Alternative History Novel

Young adults read all sorts of things. Why would they not read alternate history?

If your novel is good and doesn't condescend to the young adult reader, you'll find readers who respond to it.

There is a reader for everything. Don't be discouraged. The 18 thing and that part of history would indicate YA to me, but it's hard to say. Those who have read your book and are familiar with YA and MG might give you a good idea where it fits. Good luck!

I think what happens is people hear "alternative history" and they think teens/the YA audience will be turned off because you're writing something like a textbook you'll find in a History class.

FWIW, I LOVE alternative history and pretty much write it myself. I would've loved if there was more of it when I was a teen. There is an audience. Don't be discouraged.

There's definitely an audience for YA historical fiction. I'm not sure how marketable alternate history is (since it seems to me it would appeal more to those who know a bit about the actual history), but if it's a good book I don't see why teens couldn't enjoy it. I'm a teenager who'd happily read alternate history

Dhewco said:

I shopped it about eight years ago, but I didn't get so much as a request for a partial. Maybe it was my query, which is something I just can't seem to write.

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Have you tried Query Letter Hell? Read the stickies over there and try your hand at critting queries. It's a good way to learn what works and what doesn't, so you can polish up your query and then post it for critique.

Dhewco said:

No, I haven't. I might do that. Also, it could be I didn't cast my net wide enough. I only queried about 10 before I stopped. (I had queried an earlier novel about 2 years before and tried about 20-30 that time...It was a YA scifi and I was afraid of overlap and paranoid I'd go into some sort of auto-reject file.) Silly, right? Right?

lol
David

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Yeah, 10 queries isn't many. There's an interesting post here about query stats you might want to check out

If someone liked your writing, there is little harm in reminding them. This is especially true if they expressed an interest in seeing more of it.

Otherwise, query widely but make sure the manuscript and query letter are ready for it.

Agents hope the next thing we send will be better than the last. If you were unprofessional, that might have a negative impact, but otherwise, it's about the work and whether they think it will sell. (It's also about whether they think you'll manage edits and have more work to follow.)

If an agent liked your work and told you so in a personalized rejection letter, I would DEFINITELY remind them if you query with something else. They want you to. Sometimes they will remember your name on their own, but they want to know if they liked something previously, that you are a consistent working author that can produce more than one novel, and that you are going through the process in a professional manner indicating they can work with you. A simple, "You said X, Y, and Z about my previous novel XXX, so I thought you might be interested in my new novel, YYY." Or some variation of that. They have good memories I have been told, so use it to get your foot in the door. They will look more closely at something if they know they liked your previous work, and if an intern is screening queries, it will help you float to the top of the pile.

I love the 'What if...' stories where people change history. I think older people might see it as what could really have happened but YAs probably see it more as like fantasy, unless they're really into History.

May I suggest reading two or three titles by Rosemary Sutcliff. She wrote a whole series about an area/community of Great Britain beginning in the bronze age and finishing in the 12th or 14th century...ten or twelve YA novels in all. Deeply researched, very literary (not a Dr. Seuss read), but utterly immersive. She sunk you into whatever era she wrote about. You might pick up some insights and ideas from her. She was my favorite author when I was 14. http://rosemarysutcliff.com. My favorite was Knights Fee about a Saxon boy having to grow up under the recently victorious Normans.

I would definitely second that recommendation of Rosemary Sutcliff.