Yes, I'm still around. No, I haven't been in a coma for months. No, my fingers haven't been lost to frostbite, or underfed ferrets, or splunks from under the bed. I simply haven't bothered to stop and check in with the rest of the world for a while. This isn't because I haven't been thinking about the rest of the world. It's because I've been stuck in the spinning of life, like a child on the carousel, watching the brass ring fly passed, watching the blur of faces which exist just on the other side of the vortex, but can't be reached by anyone riding a beautifully sculpted horse or animal WITHIN the vortex. Despite the discomfort, I held onto my horse, for fear that if I let go, I might well get thrown out as if tossed from a sling shot right into the rest of the world. Where I would be woefully unprepared to survive. But now my carousel has slowed down, marginally anyway, enough that I could hop off and learn a couple of things.
1) About a great place to go for reviews and info on books in general, giveaways and interviews with folks of interest to anyone with interest in books.
2) How to put up a link to the above mentioned place! http://thelateinergangbookreviewspot.blogspot.com/
Righteous me! Okay, okay, I'm aware that anyone who's anyone can manage a link. But I'm not 'anyone', I'm me, and I can still stump my broby in-law with my computer fiascos and he's an IT guy at Bridgewater college. Yup, I can destroy any scrap of technology you can come up with. But I digress. Check out the Lateiner Gang. Great people, awesome, informative reviews and interviews. They're still building and tweaking the site and it's only going to get better. So drop in and have a look-see, post a link, tell your friends.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
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Brass ring? You're dating yourself! (ducking)
ReplyDeleteI'm so behind the times when it comes to computers. If I need anything done, I go to my kids!
I checked out the Lateiner Gang before. What is it about a post labeled TEST that forces one to click on it?
Oh, that was me thinking aloud more than anything else. I don't really talk to myself, but I do talk to the computer, as in, 'You'd better get this link right you wretched piece of junk, oh thanks, it worked!'
ReplyDeleteA. Grey-- I saw your comment over on Pimp My Novel.
ReplyDelete"will you PLEASE try and articulate WHAT decides if something is YA, or MG, and WHY? Nobody seems to be able to break it down. It drives me nuts."
I followed you here because it was something that I used to question too.
First is the age of the Main Character of your book-- Young adult is probably around 15 or 16 and above, but is depends on subject matter.
Second is subject matter--'real life' stuff like sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll (okay, maybe not rock 'n roll) is reserved for the older crowd. You can write serious stuff for the younger crowd, but then it is normally mentioned, but not in depth. (For instance, a MG aged child is dealing with someone's cancer, and most of the focus is on the child.) If you have gritty stuff in a novel, then it is normally a YA book.
However, if you have a MG novel, it may be hard to figure out who to query, as far as agents go. Many say they represent YA in their categories, and I would say you can query them on MG. MG might be implied in that case. And if your book is borderline, then it might be hard to quantify.
If you are wondering what to put in a query, you might not have to say anything about category at all-- if you mention the age of your main character.
I am assuming a lot from your question-- I hope that my answer helps.
Wow! Thanks so much for the information! I had always thought of what I'm working on as epic fantasy, because it involves world-altering events, choices and wars. But three of the six main characters are 14, 17ish (she's an elf, so it's relative to human years) and 20. They're young, and suddenly burdened with the responsibilities of their own choices. So then I started to wonder if I shouldn't think of my ms as more YA or middle grade (obviously in light of your information, YA) and after reading Kristin Cashore's Graceling, I REALLY began to wonder. It still leaves the final categorization up for change, something that an agent, or editor might decide (whenever I get one, fingers crossed, wishing on stars) but your answer explains SO much. Thank you, very much.
ReplyDeleteSo, if you decide YA for your novel, which it definitely seems like it would be, that category trumps anything else. You would send the query to agents who lists YA as a category.
ReplyDeleteIt's also a good idea to peruse a big book store and find out where your book would sit on the shelf.
Hopefully you will find a YA agent who really loves fantasy to represent you!
Good luck!