Published My First EBook Fantasy Novel - Get It Free for a Limited Time
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Quint I think the tale works well enough on most counts but my sense is that it would be better pitched as a juvenile rather than a YA. Many YAs these days are reading full blown "adult" fantasy and SF and labeling it as a YA may actually discourage them from reading it although the YA label might actually attract juvenile readers. Seems to me these categories have become much more ambiguous the last few years.
However you pitch it you might get some pushback from the usual suspects that portraying people enjoying smoking so much is irresponsible. Obviously we aren't bothered by it but if the work gets any traction somebody's liable to squawk that including pipe smoking in a YA is beyond the pale. It might not be a problem but anti-tobacco busybodies have a nose for this sort of thing. At any rate I don't have any particular credentials as a critic so I could be way off on all counts.
However you pitch it you might get some pushback from the usual suspects that portraying people enjoying smoking so much is irresponsible. Obviously we aren't bothered by it but if the work gets any traction somebody's liable to squawk that including pipe smoking in a YA is beyond the pale. It might not be a problem but anti-tobacco busybodies have a nose for this sort of thing. At any rate I don't have any particular credentials as a critic so I could be way off on all counts.
darwin, thanks for your feedback. Did you read the whole thing? I know it's not a deep read- more of a quick and fun lite fantasy quest style. I did list it as recommended for Age Level: 12 - 18 and Grade Level: 6 - 12 on Amazon, so it is also targeted at juvenile readers.
I also understand that it could upset some parents if they saw their children reading a book with pipe smoking in it (heaven forbid!), but I guess that's the chance I'm willing to take. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books all have pipe smoking in them, and they are some of the most popular children and young adult fantasy books of all time. I did leave out extreme blood/gore, bad language, and sexual situations, so hopefully parents can overlook the pipe smoking part. :mrgreen:
And you may be right about young adult readers being turned off by it, but I was under the impression that many older adults these days are reverting back to reading young adult novels (not to mention the popularity of adult coloring books!). The inner child of many adults wants to reminisce back to better, younger days. Also, I keep hearing that many adult readers don't want to read heavy, complicated, deep, drawn-out, 'epic' stories with politics and power struggles, etc. Supposedly novellas in particular are becoming very popular these days because many adult readers do not have the time nor patience to invest in 400-800+ page novels. They just want a quick, lite read that they can finish in a couple of hours while riding the train to work or sitting at their desk during lunchtime. But as you said, maybe many young adult readers these days do want longer, deeper, more serious novels to read. I honestly don't know.
I could be wrong about the above. We'll see I suppose. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read it. I know it's hard to give it a balanced review because I think many members here are more mature than the average adult and prefer reading the longer, deeper, more complicated and serious stuff.
I am currently working on the second novella in the series, and am so far about 25% done with it. Should be finished in a few weeks.
I also understand that it could upset some parents if they saw their children reading a book with pipe smoking in it (heaven forbid!), but I guess that's the chance I'm willing to take. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books all have pipe smoking in them, and they are some of the most popular children and young adult fantasy books of all time. I did leave out extreme blood/gore, bad language, and sexual situations, so hopefully parents can overlook the pipe smoking part. :mrgreen:
And you may be right about young adult readers being turned off by it, but I was under the impression that many older adults these days are reverting back to reading young adult novels (not to mention the popularity of adult coloring books!). The inner child of many adults wants to reminisce back to better, younger days. Also, I keep hearing that many adult readers don't want to read heavy, complicated, deep, drawn-out, 'epic' stories with politics and power struggles, etc. Supposedly novellas in particular are becoming very popular these days because many adult readers do not have the time nor patience to invest in 400-800+ page novels. They just want a quick, lite read that they can finish in a couple of hours while riding the train to work or sitting at their desk during lunchtime. But as you said, maybe many young adult readers these days do want longer, deeper, more serious novels to read. I honestly don't know.
I could be wrong about the above. We'll see I suppose. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read it. I know it's hard to give it a balanced review because I think many members here are more mature than the average adult and prefer reading the longer, deeper, more complicated and serious stuff.
I am currently working on the second novella in the series, and am so far about 25% done with it. Should be finished in a few weeks.
Here's an interesting thread I found on another site talking about cigarette smoking in juvenile and young adult novels. Mind you, it's 10 years old, but still relevant today I'm sure. Besides, I'm guessing pipe smoking would be even more acceptable in a children's or young adult fantasy than cigarette smoking in a young adult romance.
Link
My Kindle eBook fantasy novella is now free once again for the next 24 hours. Please keep in mind that it is a light, fun read aimed mostly at children and young adult readers, so it may not be mature enough for many of you sophisticated pipe smokers. :wink:
It is a novella, so total reading time should be between 1-4 hours (depending on age).
But if any of you have children or teens living at home that like reading fantasy stories, they might enjoy it. Also, if anyone here (or your kids) did enjoy it, I would appreciate you leaving a positive review on Amazon. Good reviews and word of mouth helps indie publishers sell more books.
eBook link
It is a novella, so total reading time should be between 1-4 hours (depending on age).
But if any of you have children or teens living at home that like reading fantasy stories, they might enjoy it. Also, if anyone here (or your kids) did enjoy it, I would appreciate you leaving a positive review on Amazon. Good reviews and word of mouth helps indie publishers sell more books.
eBook link
I also forgot to mention that if you know anyone that might be interested in reading it, you can download it now for free and 'loan' out the ebook to them through your Kindle device or app for a total of 7 days. But keep in mind that while it is loaned out, it is removed from your device and cannot be read until it is 'returned' to you (or the seven days is finished).
I just put it in my reading list on my Kindle. I am a big fan of the Kurtherian Gambit series of books. It looks like yours is similar to that genre and probably something I will like. I wish you good luck with your writing career.
Thanks for the encouragement, Harris. I haven't read that series yet, but it looks interesting.
I don't know if I can make a career out of it, but writing a series of old-school style fantasy novellas is always something I wanted to try. Thanks to eBook technology and Kindle Direct Publishing, I don't need a traditional publisher to get my books out there.
I actually am really enjoying the writing, and I'm not too afraid of failure. I realize very, very few fiction authors make any decent money. Either way, I'm having fun with it.
Thanks for downloading. I hope you enjoy it. :
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