So, the book that I've recently began to work on is aimed towards the 'Independent readers' section you would find at a Borders a.k.a. where books like Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, etc. type books would be. And I'm just wondering if anyone had any tips on how to make the book appeal to that type of audience so that it pops out and keeps them hooked because I know when I was that age I wasn't too interested in reading. Thank you! --Darcy
Get a good agent. Between your agent and your publisher, they will work on how best to market your book. But before you start fishing for agents, write the book. Write it, proofread it, revise it, until you can no longer make it any better. Then be prepared to make more changes when you find an agent who thinks your book can be whipped into publishable state. You are nowhere near in a position to worry about marketing. You haven't put the cart before the horse, because the horse hasn't even been born yet. If you are talking about writing to a particular age group, read plenty of other books for that age group. Then read books on either side of that age group until you can discern the differences in vocabulary, content, and so one for each age group.
Alrighty! I wasn't sure if that had to do with the beginning process or the ending process, but now I know! Thank you
The obvious answer is to write an awesome book The topic/plot/theme should be of interest to readers that age, often with a protagonist their age or slightly older. Don't write too simplistically or dumb it down, as kids are sharper than many give them credit for, and avid readers are often very sharp. Keep things moving, avoiding info dumps and lots of back story. Good luck moving forward! Terry
Well said and if I may HAHAHA Now is the time to make up for the lost times. Read read read in that genre and you'll know what will work for you.
I can help a little, I am writing Junior Fiction because I want to try and get in with a particular publishers that only does fiction for 8-16 year olds. I've been doing some research with readers between 10-15 years old. The feedback is don't talk down to them, the book needs to sound intelligent. Characters they can identify with, so a main character a little bit older than your target market is good. Like nine year old girls used to be the buyers of the UK magazine Just 17. They like the work descriptive, but the language more simple than you would use in an adult book. 40,000 words is about right but the Harry Potter and Eragon generations can take books that are longer, however publishers are unlikely to accept much more than 40,000ish for a first time writer. Find yourself some target readers that will help you, I found two on line, two in real life and a librarian that works with that age group. I am going to ask at the local library for a couple of others. Mine have been invaluable knowing what should be in my book and what needs to come out.
The age old advice: read books similar to what you want to write, and note how the description, dialogue, relationships, etc is handled. Is the dialogue tagged more often? Does dialogue tags use more adverbs? Are descriptions longer? Do char descriptions focus on different aspects than adult writing? How deep do relationships go? This includes bf/gf, friends, parents-child, etc. Naturally, don't copy it -- but learn from it. I don't read that group often, and never write it, so these are just things that come to mind.
what sells books to the YA market, aside from the publisher's advertising hype, is first of all, the title... then the cover art [which depends in part on the title and plot, though is not always completely relevant] and after that, the plot blurb [which will depend on the plot/storyline you write]... so i, for one, don't think you're putting the cart before the horse, but are wise to consider all of the elements that go into making a book a bestseller, before you start off in a direction that may not be conducive to getting you to your goal... love and hugs, maia
Thank you! That's what I thought too. I figured if I kept my audience in mind while I'm writing it, it would be that much easier to market for that audience.
