All Things Middle Grade

If it helps Polleekin, my students don't like to read about people older than 13 either. They love the idea of Twilight but wish the protag was younger. Go figure! 7th graders are such fickle kids. They read more Jennie P. Jones and Judy Blume books. They like Bluford Series but, just like with Twilight, wish it was more their age level. However, take this with a grain of salt because my kids are not the typical reader publishers think of when repping YA. My kids are more middle grade (and I don't know about other teachers, but I think of MG as anywhere from 4th-8th). So I think we are on the same page, but not talking about the same kids. Maybe I just have some weird kids that eschew the typical!

maracalone said:

If it helps Polleekin, my students don't like to read about people older than 13 either. They love the idea of Twilight but wish the protag was younger. Go figure! 7th graders are such fickle kids. They read more Jennie P. Jones and Judy Blume books. They like Bluford Series but, just like with Twilight, wish it was more their age level. However, take this with a grain of salt because my kids are not the typical reader publishers think of when repping YA. My kids are more middle grade (and I don't know about other teachers, but I think of MG as anywhere from 4th-8th). So I think we are on the same page, but not talking about the same kids. Maybe I just have some weird kids that eschew the typical!

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Hah! Kids do like to break out of our expectations. It's interesting that they wanted younger characters in Twilight, I wouldn't have expected that. Thanks for sharing your perspective, I love hearing from teachers!

I think my kids are weird...lol! But it does turn very much into them finding any excuse not to have to read their AR books (I expect a certain amount per reading level). So that may play a part in the "reading up" dilemma. ;P

Cute book cover, Timp67!

I love the It has to be 100 pages thing. As if reading 3 short books wouldn't improve their reading just as much as one long book they struggle to finish...

Of course, I'm dealing with the opposite at first grade. It's such a status symbol to be the kid in the class who's ready for Chapter Books! Once one kid "graduates" to magic TreeHouse, they all want to. But for some, it's just too much to remember. Their comprehension drops so far, they can't pass their quizzes, and they don't understand why.

And then I worked with reluctant 6th graders. They were trying to take quizzes on Dr. Seuss books so they could reach their goals... the teacher deleted those scores. They were quite bummed. They sure fought us tooth and nail about choosing a book at the appropriate level!

Is there a place here to look for MG critique groups?

Hey all!
Count me in, just finished to rewrite a MG story Now it's taking a nap in the closet!

Oh, how sweet is that? sigh, wish some of my kitties were still babies.

Yay, a middle grade thread! Jumping in to say hello. I write upper MG. I'm also playing at writing YA, but I'm about to put that on hold. Revision letter for second upper MG arriving today -- I won't have the brain power for anything else until, say, August. (Actually, technically, I think my deadline is July 22. Ish.)

Welcome, Sary. Hope you post some stuff in SYW from time to time. It's getting a little dusty in there.

Welcome, Sary! I can't wait to read your book. As a teacher, it's a subject near and dear to my heart, so... I'll be first in line!

I'd love to hear about how the experience of working on the second book has been. You know, we write the first one with no pressure to deliver, but then that second one...deadlines, etc. Expectations.

JudScotKev said:

I'd love to hear about how the experience of working on the second book has been. You know, we write the first one with no pressure to deliver, but then that second one...deadlines, etc. Expectations.

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I'll keep you posted as I go. My second book sold along with my first book as part of a two-book deal, and it wasn't even written yet. I was a nervous wreck writing it, at least until I got my bearings and got lost in the story. I was a bigger nervous wreck sending the story to my agent, who had me do some mild revisions.

This morning I got the first 50 pages back from my editor to begin a very deep and thorough revision, and I'm petrified! There are a LOT of notes about things that are unclear/inconsisent/just plain don't make sense. This is going to be a lot harder than the first book, which I got to revise at my leisure for months before I had to let anybody read it!

It's neat, though, too, to have somebody you can trust to read an early draft and not say, "OMG, you suck!" My editor is very encouraging and is good about pointing out what does work, as well as what doesn't.

That's quite a leap of faith, being committed to Book Two. Makes me very nervous just thinking about it...

Did you have an idea of what the book would be when you were contracted for it? How much were the agent and editor involved in deciding the premise before you even started to write?

Sary said:

I'll keep you posted as I go. My second book sold along with my first book as part of a two-book deal, and it wasn't even written yet.

