Is it YA if they're not in school?

Channy · Apr 21, 2014

So I was thinking after reading a few YA vs NA threads, maybe my ms isn't YA after all. The whole big consensus is that YA is when they're in school, and NA is when they're in college... Okay, well, what if they're not in school? My ms features a group of children who range in ages as young as 8 and as old as 18 with super powers escaping a facility...this original ms isn't something to worry about. But then in the second and third instalments, what happens when we go through a time skip of 6 months to a year?

I'm wondering if YA is something I should be sub genreing it as. At first I thought it to be YA sci-if light.. Now maybe I should be focusing on the sci-if first. I want to start pitching it soon now that I'm wrapping up loose ends and maybe I've been going about it all wrong.

Sage · Apr 21, 2014

It's not actually about being in school as much as the age range you usually see for high school versus college.

If you're reading YA SFF, you'll see plenty of settings that don't include school. But you will (almost always) see that 14-18yo age range for the main characters.

And don't worry about the sequels. If your book is successful enough for a sequel, even aging out of high school age won't make it not YA, I mean, unless you're making years' worth of jumps.

Springs · Apr 21, 2014

Ditto what Sage said. Just focus on your first book for now. I could definitely see the plot you described above (with characters in that age range) to fit into YA, MG, or adult fiction. It all depends on your writing style, the theme of the book, and somewhat on the age of the character you focus on most. If you can't decide between the YA and adult sci-fi markets, query both and see what happens.

lauralam · Apr 23, 2014

Neither of my books feature school but they're marketed as YA. Protag is 16-17.

Is it YA if they're not in school?

Channy

Me Gusta

Sage

Supreme Guessinator

Springs

lauralam

Moonshade