"Personal" question(s) to John Jarrold

[Balthazar]

Hi John, glad to see you back on the forums. I'm relatively new here and have caught up on all of your posts. What a great resource you are!

I have a suspicion I may know the answer to this question but I wanted to ask a publishing professional. What is the difference between Young Adult and Middle Grade novels?

Am I correct in assuming that YA is a more advanced reading level than MG? For instance, in the realm of fantasy, which is what I am writing, His Dark Materials and Garth Nix's Sabriel might be YA, but the Charlie Bone books and the Spiderwick Chronicles are MG. I ask because I think I am writing a MG fantasy novel, but I'm not sure, as some of the scenes are a little disturbing.

I would like to know because when I submit to agents, at the very least I should be able to say to whom I am targeting it.

Thanks in advance.

I'm looking forward to sending you my manuscript in the next few months for the editorial service.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Good to see you settling in at last.

On the issue of library rights - I seem to recall Robert Rankin railing against this - my impression was that authors get a fee from the libraries, and that he'd opted out from the fee so the libraries didn't have to pay.

 

[John Jarrold]

Hi John, glad to see you back on the forums. I'm relatively new here and have caught up on all of your posts. What a great resource you are!

I have a suspicion I may know the answer to this question but I wanted to ask a publishing professional. What is the difference between Young Adult and Middle Grade novels?

Am I correct in assuming that YA is a more advanced reading level than MG? For instance, in the realm of fantasy, which is what I am writing, His Dark Materials and Garth Nix's Sabriel might be YA, but the Charlie Bone books and the Spiderwick Chronicles are MG. I ask because I think I am writing a MG fantasy novel, but I'm not sure, as some of the scenes are a little disturbing.

I would like to know because when I submit to agents, at the very least I should be able to say to whom I am targeting it.

Thanks in advance.

I'm looking forward to sending you my manuscript in the next few months for the editorial service.

I'm not as much of a specialist at the fine lines between childrens'/YA fiction, but in common sense terms, I'd say look at the level of disturbing scenes in those books you mention, and judge yours against them...

 

[Balthazar]

Thanks, John. Good advice.

 

[Balthazar]

Hi John,

I've been reading a lot of agent blogs and also the blogs of new writers who have made their first sale. These writers often say excitedly (rightfully so!) that they just signed a three-book deal or a two-book deal with so-and-so Big Publisher. That got me thinking. What happens when writers, for whatever reasons, can't complete their subsequent projects? Whether it's the writing itself, or maybe even the fact that they only had one book in them.

Do you know how often this happens? And how is this news taken in the publishing industry? Is that writer now eternally doomed because he or she couldn't finish a promised second or third book?

Thanks

 

[John Jarrold]

Most authors in that situation are writing series - and I've never, over twenty years, seen someone who got to the point of writing a first book that was special enough to be published not complete the series (at least as far as their first contract stated) - although sometimes it has taken longer than originally envisaged. Obviously, with a series your main characters are already there for the later books so you aren't starting from scratch with book two, and you'll have to supply an ongoing synopsis before a publisher will even consider a multi-book contract in the first place. But like everything else in publishing, it depends entirely upon the specific writer, agent, publisher and situation. There are very few things that do not vary!

 

[Jon George]

Do writers get any kind of payment for public library loans?

There's also the ALCS Home which provides monies for any copying/broadcasting etc that are due to you. It’s an extremely small fee for the returns which, in themselves, can be an intriguing in their source – I mean, my first novel had sections photocopied by someone in Sweden. I’d love to know why.

 

[Coolhand]

Looks like I can shed some guilt over my library addiction, then...

 

[John Jarrold]

I worked in public libraries for fifteen years before I became involved in actually PUBLISHING books. I have always loved the fact that I can grab three or four books about a given subject, be it naval actions in the Mediterranean during WW2, Greek tragedy from Aeschylus to Sophocles, or the poems of J R R Tolkien (all of which I have been interested in, at various times). Books are great, and will always remain so. The net is perfect for instant information. Books are WONDERFUL to read whilst sitting in an armchair with a glass of single malt Scotch by my side and Vaughan Williams on the CD player - for which the net doesn't cut it, speaking personally...it's all about context.

 

[Theleb K]

Hello John,

I want to ask you a question about 'fashions' in SF & Fantasy.

