I just typed that title without really considering the psychological can of worms it just opened, as I am not and (I hope) never will be a girl (no offence to any girls) but the point I am trying to make still stands.
That point is this;
Why do we delineate so sharply between age brackets? I was browsing around Waterstone's the other day, trying to absorb some vibes for the book I'm writing, and I was struck by the focus on the '8-12' age group.
Why 8-12?
As it happens, I have tried to write a children's book and ended up with something that strays a little too close to YA fiction. As the wise and witty editor pointed out in her wonderful midway report, the book needs a little work to take it back to the 8-12 level. I have worked and worked and in my opinion, I now have a book perfect for an age bracket that doesn't exist; 10-14.
The thing is, I had a quick shufty through the 8-12 shelves, and I was rather unimpressed with what I found; I thought a lot of it (by no means all, or even most) was thin, rather patronising and often cliched.
Have I shot myself in the foot? Does my story need to be watered down in order to appeal to children (or more accurately, to children's publishers?) What should I do?
Hi Marc,
Let the title and the story persuade the publisher and the reader. I guess much of the story is set within the title that you have chosen. If the story is great, the title will follow too.
Cosmin
We had a discussion about this in one of my Finish That Novel groups and came to the very same conclusion, that 8 -12 bracket is quite daft. An 8 -10 bracket followed by 11 -14 would be nearer the mark, but in the end it depends on the maturity of the child. I do agree that parents and families need a rough guide to help them when selecting books for youngsters but we probably need something like the film categories.
I think we'll find that kids actually read quite a wide range of stuff, some 'older' and some 'younger'. At age 12, I read Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca followed by Swallows and Amazons followed by a couple of Enid Blyton's boarding school books! (OK, given my age away, I know)
Writing for the not quite teenager is always difficult as girls especially, grow up so much faster these days. I always try to include topics and language that are pertinent to this age range but also have to consider the reading skills of the audience. Not all children in this age bracket are proficient readers but are still capable of understanding the subject of the story.