Article: The Rise and Disappearance of Middle Grade Fiction

Roly

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Wanted to get your opinions because it brings up a lot of interesting points.

http://bibliodaze.com/2014/02/the-rise-and-disappearance-of-middle-grade-fiction/

I want to see MG be a success, but right now, it just seems to be another fad that never failed to materialize, even though the money is still out there and authors are jumping into the fray like never before. The sales, though, seem to be missing, and the reason isn’t glaringly obvious. Are tweens skipping MG for the ever-present YA novel, or are MG books not resonating with today’s 10 year olds, or what?
 

MJWare

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Very interesting article, though the title is a bit misleading.

What I really got from it is that celebrities and adult authors are jumping on the MG bandwagon. Which just means less slots for those of us trying to break-in.
 

Shoe Shine Boy

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It’s worth a read, but I’m not sure I would make life changing decisions based on the article. The author gives full disclosure that she generally doesn’t focus on MG writing. She’s more in tune with YA (in fact she created a blog dedicated to YA for women).

Not saying her point isn’t valid, but she’s not an industry insider or power agent or anything like that. She’s struggling to be an author, just like a bunch of us.

I know my 12 year son can’t get enough good MG books to read. There are a lot of kids at that age that love to read (boys too). So maybe the books haven’t met the high expectations set for them. It doesn’t mean that book isn’t just around the corner waiting to break out right? I mean who saw the Harry Potter thing coming? The next one might just be sitting on your hard drive as we speak.

Just my thoughts. Thanks for pointing out the article.
 

DanielaTorre

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I kind of agree with the mention of protagonists not acting their age. The closest I've seen is Percy Jackson, but that had a lot to do with the writer's voice. Kids seem to relate to him a lot because of that. On the other hand, a lot of the MG books I've picked up lately have a lot of protags acting a lot older than they are, or being in situations that frankly are too juvenile. Even I have had to put books down because it was just too bland. Kids always read up.

Some of you will probably not agree with me, but I think we're living in a very PC age. Because of this, writers a careful with the content of their stories while publishers are careful what they put out. Kids don't necessarily agree. But then again, its the parents job to supervise what their kids do, so I guess we're back at square one.

We also have to take into account that as writers, we are constantly at war for a reader's attention. With distractions such as TV, internet, and video games, we have to fight ten times harder for a kid's attention. Not to mention that kids don't typically discuss what they read with others, so word of mouth is limited to "Yeah, I liked it." as opposed to the YA. Your teen years are the social years, and teens will discuss things more thoroughly, leading to word of mouth and more sales.

Lastly, I was at the bookstore last week and went to the kids section. There were SO MANY BOOKS. I mean, jeezy creezy! Not only are we fighting other forms of media for attention, but we are also battling each other! Sales seem to be dispersed among all these writers, so if you take all the above into account, of course the sales aren't were they're supposed to be. The next Rowling is probably buried under somewhere in there and we might never know.

Remember, books like PJ and HP border between MG and YA, so you have the interest of the kids with the benefit of YA word-of-mouth.
 

CheG

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I feel like my timing has been off my whole life. I should be trying to be an author 50 years ago...

I love MG, have loved it for years! Shamedly haunted the section in my 20s hoping no one asked me why I was in that section...

But I don't know where or how to succeed anymore. At anything. Most of what I have published, or is going to be published, are NOT MG books. The MG I wrote and was proud of has gone down like the Titanic. And my favorite length is novella! I don't know if I should even try to write another MG or not.
 

Jamesaritchie

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There's more MG out there right now than I've ever seen. There's probably too much, in fact.
 

Shandylous

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The issue I have with that article is that middle grade fiction is not a "fad." There have been books for children as long as there have been books for adults, and the middle grade years are truly the golden age of reading. Kids become lifelong readers--or not--during that time, and adults often cite middle grade novels as the books that have had the most impact on them over the years.

That said, yes. There is more competition than ever. Big name authors and countless aspiring authors are writing MG, so it takes A LOT to stand out and break out in that category. But honestly, I think YA is even more over-saturated, and adult commercial fiction can't be any easier. At least kids read on a regular basis, even if it is just for school. The same can't be said for all adults.

