#15 Getting to Know Your Middle-Grade Reader

In today’s episode, we’re going to be talking about why it’s important to get to know your story’s middle-grade reader. Then, once we’ve done that, we’re going to have a look at a list of questions that will tell you how to get to know them, and how to have a sense of what they’re expecting from you and your middle-grade novel.

Before we begin, if you haven’t already done so, listen to the episodes called What is Middle Grade Anyway?, Nailing Middle-Grade Voice and Writing Middle Grade: How Do I Start? because I talk specifically about who middle-grade readers are, how to create characters that think, talk and act like kids, and how to remember what it was like to be that age.

I’m sure you can imagine why all of that is important to know when you’re writing for kids!

Get kids to connect with your middle-grade book

No matter who you are or what you write, everyone who publishes a book is expecting someone to read it. But you don’t want just anyone to read your book, do you? You want the readers who will love your book so much that, once they’re finished reading it, they will recommend it to all their friends and leave a 5-star review online telling everyone how wonderful it is.

But here’s the thing: your readers are kids.

Generally, children don’t recommend books to other children, and they don’t leave reviews online either. So, basically, your biggest fans aren’t the ones talking about or buying your books. Their caregivers, librarians and teachers are. So, what do I mean about getting to know your readers? Am I talking about the adults who buy the books or the kids who read them?

Although it’s important to remember that gatekeepers control a lot of what children read, I want to concentrate on getting to know the kids who read your books. The reason for that is that a lot of the kidlit writers I coach and edit worry about spending years writing and revising a book that kids won’t actually like. It’s normal to worry about whether kids will identify with your main character, or if the story will resonate with them when you can’t quite remember what it was like being a kid yourself.

While you can never be sure of how things will turn out for your book in the end, the best way to stack all the odds in your favour is to find out as much as you can about middle-grade readers, in general, and also about the specific middle-grade reader who is going to want to read your book instead of all the other books out there. And you need to do this before you start writing!

Why?

Because if you know the specific middle-grade reader for your book before you start writing, you will be able to tap into what makes them tick so that you can give them the book they’re looking for, and connect to them on a deep level through your characters and your story’s theme.

Drafting, revising and publishing your middle-grade novel

How does knowing the best middle-grade reader for your novel help you draft and revise your story?

1. Understanding kids between the ages of 8 and 12 (or even up to 14) will help you draft with purpose and then revise with focus so it will be easier for you to write a story that will meet their wants, needs, and expectations. Not only that, but you’ll also be able to create the right type of characters, plot events, settings and themes that will appeal to middle-grade readers in general, and to the middle-grade reader your story suits, in particular. When you get that balance right, your book will deliver the emotional experience that your reader is looking for when they choose your book off the shelf. Then, when you revise, understanding middle-grade readers is going to help you focus on what’s most important in terms of what needs to stay in your draft, what needs to go, and what needs to be developed.
2. Imagine that you’ve written and revised your novel, and it’s time to pitch it to agents or publishers. These professionals are going to want to see that you understand the kids who will be reading your book because a large part of their job is connecting kids with your story. So, if you can show that you know how your readers tick in your query letter, then agents and publishers will know that you probably used that knowledge when writing your novel, and that you know about the marketplace for your book. This improves your chances of selling your book to them because you will seem like a writer who takes writing seriously.
3. While it’s famously hard to self-publish middle-grade, some writers are successful at it and, so for those of you who fit into this category, I want to add that understanding what the adults who are buying middle-grade books for kids are looking for in terms of reading matter is also going to help you market your book.

So, I think you can see that whether you’re outlining, writing, revising, pitching or marketing your middle-grade novel, knowing as much as you can about the kids who read middle-grade is important.

Questions to ask yourself to get to know middle-grade readers

If I’ve done my job well, I hope you’re thinking that this all makes sense, but you might be wondering how to get to know who middle-grade readers are and what makes them tick and, in particular, what makes the reader for your specific book tick?

Luckily, I have just the thing for you to make this process easier! It’s a list of 8 questions you can use to flesh out the type of kid who will be reading your book.