It seems to me, from browsing the bookshop shelves, that fashion plays a strong part in what's on offer - and therefore in the the sort of thing that publishers are looking for at any given time. I've noticed that as soon as a particular book starts selling, we quickly see a number of similar titles springing up. Even the jackets of the 'second generation' mimic the bestseller! I don't know about the US but this certainly seems to characterise the UK market.

This, of course, is straight-forward commercial sense and in that respect there is nothing surprising about it. What interests me though is the flip-side; is there such a thing as an 'unfashionable' book or story? Will a publisher look at a manuscript and say something along the lines of 'yeah, ok but very last year,' or is it true (as we are always lead to believe) that 'quality will out' every time?

As you may have guessed, I am sort of wondering if my opus is unfashionable (or just plain pants!). I would be very grateful for your thoughts on this.

 

[John Jarrold]

It's not so much 'last year' as 'I could have published this ten years ago...' In terms of the UK market for instance, in the mid-90s everyone was publishing humorous fantasy and trying out new authors in that area regularly, but by 2000 it was clear that the Terry Pratchett market was just that: a market for Terry Pratchett. The only other authors in that area who work at all are Tom Holt and Robert Rankin, both of whom have been published for over twenty years. And they sell a small percentage of the copies that Terry shifts annually.

There is nothing unusual in this. Public taste changes. In the 60s and 70s, western novels sold very well in the UK. By 1990, no one was publishing them, because the market had disappeared. The focus of the thriller marekt changes all the time. And more recently, the horror marekt has been dead...so to speak.

So, as I've said before, any new writer should do market research. Be aware of what is selling in 2007, not who your favourite authors from twenty years ago are. You aren't writing in a vacuum. You'll be compared by publishers with authors who have come to the fore, in commercial terms, over the last five years or so, because those are the comparisions that the bookselling chains are interested in. Over fifteen years working in publishing, I turned down a number of books I loved personally, because they weren't commercial.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Hey John. I was wondering what the best length of book for a first time writer is. My first draft was about 195,000 (it's in the process of being drastically rewritten at the moment) and the general consensus here was that it was simply too long. Is something about 100-140k about right?

 

[John Jarrold]

Yep, that sounds about right, certainly in the UK. I'm assuming this is SF or Fantasy?

 

[Kissmequick]

Damn I wish you hadn't said that...

*thinks to self*

Ok, there's a natural cut off at 130k, split the book into two, making part 2 about 100k, so the one I'm working on now is book 3.

Wohooo, ten minutes and I've gone from having written one book to two!

*does a little dance*
*sings a little song*
*gets down tonight!*

 

[John Jarrold]

Good positive thinking!!!

 

[Havlen]

Ok, there's a natural cut off at 130k, split the book into two, making part 2 about 100k, so the one I'm working on now is book 3.

Actually, an unnatural cut off can be very effective when done right. I still remember the pain of waiting 9-12 months to find out if Raistlin was going to live through the portal being disrupted by that crazy little kender.

(Yeah, I'm old, I actually read those Dragonlance books while they were first coming out.)

 

[Kissmequick]

Strange you should say that, because what I called a natural cut off is at a point when you wonder whether a main character is going to live to see the next day Cliffhanger gogogo.

The start of the next bit would need a rejig if it's an opening rather than a continuation, but hey.

And thanks John, postive thinking is my watchword. Now where did I leave those rose coloured glasses?

 

[Wezman]

Good positive thinking!!!

Hi John,

nice to see you have settled in your new pad and are out and about again, so to speak. And yes, from experience , positive thinking certainly helps! And input from a certain person who shall remain nameless. Hopefully we will meet up for that beer at some point.

All the best,

Steve

 

[The Alamo Avenger]

Hey John. I was wondering what the best length of book for a first time writer is. My first draft was about 195,000 (it's in the process of being drastically rewritten at the moment) and the general consensus here was that it was simply too long. Is something about 100-140k about right?

Hi John;

I've enjoyed the questions and comments here immensely. Regarding your answer to the above quote.....So if a first time writer were to submit a lengthy manuscript, say around 265,000 words, would you still consider it if the writing/story/etc. were superb, or is it simply too difficult for a first time author to publish something of that length?

The reason I ask is because I recently finished a space opera of this size and just have some minor polishing to do before hitting the streets with it.

 

[John Jarrold]

In general terms, it might be worth looking at a possible break point, to split it into two books, and if it was TRULY wonderful, an agent or publisher would think about that.