Erin Manning's Blog, page 2
September 10, 2019
On age categories for books
I'm still working on editing my current book series--the good news is I'm finally making progress.
I started wondering the other day: what age range should this series be for?
If you don't already know this, most US publishers consider Middle Grade Fiction (MG for short) to be suitable for kids ages 8 to 12. These books are, generally speaking, a little harder to read than the earliest "chapter books" for younger readers, but not yet as challenging as many books for young adults. But the content of the books is important, too: a book may be written simply enough for a younger reader, but if it contains content that is very edgy, dark, sexual, graphically violent, or disturbing it will be put in the Young Adult (ages 12 and up) category instead.
What's hard about some of this is that the lines often get blurred. There has been a push by many MG publishers to include more and more envelope-pushing content in books aimed at younger readers. At the same time, some writers have begun to use the word "clean" to signify that even in their YA or adult fiction works there will be no explicit sexual content. I think this is necessary because some of the target YA readers, especially those ages 12 to 15, are not really ready for overt sexual content in their books even if they are ready for more complex language and sentence structure, more difficult plots, and more sensitive topics.
As the United States continues to be a nation of great diversity I think this simplistic labeling of books by targeted age range is going to become more and more problematic. There are child readers today who have personally experienced violent traumas including abuse, abandonment, physical and sexual assault, and so on. Too much graphic content in the "older MG/younger YA" books might end up being painful to kids who've had these experiences, if they come across it unawares.
At the same time, there are children being raised in religious homes--Christian, Orthodox Jewish, and some branches of Islam--who do not want certain types of sexual content in books they are reading for fun because of their religious faith and its teachings. If we really promote the idea of sensitivity and respect for other cultures, we ought to think carefully about more specific labeling of some books written for children under age 15.
I don't really know what the answer to this question is, but I have begun to think that the current age range categories are not specific enough to help children and parents choose books. Perhaps adopting something more like the MPAA's categories of G, PG, and R, with similar guidelines as to content that would lead to those ratings, would be helpful. I would support a system of optional ratings for writers and publishers, meant to serve as a guide and to help young people and their parents choose appropriate books.
I would probably rate my current series PG for thematic violence; there is no sexual content and no cursing in any of it. Since that kind of rating system is not yet an option for writers, I am thinking about marketing them specifically as "Older Middle Grade--ages 10 and up."
I started wondering the other day: what age range should this series be for?
If you don't already know this, most US publishers consider Middle Grade Fiction (MG for short) to be suitable for kids ages 8 to 12. These books are, generally speaking, a little harder to read than the earliest "chapter books" for younger readers, but not yet as challenging as many books for young adults. But the content of the books is important, too: a book may be written simply enough for a younger reader, but if it contains content that is very edgy, dark, sexual, graphically violent, or disturbing it will be put in the Young Adult (ages 12 and up) category instead.
What's hard about some of this is that the lines often get blurred. There has been a push by many MG publishers to include more and more envelope-pushing content in books aimed at younger readers. At the same time, some writers have begun to use the word "clean" to signify that even in their YA or adult fiction works there will be no explicit sexual content. I think this is necessary because some of the target YA readers, especially those ages 12 to 15, are not really ready for overt sexual content in their books even if they are ready for more complex language and sentence structure, more difficult plots, and more sensitive topics.
As the United States continues to be a nation of great diversity I think this simplistic labeling of books by targeted age range is going to become more and more problematic. There are child readers today who have personally experienced violent traumas including abuse, abandonment, physical and sexual assault, and so on. Too much graphic content in the "older MG/younger YA" books might end up being painful to kids who've had these experiences, if they come across it unawares.
At the same time, there are children being raised in religious homes--Christian, Orthodox Jewish, and some branches of Islam--who do not want certain types of sexual content in books they are reading for fun because of their religious faith and its teachings. If we really promote the idea of sensitivity and respect for other cultures, we ought to think carefully about more specific labeling of some books written for children under age 15.