But before we look at those questions, I want to tell you two things:

• I have created a worksheet with these questions that you can download at loupiccolo.com/reader
• I want you to think about answering these questions as a fun exercise because it can be fun. Consider it from this angle: when you get to know your ideal middle-grade reader, it will help you flesh out your protagonist too because both the reader best suited to your story and your protagonist are connected to one another. What do I mean by that? For your book to resonate with kids, they need to be able to relate to your characters. That’s the whole point of this exercise. So, if you’re thinking, How could I possibly know the answers to these questions?, just think about what your main character in your book is like, and that should make it easier.

Here are the 8 questions you can ask to get to know the reader best suited to your middle-grade book:

1. What’s the middle-grade reader who will love your book called and where do they live?
2.  How old are they? As you’re writing middle-grade, they’re going to be between 8 and 12, but you can even go up to 14 if you’re writing an upper middle-grade novel. In this step, it’s important to remember that while the category of middle-grade spans 8-12, 8-year-olds are developmentally and cognitively very different to 12-years-olds, and this is reflected in the two categories of lower and upper middle grade. So, you need to be clear on which of those categories you’re writing for.
3. What are they like? What are their personality traits? Are they shy or bold? Are they adventurous or cautious? Maybe they’re curious or a little passive. Then, they might be meticulous or rather laid-back, contained or excitable, hardworking or lazy, a goody-two-shoes or mischievous and so on.
4. When your middle-grade reader doesn’t feel safe, what are the things they are worrying about?
5.  If they were blowing out a candle on their birthday cake and making a wish, what would they be wishing for? What do they want, or not want? What is so important to them that they’d choose to use the only wish they have until their next birthday to ask for this particular thing?
6. This one relates directly to questions #4 and #5 because it asks you to think about how your book might help your middle-grade reader either overcome their fears, or inspire them to do something about getting what they wished for?
7. Besides your book, what types of stories do they enjoy? This doesn’t actually only have to be books; it can be stories in general, for example: what types of movies do they like, what types of video games do they play, if they listen to music, what stories are being told in the lyrics? You can even take this a step further and choose their favourite book, favourite movie and favourite song.
8. What does that favourite book, movie or song make the middle-grade reader who will love your book feel? What is so special to them about that story that they will want to experience it again and again?

If you’re feeling some sort of discomfort about trying to understand in such minute detail the type of kid who will connect with your book because you think that this will prevent all the other types of readers out there from liking your book, here’s a fact for you:

You can’t please all the people all the time, and there’s no such thing as a book that everyone loves!

But when you know that special kid who will become your biggest fan for this particular book, then you’ll be more likely to write a good story that tells itself for them, and you’ll make the kind of impact on them that you want to make on readers. It’s pretty cool to know that there is a kid out there who will remember your book one day when they’re a parent stocking up on books for their own child to read.

Become the author who makes a difference in kids’ lives

I want to leave you with this thought: if you want to be the type of kidlit writer who creates books with characters who make your readers feel like they know them in real life, and who are transported out of their own world into the imaginary one you have created in such a way that they lose themselves and actually feel some sort of grief when the book ends, then you need to start with understanding who the best middle-grade reader for your book is.

Of course, we’re not in the business of making kids cry, but you do need to dig really deep when trying to understand who your best readers are. You can’t be surface-level skimming over these questions quickly because that creates superficial personalities with no depth. Instead, when you answer these questions, take your time and pretend that you’re describing a real child you know with all the nuances of a living, breathing human being.

Quick summary

Right, let’s do a quick recap before I leave you for today…

1. The best reader for your middle-grade novel is the kid who will become your biggest fan… if you do your job properly and find out as much about them as you can before you start writing!
2. When you take the time to understand who they are before you begin drafting, it will be easier to write a story that fulfills their expectations, and resonates with them emotionally.
3. Revising will become easier too because you’ll know what you need to keep, what you need to add, what you need to cut and what you need to develop.
4. If you can show agents and publishers that you know where your book fits in the marketplace, you will be more likely to sell your book to them.
5. Last, I have created a worksheet for you with the eight questions that will help you understand the best reader for your book. You can download it at loupiccolo.com/reader

That’s it for today’s episode on Middle Grade Made Easy(er). Tune in next time to find out more about how to create a story for middle-grade readers that tells itself.

Links

• Middle Grade Made Easy(er) podcast
• Worksheet: Getting to Know Your Middle-Grade Reader