Not YA, but main character is a kid. Thoughts?

[mudlark]

Okay, so I'm a newbie...hello, hello...I love this forum. I've been lurking, but now finally diving in. Sooooo:
I've just finished my first novel, a tragi-comedy which involves a family imploding (a laugh riot, I know), told mainly but definitely not exclusively from the POV of an 11 yr old boy. There's are two other main characters, the kid's mom and an aging Russian guy... Without going into the whole thing, I've sent it out and a several agents seem confused by who it's aimed at-- "Are you sure this isn't YA?" that kind of thing. I'm in the middle of changing the opening, so the tone is set differently from the start-- but that doesn't change the central gist of the story.
But today I was told by an agent that I should make the MOTHER the central character because it should be aimed at women, that's who is reading, that's who's buying this kind of book. "An adult book with a kid as the central character is a very difficult sell."
Would love to get some feedback on this. What think thou o wise ones out there?

[sleepsheep]

I am inclined to tell you to listen to the agents - they are the ones who can sell your book. But that sounds like a pretty substantial change. I am also quite inclined to disagree that a child/teen MC cannot go along with an adult book. There are numerous counterexamples that you can present to the agents (but again, that's probably not the best course of action).

So, your choices are - (1) change the genre to YA or (2) change the main character to the mother. I think (1) is easiest, and I always prefer the path of least resistance.

Unless the story relies quite heavily on sex and violence, I don't see why it can't be YA.

Also, welcome to the forum! :)

[Matera the Mad]

Oliver Twist

[nevada]

Oliver Twist

not valid. they didn't have YA back then. lol

of the top of my head

the curious incident of the dog at night-time. literary but autistic child as MC and written in first person.

Carry Me Home by Sandra Kring. MC is older, about 16 or 17 but had a fever when he was a child and is now "slow"

The Book Of Bright Ideas by Sandra Kring. MC is about 11 ish i think.

Then again, your agent knows the market very well.

[IceCreamEmpress]

In the abstract, there's no reason you can't write a novel for adults with a main character who is a child or teenager. There are a bunch of them out there--in addition to the ones already named, there's The History of Luminous Motion by Scott Bradfield, The Saskiad by Brian Hall, H by Elizabeth Shepard, and What Is the What by Dave Eggers.

That said, if agents feel like this book seems like a YA novel, they're probably coming to that conclusion based on factors other than the main character's age.

[Shady Lane]

Peace Like a River is an adult book told from an 11 year old narrator.

Most books by John Irving follow the narrator from childhood to adulthood.

[2Wheels]

Grisham's "A Painted House" comes to mind too, as being successful - and definitely not YA.

[Danthia]

What do YOU want to do?

Sounds like you're getting different advice from different agents, and all of it is valid. If you have a good YA voice and the book sounds YA, marketing it as YA could be effective. If the story would do well as woman's fiction with a few changes, and you like going that route, that could also be effective.

As Empress said, YA is more than just age of the protag, and as many have said, there have been plenty of young protags in adult books.

You might want to look at all the feedback you've received and see which one resonates with you the most. What do you want from your writing career? If you don't like YA or woman's fiction, changing your book to match might not be the smart move. But if you love one of those markets and would enjoy writing in them, them it might be a good move for you.

[Charlie Horse]

Hey, at least you're getting feedback from agents on the direction they would like you to go. I wouldn't give up on it just yet in its current form, but if I were you, I would prepare myself mentally for a rework. In the meantime, keep writing.

[unicornjam]

I've never read this book (so it may be directed towards children), but how about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer?

[soapdish]

Another one that comes to mind is Wally Lamb's: She's Come Undone.

[wandergirl]

And others are the Lovely Bones and the Secret Life of Bees.

Honestly, 11 is too young for a YA book, anyway. And the alternating POV with two adults sounds more like adult literary fiction. Is that what it's meant to be?

[Horseshoes]

Who do you see as the primary audience? Recognizing many or all demographics read many or all books, who did you see as the *majority* of your novel's audience?

[Atlantis]

"An adult book with a kid as the central character is a very difficult sell."

Harry Potter.
The Host.
Twilight.

All books with young adult main characters popular with adults. Don't change your entire story because a couple of agents didn't like it. That's just their opinion. How do you know the next agent you send it to won't love it just how it is?

[blacbird]

But today I was told by an agent that I should make the MOTHER the central character because it should be aimed at women, that's who is reading, that's who's buying this kind of book. "An adult book with a kid as the central character is a very difficult sell." love to get some feedback on this. What think thou o wise ones out there?

Yeah. It was a terrible problem for Mark Twain (Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, The Prince and the Pauper), William Golding (Lord of the Flies), Ray Bradbury (Dandelion Wine, Something Wicked This Way Comes), Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) . . .

caw

[DSoN]

The way a certain author I can't remember the name of did it, is he did a prolouge where the main character, a male in his teens, looks back at what happened back then when he's an adult. The epiloge also features him as an adult (with a family) and talks about how he did things differently then his parents did.

Just a suggestion though. I'll try to find the book- I read about it in one of my writing help books. I've never read it.

[Kathleen42]

"An adult book with a kid as the central character is a very difficult sell."

Harry Potter.
The Host.
Twilight.

All books with young adult main characters popular with adults. Don't change your entire story because a couple of agents didn't like it. That's just their opinion. How do you know the next agent you send it to won't love it just how it is?

That's a bit different. With the possible exception of The Host (which I've not read), those were all marketed towards/written for a YA audience. They had crossover appeal, but adults were not the anticipated audience.

I do, however, agree that there are adult books where the MC is a child. Stephen King's books often feature child characters.

It may be a harder sell, but it has been done.

[mudlark]

Thank you all so much for the very considered input-- amazingly helpful...especially as so much of it underscores my own opinions (who doesn't love that?). It got me thinking, and yes, I suppose I've always been attracted to adult books that have a child protagonist-- from Dickens, to Mark Twain, to Harper Lee to Stephen King (often) and so many others...and have NEVER, EVER been attracted to the YA-- even when I was a YA. (Well, okay, I really really loved Charlotte's Web, and A Wrinkle in Time, and anything Roald Dahl...and okay, a bunch of others, so I guess I'm lying about NEVER liking YA...in fact I have incredible admiration for people who write YA. But the point is...) Your comments really clarified for me the kind of writing I'm most attracted to.
Also:
That said, if agents feel like this book seems like a YA novel, they're probably coming to that conclusion based on factors other than the main character's age.
Twue. Which is why I think I need to revisit certain aspects of the book-- in particular the opening, which sets the first impression...
I especially loved the succinctness of:
Oliver Twist
Which made me laugh...and then rushed out and reread the opening of that book, which is an amazing intro to a character and world.
So, must thank you all again for your comments, which I found both helpful and inspiring.
This is a great community-- I'm happy to have stumbled into it!

[timewaster]

So, your choices are - (1) change the genre to YA or (2) change the main character to the mother. I think (1) is easiest, and I always prefer the path of least resistance.

Unless the story relies quite heavily on sex and violence, I don't see why it can't be YA


Changing a novel aimed at adults to one for the children's market will usually require a total rewrite. The tone of a YA is different and it has to deal with whatever it deals with in terms that are of interest to a younger age group. Children read adult books, adults read children's books but YA is a marketing label and books marketed that way have to have something the publishers identify as being relevant for and interesting to teens or younger. It is not just about the age of the main protag.