I don't really know what the answer to this question is, but I have begun to think that the current age range categories are not specific enough to help children and parents choose books. Perhaps adopting something more like the MPAA's categories of G, PG, and R, with similar guidelines as to content that would lead to those ratings, would be helpful. I would support a system of optional ratings for writers and publishers, meant to serve as a guide and to help young people and their parents choose appropriate books.
I would probably rate my current series PG for thematic violence; there is no sexual content and no cursing in any of it. Since that kind of rating system is not yet an option for writers, I am thinking about marketing them specifically as "Older Middle Grade--ages 10 and up."
August 28, 2019
Editing goals
Summer is winding down, even though here in Texas we will have summer weather until roughly Thanksgiving. I am still trying to get myself back onto a regular editing schedule; editing is so much harder than writing, and requires a lot more focus.
I am hoping to finish this current pass on Wizard's Mischief: Flame by the middle of September. After that, I will switch gears and start working on the edits for the final book in my Tales of Telmaja series. My goal is to publish both of these by the end of the year.
This will be the first November in ten years that I haven't been writing a Tales of Telmaja book! I don't know yet what I will start in its place, but I'm working on some ideas.
I am hoping to finish this current pass on Wizard's Mischief: Flame by the middle of September. After that, I will switch gears and start working on the edits for the final book in my Tales of Telmaja series. My goal is to publish both of these by the end of the year.
This will be the first November in ten years that I haven't been writing a Tales of Telmaja book! I don't know yet what I will start in its place, but I'm working on some ideas.
August 19, 2019
Diving back in
Summer has been far busier than I expected it to be! Here's some progress reports on my various works:
Still working on editing Wizard's Mischief: Flame. Hope to have good news soon.
Spent July writing the entire first draft of Wizard's Mischief: Thorne, the second book in the series. I'm really excited about this book and about the whole series! It is, quite simply, the best writing I've ever done.
Planning to jump into edits for the final book of the Tales of Telmaja series in September. I haven't worked out the timing yet, but it's possible that I will publish that book before I publish Wizard's Mischief: Flame because I need to learn the new Kindle Print tools anyway.
While I would like to finish the edits for the last book in the Ordinary Sam series by the end of the year, I don't know yet if that's feasible considering that I'll be starting a new writing project this November. I don't want to build up a backlog of too many unpublished works again, but I also know that editing well requires a bit more time than writing.
How was your summer?
Still working on editing Wizard's Mischief: Flame. Hope to have good news soon.
Spent July writing the entire first draft of Wizard's Mischief: Thorne, the second book in the series. I'm really excited about this book and about the whole series! It is, quite simply, the best writing I've ever done.
Planning to jump into edits for the final book of the Tales of Telmaja series in September. I haven't worked out the timing yet, but it's possible that I will publish that book before I publish Wizard's Mischief: Flame because I need to learn the new Kindle Print tools anyway.
While I would like to finish the edits for the last book in the Ordinary Sam series by the end of the year, I don't know yet if that's feasible considering that I'll be starting a new writing project this November. I don't want to build up a backlog of too many unpublished works again, but I also know that editing well requires a bit more time than writing.
How was your summer?
June 24, 2019
Nearly there...
Wasn't able to do any more editing today, but I'm almost finished with this part. Next up: cover design (by a talented artist) and proof copies.
This is going pretty well!
This is going pretty well!
June 19, 2019
Progress
I've made it through three more chapters, and am still pretty excited by this book. That's always a good thing.
Editing is a slow process, and you really do need other people to read your book along the way. Someone who is reading Wizard's Mischief: Flame has caught a continuity error that I have missed up to now. I need to straighten it out, and I'm grateful for the help.
Editing is a slow process, and you really do need other people to read your book along the way. Someone who is reading Wizard's Mischief: Flame has caught a continuity error that I have missed up to now. I need to straighten it out, and I'm grateful for the help.
June 18, 2019
Pleased
I'm pleased to report that I did, in fact, edit my Work In Progress (WIP) today. And...right away I noticed a mistake in the first chapter that really needed to be fixed: I mention an uncle that the main character does not have. His complicated family situation is one of the drivers of the whole plot of the book, so you'd think I'd have caught an inconvenient and impossible uncle before now, but no.
