11 year old protagonist too young for YA?

JackieS

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One agent gave me some advice that has been haunting me since I received her rejection. My story is too long for MG (87,000 words) and the protagonist is too young for YA. The story is too dark/ scary for the typical MG reader, though my own 10yo is flying through it. I know it is not a good idea to try to be the exception to the rule as a new writer, but I can't see my protagonist being much older as this will be a series and she will grow older as the books go on. Do I keep going as is, or do I revise?
 

Debbie V

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You could go the Harry Potter route and write a middle grade to start with. The later books are YA.

You could age up your protagonist or age down your story. The thing is, there won't be a series if book one never sells.

You can have an 11 year old protagonist in an adult work, but not YA. 16 year olds have no interest in reading about kids younger than themselves - at least that's the general wisdom.

Is there a story based reason for the character to be 11? If not, change her age.
 

JackieS

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Do you think 14 would work? Otherwise I could split it into 2 books since it's too long for MG.
 

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One agent gave me some advice that has been haunting me since I received her rejection. My story is too long for MG (87,000 words) and the protagonist is too young for YA. The story is too dark/ scary for the typical MG reader, though my own 10yo is flying through it. I know it is not a good idea to try to be the exception to the rule as a new writer, but I can't see my protagonist being much older as this will be a series and she will grow older as the books go on. Do I keep going as is, or do I revise?

I fully believe in "be true to your story", but I'm also a pragmatist, and so, head over heart, my gut take on it would be 'there will be no series unless the first book gets published, and it won't get published if the story is too long for MG and the protagonist is too young for YA.'
 

Cyia

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The key words there are "one agent."

One agent can only tell you what they look for in a manuscript. If you get similar feedback from several, it's different, but if you've only heard this once, and you're happy with your book as-is, then keep trying.

11 is much too young for YA, in general. 14 is on the cusp, so it will depend on the agent/editor/reader. But the "too dark" comment is highly subjective. There's a lot of dark MG out there.
 

JackieS

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Thank you. I have gotten one partial request and one full request. I can push her to 14. She has an older brother, so this jump in her age would push him to 16/ 17. He is one of the MC's, so that might help.
 

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You can have an 11 year old protagonist in an adult work, but not YA. 16 year olds have no interest in reading about kids younger than themselves - at least that's the general wisdom.

Not necessarily. I'm 17 (for my sins), and child narrators are one of my favorite things in ficion, provided they're handled correctly. Of course, take this with a grain of salt, as I'm fairly sure my tastes in fiction aren't typical for my age bracket. But an 11 year old protagonist would actually pique my interest, rather than the opposite.
 

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Blue, I have always gravitated towards young characters as well. So maybe there are more of us out there. I will see how this round of queries pans out. My first go at it. Thanks again.
 

DaisyH

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the first set of books by tamora pierce in the Circle Of Magic series revolves around four 11 and 10 year olds and it's very popular o.o

Tamora Pierce's first books in a series usually start off with pretty young protagonists. She's an established author though, and when she started writing the market was pretty different so she might not be the best example to use.

I agree about starting off MG and moving up to YA as the MC gets older.
 

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Have a look at Helen Grant's The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. That's definitely a YA novel (and older YA at that) but the protagonist is ten years old. The story is narrated in retrospect by her from her older teens - around seventeen.
 

Bloo

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I'm having the opposite problem, I have a 15 y/o MC but am feeling the story leans more MG then YA.

I say go with your gut until you hear from more than one agent.
 

JackieS

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Bloo, I think you're ok as a thread on these boards say kids tend to read up when it comes to age.
 

Debbie V

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Not necessarily. I'm 17 (for my sins), and child narrators are one of my favorite things in ficion, provided they're handled correctly. Of course, take this with a grain of salt, as I'm fairly sure my tastes in fiction aren't typical for my age bracket. But an 11 year old protagonist would actually pique my interest, rather than the opposite.

This is exactly why I said it was the general wisdom. It's what we're told, but not necessarily what happens. We're told kids read up. This will make a younger protagonist a harder sell. You have to find the editor who is willing to buck that convention.

Bloo, 15 isn't too old for upper MG.
 

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In most cases, it's too young. However, I have read YA with characters under typical YA age. Patrick Ness's Chaos Walking trilogy comes to mind.
 
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Dhewco

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This kind of thing always irritated me. I must have been one weird reader. I read everything, but favored books with younger protagonists than myself. I was 9yo and reading Toland's bio of Hitler. The librarian used to make me read passages to be sure I wasn't checking it out for the pictures.

When I was a teenager, my favorite book was Little Boy Blue about an 11-yo boy being sent to a home for boys for violent kids. This 11-yo boy seemed to strike out at people who hurt him, something I never felt empowered to do. Yes, there are other themes, but that's what I felt at the time.

I specifically picked books with kids in horrible positions so I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. (Rockinghorse, a pulp horror novel by William Johnstone, Talisman by King/Straub, The Shining by King...I read it for Danny's story than the father's).

Yeah, I must be a different type of reader.
 

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This is my go-to reference in regards to this, but THE MONSTRUMOLOGIST has a MC who is twelve, and that book is as dark and disturbing as [censored].

The problem, as others have pointed out, is that you need to find an agent (or publisher) who believes in your book as it is.
 

yayeahyeah

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Close Your Pretty Eyes by Sally Nicholls is another YA with a young protagonist (I'm reasonably sure she's 11; I may be a year out.)

They're rare for YA but they ARE out there and can work well - good luck, whatever you decide to do with yours!
 

Debbie V

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Find out who agented and edited the books these kind folks have mentioned. That's a lead for you.
 

Emmet Cameron

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It's tough to be the exception to the rule, but if that's what your story's like and it's worth pursuing to you, write it the way it makes sense.

I'm not saying you should never age up a protagonist on agent request (I did), but if it doesn't fit with the book you want it to be, that agent and you are working on different stories, and that's a bad match.
 

what?

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YA is a marketing category. Pushing a book as YA helps sell it, because book sellers and readers know what the book is before they look at it.

If you are concerned about marketing (and selling) your first book, try to put it firmly in the middle of one marketing category. It will make everything much easier for you. Once you are an established author who is her own marketing category, you can do as you like: Stephen King's name will sell anything.

It is part of the craft of writing to make a story fit its intended audience. But if you consider yourself an artist and don't care wether or not you ever sell anything, then stay true to your inspiration.