Episode 48: Defining Genre (Middle Grades vs Young Adult)

This week, Fable and the Verbivore talk about the differences between Middle Grade and YA fiction as well as why it’s important to understand the defining features of these two genres.

We start by discussing some of the more surface level differences of Middle Grade fiction in comparison with YA and Adult fiction — from the typical number of pages, the age of the main character, and acceptable content when it comes to violence and sex. Though these general guidelines are beneficial in understanding what is typically expected by agents, publishers, and readers; a book’s themes, message, and mind-set also tend to weigh heavily when determining a book’s genre.

As part of this discussion, we cover the importance in assigning the right genre to a work of fiction as it helps get the book into the hands of readers who are most likely to connect with and enjoy it, and that identifying comparison (comp) titles can help a writer categorize their work appropriately. We also discuss the relatively new history of Middle Grade and YA fiction in comparison to Adult fiction, and how the industry and categories change with what is successful and sells.

Another aspect we dive into is the decision of whether or not to follow trends, as well as situations in which it may be important to follow the needs of your narrative rather than fear if the work is likely to be banned by school libraries for language and violence.

We end by making the recommendation for writers to try to find beta readers in different age ranges to obtain feedback as to if the characters feel authentic and see if the story connects with the intended audience.

We hope you enjoy this episode. Keep creating and putting your unique voice out there!

Into the woods,
Fable & The Verbivore

Notes:

The Verbivore discusses some general defining features that are typical of Middle Grade and YA fiction from the number of pages, to the age range of the main characters, and the level of sex and violence in the work. These standards are fluid, debatable, and, of course, can be broken when there is a good reason. Here are a few articles that discuss the dividing lines between these genres:

The Verbivore mentions that the history of YA fiction is not very long and there is some debate over what is the first YA novel. Here are some articles that discuss who started the YA genre:

The New Leaf Literary agent that the Verbivore mentions is Suzie Townsend on instagram @sztownsend81 . We would highly recommend her Q&As found in her story highlights as a source of information on the querying process.

The Verbivore references Victoria McCombs conviction about the comp books for her newly released The Storyteller’s Daughter .That conversation took place during Fable and the Verbivore Episode 39: Interview with Victoria McCombs.

Books Mentioned:

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Bethany Stedman