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Much as summontherats says, market, meaning MG YA, or adult, is not determined by the age of the protagonist, but by theme, by how graphic the novel is, by use of language, and by story.
Many novels for adults have very young protagonists. I can't remember title, but I remember reading one with a protagonist who was only seven. and it was very much a novel for adults.
Anyway, when you start thinking about dividing a story into two books, or three books, you;re probably in serious trouble. This approach almost never works unless the story was written from the start with two or three books in mind. The structure is just not the same. If yu read trilogies, you find a distinct story in each book, even when it takes all three books to complete the overall story. Breaking a single story that has the structure of a single story into two or three books means readers feel like they're paying three times as much as they should to read your novel. And if it's broken into three books, the middle book isn't going to be structured well at all.
Books aren't broken just for length, but because the story is designed for being told as two or three books.
Your best bet is to cut the book to acceptable length, and I guarantee much of your story can be cut without harming a thing, and probably by improving much. If not, you're a very unusual writer.
Barring this, tight it as best you can, and try to sell it as is. If it's good enough, and I mean spectacular, this will work.
What almost certainly won't work is telling an agent or editor that it needs to be published in more than one volume because it's too long for one volume.
Many novels for adults have very young protagonists. I can't remember title, but I remember reading one with a protagonist who was only seven. and it was very much a novel for adults.
Anyway, when you start thinking about dividing a story into two books, or three books, you;re probably in serious trouble. This approach almost never works unless the story was written from the start with two or three books in mind. The structure is just not the same. If yu read trilogies, you find a distinct story in each book, even when it takes all three books to complete the overall story. Breaking a single story that has the structure of a single story into two or three books means readers feel like they're paying three times as much as they should to read your novel. And if it's broken into three books, the middle book isn't going to be structured well at all.
Books aren't broken just for length, but because the story is designed for being told as two or three books.
Your best bet is to cut the book to acceptable length, and I guarantee much of your story can be cut without harming a thing, and probably by improving much. If not, you're a very unusual writer.
Barring this, tight it as best you can, and try to sell it as is. If it's good enough, and I mean spectacular, this will work.
What almost certainly won't work is telling an agent or editor that it needs to be published in more than one volume because it's too long for one volume.