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Are they in the same series, or totally different? If the second, that's such a scary thing but I know you'll do it. If you can write one good book, you can write another.
I'm in a similar situation but all four books of my deal are in the same series. Getting started on the second one (which I haven't done yet...eek!) will just be extending the canon.
Good luck with the revisions!
Ivan

Good luck on the second babies, guys. Thanks for sharing the info. I had no idea about what happens after the querying stage. I'm still there. Glad to know the rest is just a breeze, as I thought.

JudScotKev said:

Did you have an idea of what the book would be when you were contracted for it? How much were the agent and editor involved in deciding the premise before you even started to write?

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When I sold the first book, I had given my agent a vague paragraph each about two possible, unrelated novels I wanted to write, and she passed these on to potential editors. When my publisher offered a two-book deal, they specified LIVVIE and "unnamed book two," to be determined at a later date. It's not a series, but it was specified that the second book would be either MG or YA.

Later on, after the contracts were signed and we'd focused on LIVVIE for a while, they asked me how things were coming with the other two novels I'd mentioned. I told them one had fizzled out for now, but I was 10,000 or so words into the other. They asked for a synopsis (about two pages) and I sent that. Didn't hear anything for a while.

Eventually, I finished the book, polished the book (although clearly not enough!), and sent it to my agent. She had me revise a bit and then she sent it to my editor, who told me up front it was going to need a lot of work. But she was also very enthusiastic about it, and this is when she officially let me know that this would be book two on the contract.

When the two-book deal was initially offered, of course I was thrilled, but I was also really scared. What if I couldn't write another book that was as good as the first one? What if they hated the second one? Well, the second one was harder to write, and it's going to be much harder to revise, but I think it's going to be an even better book than the first.

Ivan_B said:

Are they in the same series, or totally different? If the second, that's such a scary thing but I know you'll do it. If you can write one good book, you can write another.
I'm in a similar situation but all four books of my deal are in the same series. Getting started on the second one (which I haven't done yet...eek!) will just be extending the canon.
Good luck with the revisions!
Ivan

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timp67 said:

I love your jacket cover, Sary! Congrats on your second book. Is it a series or a stand-alone?

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Thanks! And Ivan, that's awesome! Congrats on the four-book deal! Mine's not a series. If I can't even remember somebody's hair color from the beginning of a 45,000-word novel to the end, how could I ever write a series?

Wow! I'm impressed - and a bit intimidated - by all the success going on around here in MG. But way to go Sarah and Ivan! How fabulous for both of you.

I am so looking forward to reading these books and then saying, "I KNOW these people!" Even if, you know, I don't really. But my favorite line from ELF is - well, obvious - so I say it as often as I can.

Really, super congratulations sent your way with pecan brownies on the side.

Sissy

Congrats Sary, it sounds like a big commitment!

I've just finished to rewrite chapter 1. It was 4k words now it's 2300.
Ugh.

This morning's revisions aren't going so well. My editor is confused by my main character's religion. So is my main character. Having trouble making things clear to the reader without the first chapter reading like a religious text. Got to learn to tell everything without telling anything.

Did I mention I have mild Asperger's syndrome? In my head, there is NO SUCH THING as telling everything without telling anything! You either tell or you don't!

I'll get this figured out eventually, though. Love this book too much not to! (And I'm grateful to my editor for her ability to gently say, "No, this still doesn't make a lick of sense" without SAYING "No, this still doesn't make a lick of sense.")

This would be easier if my cat would allow me access to my revision notes.

Sary said:

Did I mention I have mild Asperger's syndrome? In my head, there is NO SUCH THING as telling everything without telling anything! You either tell or you don't!

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Uhm, I don't have Asperger's and yet I suffer from the same problem. So, I often go round and round trying to turn my telling into a scene that shows what I'm telling.

Sounds like you have the pleasure of working with nice people (expectant, but nice).

I hope it goes well! I can only imagine the sort of pressure a second (third, etc.) book can cause. Good luck!

Did I mention I have mild Asperger's syndrome? In my head, there is NO SUCH THING as telling everything without telling anything! You either tell or you don't!


I thought most people with Asperger's told everything. Over and over again.

Sorry, I'm not trying to be funny. One of my characters has Asperger's, and he can't ever keep his mouth shut. I think he'll be a great politician or lawyer when he grows up.

Best of luck with the revisions. You'll get it. BUT if you need help, just post something in the children's SYW, and we will all help you with our many opinions. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I have mild Asperger's.