, am very excited for this time in MG – there are many talented folks out there writing it and it’s a great time for it in publishing. I’m looking forward to seeing many fabulous MG queries in my inbox!

ABC's of Publishing

As my first real post on this blog (which I intended to happen much sooner but was sidelined by an office move) I thought it would be nice to start with a little primer on words you might hear being tossed around as you get your feet wet in the vast ocean of publishing. So, here you have it, an A to almost-Z of terms to know:

Agency Agreement – When an agent offers you representation and agrees to work with you, they will likely ask you to sign a contract stipulating the terms of your relationship (including their commission rate). Note that a legit agent will never ask you for money upfront just to work with them – they don’t get paid until they’ve sold something for you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about this agreement. The agent will be happy to answer them and it’s likely someone has asked before.

BEA – Short for Book Expo America. This is a publishing/book convention held annually at which publishers, agents, editors, authors, booksellers, and other industry professionals convene to talk book biz. In recent years, this event has opened to the public and has become much more of a reader-oriented event with signings, panels, etc. Fun! 

Copyright – The part of the U.S. (and international) law that enables you to claim ownership over the work you produce. Modern copyright protection in the U.S. is automatically renewed and typically lasts 70 years after author’s death. A publisher is typically responsible for registering their books with the U.S. copyright office. Those are the basics – the rest is a tangly, sometimes complicated legal web, but definitely something worth being savvy about.

D & A – Short for “Delivery and Acceptance.” This is language you’ll often find in a publishing contact re: an advance. Sometimes an advance payment will be due half on signing and half on D&A – or when the publisher accepts your final manuscript.

Editorial Letter – A letter you might receive from an agent or editor, detailing feedback on your manuscript. To be discussed openly and then used as your map for the revision process!

Frontlist – The “new” titles handled by a publisher or agency. Older titles = backlist.

Genre – Okay, we all know what genre is. Different categories of books – fantasy, romance, horror, etc.  But do you know what genre you’re writing in? Can you name 10 books published in your genre this year? I include this because it’s important to know what works in your genre and doesn’t. We see a lot of queries where people think they’re writing in one genre that they sort of kind of aren’t writing it. Weird, but it happens! Become an expert in your genre so that when you submit and edit, you know what you’re talking about. Also, PSA: YA is NOT a genre.

Hardcover – Hard binding, usually with a dust jacket. Many trade books are published first in this format. Though, some imprints publish paperback or e-originals. If you get to the contract stage, don’t be afraid to ask what format your publisher is planning on using for the debut. For example, they may have hardcover rights but plan to publish mass-market. It’s good info to know!

Imprint – Think of these as the baby publishers within bigger publishers. Example: Balzer and Bray is an imprint of HarperCollins Childrens Books. Imprints often have their own missions/personalities, publishing books re: certain genres, tones, or subjects. Some imprint identities are very defined and others are looser. It’s definitely helpful while writing to get to know the various imprints out there and think about what imprints you might envision your work at.

Jacket Copy –  The text on the jacket/back of the book with the premise and a little teasing that makes you want to buy it. Often this comes from an author’s original query!

K – Publishing/legal shorthand for contract, usually circled. It’s a K because © is already taken by copyright!

List Price – the price at which your book will be listed for sale. Royalties are sometimes based on list price.

MS – short for manuscript and of #MSWL fame. A nitpicky debate we have around the M&O office is whether it is technically correct in a query letter to refer to the work as a book or a manuscript (logic being it’s not a book until it’s published). I will refrain from stating my position but know this causes heated arguments around here! 😉

Option – A publishing contract may include an “option” clause, which essentially allows the publisher first dibs on an author’s next work (sometimes limited by genre, length, etc). The publisher will typically have a set amount of time by which they have to decide whether or not they want to publish that work as well. Agents typically like to avoid option clauses if possible because it allows authors more freedom, but depending on the situation it can be a good thing to have a pre-determined home for your book if the publisher is interested and comes up with a nice offer. So just depends! 

Platform – The position of an author to promote their book and appeal to various markets, especially referring to social media. Can be a big factor for debut authors in publishing these days, like it or not. I wouldn’t say it’s necessary to have a huge platform (especially for fiction writers) but DEFINITELY doesn’t hurt. Plus it can be a great tool to get to know others in the industry and learn from them.  

Query Letter – DIFFERENT FROM A SYNOPSIS. This is the letter you write to an agent that very simply states what your book is about and why they might want to represent it. A good rule of thumb – does at least part of this letter read like what I might find on the back of a book? More query tips here.

Revise & Resubmit – What an agent might ask you for if they liked your project but felt it needed work. Usually will be asked for following an editorial letter or other feedback.

Simultaneous Submission – A submission going to multiple agents at one time. Totally fine unless you’ve promised exclusivity to one.

Term (re: contracts) – In contracts lingo, the amount of time that the contract is valid for. For most U.S. book contracts, this will be for the term of copyright, meaning that until the book enters the public domain or the rights are reverted, the contract is valid.

Unsolicited Queries – AKA “slush.” These are queries sent to agents and publishers without being requested and account for a majority of submissions. Note that many agencies do not respond to unsolicited queries in which they aren’t interested. Not because they are mean and want to ignore writers, but because if they responded to each they would do nothing else! Many agents  (including me and my colleagues at M&O) do respond individually to requested material, however, even if it’s a rejection.

Vanity Publishing – A type of self-publishing in which the author pays for a company to produce copies of their book. Unlike indie publishers and other routes of self-publishing, vanity publishers do not typically offer sales or marketing assistance. For authors looking to break out an indie book, vanity publishers often end up being not the best route. If you do go the self-pub route, it’s crucial to research whether or not your publisher will provide these services, as working with a vanity publisher will leave a lot of the grunt of sales work up to you to make returns on your investments of money and time .

World Building – An editorial term referring to how the setting/atmosphere of the story is created. All stories have world building, but it can be especially crucial in genres like sci-fi and fantasy.

X, Y, Z – Are really hard letters! Publishing as an industry should work on developing some vocab for these…if you have ideas comment with them!

Hope you guys found this little intro/glossary helpful. More posts coming soon!