Ready to finally understand what middle grade and young adult books are so you can actually write one?
Welcome to the best job in the world! 🌈
Hello, lovely author! Do you dream of writing a novel for children or teens? Well, I don’t blame you because it’s the most fabulous, rewarding job ever (apart from maybe getting to edit it!).
But if you’re new to this space, it can feel a little overwhelming.
Even if you’re coming to kidlit (that’s children’s books) as an experienced adult fiction author, there are so many new terms and conventions that it’s easy to get lost.
Are you wondering what terms like ‘middle grade’ and ‘young adult’ even mean and what the differences actually are?
Trying to figure out what’s allowed and what’s considered too mature for children?
Struggling with how various genres work in middle grade and YA?
Don’t panic! These lessons offer an easy-to-digest guide to understanding and writing middle grade and YA, whether you’re new to fiction or an experienced author switching to a new audience. I’ll answer questions like:
- How old should your middle grade main character be?
- Can middle grade and YA feature romance?
- What’s the ideal word count in kidlit?
- How can you tell the difference between middle grade, YA and adult books?
- How prominent should adult characters be in the story?
- How can you make yourself sound like a child?
- What are agents looking for in middle grade and YA?
👉🏻 Untangling Children’s Books: Middle Grade and YA Explained! 👈🏻
On this course, you’ll learn about the middle grade and YA markets and understand what children, agents and publishers are actually looking for, so you’ll stand the best chance of achieving your publishing dreams and putting something fabulous out into the world!
Now with optional feedback on your first 10,000 words!
Okay, so you’ve untangled children’s books and started writing a middle grade or young adult novel. Awesome! Go you!
But now what? How do you know if you’re heading in the right direction with your story? How can you be sure you’re really applying those lessons from the course and nailing those conventions and expectations? Will children actually love this as much as you want them to?
Don’t stress, let me help! 🥰
By popular demand, you can now add a Cub Report when signing up for Untangling Children’s Books.
I’ll write an editorial letter with feedback on your first 10,000 words if you send it to me within a year of registering for the course. I’ll give you a load of advice and suggestions specifically around whether I feel your manuscript is hitting all those expectations and guidelines for middle grade or YA readers and how I think you could strengthen it further so it really appeals to your young readership.
Cub Reports are usually £150 but add it at the checkout here and get it for just £110! (These are only for manuscripts aimed at a middle grade or young adult readership)
Who’s teaching this thing, anyway?
Hi, I’m Siobhán O’Brien Holmes and I’m a developmental editor of children’s books 🌈
I used to give talks about middle grade and YA to writing groups like The Society of Authors and they always went down a storm.
So many people came up to me afterwards to say ‘oh my gosh, I didn’t know any of that stuff about children’s books before!’ or ‘I thought chapter books and middle grade were the same thing – now I feel like I get it!’ or ‘Woah, I’m so glad I came to this talk before I started writing my book: my plot didn’t fit the audience at all!’
So I put all my expertise into a super fun, colourful, jam-packed course for anyone interested in writing for children (or even teachers and librarians who want to arm themselves with kidlit knowledge so they can help kids find the perfect books for them).
Watch a quick sneak preview!
Here’s a super short snippet from the webinar to help you decide if this course is right for you.
What we’ll cover
Whether you’re a total beginner who’s never written a word or you’re a seasoned pro switching from a different audience, you’ll come away from this course with a solid understanding of the middle grade and young adult space and what you need to consider before writing books for children or teenagers.
Here’s a rundown of the topics we’ll cover:
🐺 An overview of the various age categories in publishing from board books to adult fiction
🐺 An explanation and definition of ‘middle grade’
🐺 An explanation and definition of ‘YA’
🐺 The key differences between middle grade and YA
🐺 The key differences between YA and adult
🐺 A discussion of child characters in adult books
🐺 Golden rule #1: think like a child
🐺 Golden rule #2: don’t make your hero an adult
🐺 Golden rule #3: don’t lecture your readers
🐺 Quiz: match the book to the audience
🐺 Quiz: identify three excerpts as middle grade, YA or adult
🐺 Quiz: 20 book titles to test your knowledge
Preview 2 lessons for free before buying!
Head to the course dashboard now and take 2 lessons free ❤️
What’s inside?
What you’ll get when you sign up:
- immediate access to all course content
- 20 lessons
- 14 videos with subtitles
- full transcripts of all videos
- an interactive PDF course workbook to answer quiz questions
- a personalised book recommendation based on your interests
- discount code for my services and courses
- invitation to The Wolf Pack, a private Facebook group for authors
- kidlit plotting cheat sheet PDF
- the Monster Guide to Kidlit Genres and Subgenres PDF
- 7 simple ways to tell if a book’s middle grade or YA without opening it PDF
- extra links and resources
- feedback on your first 10K words as an optional add-on for £110 (add ‘Cub Report’ at checkout)