Writing for ANY audience is a challenge. Write what you love, not to trends.
 

A.P.M.

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The Warriors Series (the one with the cats) was really huge a while ago, at least in my circles. Like, really huge. Everyone ignores animal fantasy. /grumbles

I think people tend to think that successes have to hit Harry Potter levels before they are truly classified as huge successes. But HP was a phenomenon even during its time, and raised the bar sky-high. Big hits like that don't happen often--maybe once in 10-20 years. In the meantime, there have been plenty of smaller successes.

There's also some really kick-butt self published middle grade out there that's done well for itself.
 

MJRevell

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My editor told me last week that its a brilliant time to be a children's author. Why? Because the market is growing, while elsewhere in publishing it's not.

It's not a fad at all, and there's never been a better time to write it.
 

cgrinds

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Cat Warriors are still popular here :)

I love MG, have loved it for years! Shamedly haunted the section in my 20s hoping no one asked me why I was in that section...

CheG. I solved that by having children. Well, not in my 20s, but you get my drift.
 

ash.y

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As an MG editor and library assistant, I'd disagree with her view re: MG disappearing. I don't think MG has disappeared so much as she is disconnected from it...but right, there aren't media campaigns for these books like there are for YA. Because it's a different beast. And nothing compares to HP.


I'd definitely agree that the market is FLOODED, and there's a lot of stuff that falls by the wayside.


There's also the fact that the middle grade audience is more reliant on the school or local library and parents buying into the buzz. Kids don't have cash. Teens and adults do.



Some MG books at the library that are constantly checked out: Warriors (the new Redwall), I Survived, Rainbow Magic, Diary of a Wimpy Kid/Dear Dumb Diary, Wonder, Percy Jackson. (And I'm pleased to say that Dear America is still popular!)
 

CheG

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As an MG editor and library assistant, I'd disagree with her view re: MG disappearing. I don't think MG has disappeared so much as she is disconnected from it...but right, there aren't media campaigns for these books like there are for YA. Because it's a different beast. And nothing compares to HP.


I'd definitely agree that the market is FLOODED, and there's a lot of stuff that falls by the wayside.


There's also the fact that the middle grade audience is more reliant on the school or local library and parents buying into the buzz. Kids don't have cash. Teens and adults do.

This is exactly what I tell people who tell me I should self-publish my MG book! The marketing is so different from YA and adult books.
 

lianna williamson

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Anyone who would characterize the creation of quality children's literature that encourages kids to develop a love of reading a "fad" is not someone whose opinion I am interested in reading.

I am experiencing Maggie-Smith-in-Downton-Abbey levels of disapproval over here.
 

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Also if you look at what editors are currently looking for so many are desperately seeking MG right now. So maybe MG isn't booming at the moment, but 18 months from now . . . I bet you'll see an upswing.
 

rugcat

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Also if you look at what editors are currently looking for so many are desperately seeking MG right now. So maybe MG isn't booming at the moment, but 18 months from now . . . I bet you'll see an upswing.
Except, I think the focus these days in MG is on the bottom line, even more than in other genres.

It's a hard market to break into – it's not unusual to get a response from editors that says sorry, I really love this book, but I don't think it's the kind of thing that will sell in today's MG market.

And by not sell, they don't mean that nobody will buy it. They mean they don't see its potential to break out onto the bestseller list. Of course, that's pretty much standard these days for the publishing industry, at least in genre fiction, but I think it's much more pronounced in MG.
 

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But how is that unusual? That's the exact same situation in YA right now, it's blockbuster or bust (I have direct experience with that). That's all of publishing right now quite frankly. Which is why we are starting to see the rise of so many fabulous small presses. But even those have barriers due simply to how much product they can actually put out in a year. I honestly don't see MG as any harder to break into than any other genre at present.

Do you have any particular evidence that MG is even worse than all other genres? Because anecdotally I have experienced that exact rejection you cited with YA and Adult far more than I experienced for MG.
 
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