The editing continues tomorrow...
The editing continues tomorrow...
June 17, 2019
Determined
It's a new week, and I'm determined this week to achieve my editing goals. So naturally I haven't edited at all today.
But...this time it was on purpose. I realized that some of my muddle from the previous weeks (apart from being unusually busy last week) was due to a general air of chaos at home. I used to laugh at the idea that writers could be sensitive to atmosphere, but now I think there's something to it. It's not that I can't work amidst chaos--I can, and have. It's just that when you have a writing-related task to do you will sometimes be in the mindset where any other task seems disproportionately important, and you will fritter away your whole day doing laundry and dishes, making meal plans and cooking, or cleaning out your email inbox instead of buckling down to the job at hand.
So today I spent my time getting things organized and clean, and setting some things in motion that will make life a bit easier over the next couple of days. I can now spend some much-needed hours on my editing tasks in the daytime when I'm not fighting to stay awake. With editing, that's important.
But...this time it was on purpose. I realized that some of my muddle from the previous weeks (apart from being unusually busy last week) was due to a general air of chaos at home. I used to laugh at the idea that writers could be sensitive to atmosphere, but now I think there's something to it. It's not that I can't work amidst chaos--I can, and have. It's just that when you have a writing-related task to do you will sometimes be in the mindset where any other task seems disproportionately important, and you will fritter away your whole day doing laundry and dishes, making meal plans and cooking, or cleaning out your email inbox instead of buckling down to the job at hand.
So today I spent my time getting things organized and clean, and setting some things in motion that will make life a bit easier over the next couple of days. I can now spend some much-needed hours on my editing tasks in the daytime when I'm not fighting to stay awake. With editing, that's important.
June 11, 2019
Back next week
I'm just going to make it official: this week is too busy for me to count on getting things done here on this blog or with my editing, which has stalled. I'm hoping to make some changes that will allow me to improve things. Whether I get my editing done or not, the sequel to Wizard's Mischief will kick off in July!
June 6, 2019
Better luck next week...or maybe the week after that...
Well, my plans to get at least a little editing done today were derailed again, this time by a migraine that is still with me. At this point I'm going to go ahead and reschedule my carved-in-feathers-plans for editing for next week, because tomorrow is already too busy for editing.
I think I go through this every summer--thinking that busy season ends sometime after Easter and I can focus and concentrate on the more difficult parts of writing (editing, marketing, etc.). But in reality things don't calm down until after July 4. I don't know why that is--it just is.
Anyway, I'm not giving up, but I am being realistic. Back next week!
I think I go through this every summer--thinking that busy season ends sometime after Easter and I can focus and concentrate on the more difficult parts of writing (editing, marketing, etc.). But in reality things don't calm down until after July 4. I don't know why that is--it just is.
Anyway, I'm not giving up, but I am being realistic. Back next week!
June 5, 2019
Failing to meet weekly writing goals
Somehow I thought when I wrote my goals down on Monday that I would be able to make them happen.
Um....
Well, anyway, I'm not giving up just yet. There are still two days left in this week.
The truth is that I always forget that editing and writing are so different. When I'm writing, I can put on some music, tune things out, and hit that word goal. Sometimes it's a struggle but it's not impossible.
Editing? You need focus. You need concentration. You need not to have insomnia two nights running.
Next week is already shaping up to be unusually busy, so my hope of getting Wizard's Mischief: Flame through another full round of editing by the end of June is looking incredibly iffy. Can I edit and write at the same time in July? I'd rather not find out...
Um....
Well, anyway, I'm not giving up just yet. There are still two days left in this week.
The truth is that I always forget that editing and writing are so different. When I'm writing, I can put on some music, tune things out, and hit that word goal. Sometimes it's a struggle but it's not impossible.
Editing? You need focus. You need concentration. You need not to have insomnia two nights running.
Next week is already shaping up to be unusually busy, so my hope of getting Wizard's Mischief: Flame through another full round of editing by the end of June is looking incredibly iffy. Can I edit and write at the same time in July? I'd rather not find out...
