Anyway, I posted a question on the Daphne Unfeasible blog a while back, and the agent, Kate Testerman, responded! Here's some of her answer:
Now, there is a lot of crossover potential between these age ranges, and as we all know, we expect kids to read up, so a 12 year old may expect or want to read about a 14 year old.... Let an agent decide what your book is, and how she can market it to an editor. Yes, she may suggest a change in your protag's age -- so be ready to defend or consider if your story would still work if your MC was 14 -- or 16.Which doesn't give me an easy answer for my dilemma, but does make me think that it might be OK for me to just let my book stand as is. I'm not entirely sure about her suggestion that I just leave off the age range in my query, but I am starting to be a little less obsessed with the question.
4 comments:
Ooo, I like her answer. I have a finished novel that I classify as YA, but wouldn't be surprised if an editor or agent said it's really MG. It's kind of in that fuzzy space between. :(
I hope it helps you figure out where you need to take your story. Or whether you need to change the age of your characters. You know, you may not need to change the age much. Like Kate said, a 12 year old is still MG, and might want to read about what 14 year olds are doing. :)
I bet your book rocks!
And good advice to leave it as is. When it sells for a million dollars, the editor can decide.
I'm definitely leaning towards that way. It's a decision, though...I want the book as perfect as possible, including ages, before I submit! :)
I think that you got the perfect answer in a way - just write and let an agent help you with it later. Worry about that stuff later.
I bet once you're done, things will be more clear...
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