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Post by anedale on Nov 30, 2009 22:14:54 GMT -5
I recall from my own submission to MLP that Jeff said he didn't want YA novels.
However, going through the contest entries, it seems like a number of them could be or definitely are YA material.
What gives? Is my definition perhaps a bit too narrow? Have the rules against YA been relaxed?
For my own self, I'm a fan of YA. It can often be better written, have better pacing, and just generally get more done than thick 'grown up' novels. (I say this as an adult reader.)
But I tried to take that to heart when I submitted, and I planned to not submit to MLP my YA fantasy. (I'm currently editing.) Should I revise my plans, expand my definition of YA--or have a few things just snuck under the radar lately?
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Post by Kristen on Dec 1, 2009 21:28:30 GMT -5
Actually, I suspect you need to restrict your definition of YA. It really only covers younger teens or tweens. Older teens pretty much read the same stuff as the rest of us.
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Post by beckyminor on Dec 1, 2009 21:52:59 GMT -5
Yeah, I find what the world calls a Young Adult and what the writing industry calls the same are pretty different. Kind of like how an 11 year old has to pay full price at an amusement park.  |
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Post by Grace Bridges on Dec 1, 2009 23:28:45 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure YA now refers to kiddie-lit that we'd consider beneath adult reading. Only just beneath, perhaps in many cases, but beneath. That's clearly not the case with the contest entries as far as I can tell from the blurbs. These are stories that adults would enjoy reading and not find too juvenile. But correct me if I'm wrong...
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Post by anedale on Dec 2, 2009 12:28:26 GMT -5
Thanks for answering!  My novel is about a girl and a dragon. The girl's age isn't stated (she doesn't know it), but she's almost certainly a teenager. And I started writing it when I was a teenager...I figured that meant it was almost certainly YA. |
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Post by pixydust on Dec 3, 2009 14:19:51 GMT -5
YA encompasses tween to teen novels in industry speak (MCs from 9-18). But it's always subjective. I write YA for older teens. In the CBA my work would never be considered YA while in ABA it is. Mostly it's to do with content and theme, I think. In ABA they allow more heavy content while in CBA they want the YA to be tween style novels, IE: Dragons in our Midst, Door Within, and those types of narratives. So, in Jeff's case I venture to say, he doesn't want any mss that are tween or young teen style. He wants a book a 40yr old can pick up and enjoy, too. Am I way off base here? |
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Post by pixydust on Dec 3, 2009 14:25:57 GMT -5
Thanks for answering! My novel is about a girl and a dragon. The girl's age isn't stated (she doesn't know it), but she's almost certainly a teenager. And I started writing it when I was a teenager...I figured that meant it was almost certainly YA. Well, I would guess that if her age wasn't stated maybe the voice read younger than you intended. I find when you want to write a specific age group you need to always aim a little older than you think in the voice department. For my recent ms I write my character as if she were an adult, because of the world she lives in, but she's actually only 16. |
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