Difference between children's books and MG books - BookBub's response

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

I recently asked BookBub their criteria for the two categories. This is their reply.

The biggest difference between Children's and Middle Grade is the target age. Our children's category is aimed at kids in the 0-6 year range, and Middle Grade around 8-12 years. There is also a difference in our page length requirements (a 20 page minimum for Children's and 100 pages for Middle Grade).

I've queried the page count as three of my books targeted at the 8 - 12 age group were trad published.  The one published by Penguin is only 42 pages and the other two are 68 pages.
My trad published picture book is only 16 pages long.

[dikim]

Thanks for posting this. It's very useful as I'd assumed that children's books are any books not written from adults. But their definitions cover the age range from 6-9 that I often write for. I wonder what they call that.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Thanks for posting this. It's very useful as I'd assumed that children's books are any books not written from adults. But their definitions cover the age range from 6-9 that I often write for. I wonder what they call that.

I've had some useful correspondence about their children's books. I wrote the following

Thanks for clarifying this. But as a children's author I feel you are missing out a chunk of readers with your Featured Deals.
Children 0-5 are 'reading' picture books.
From 6-8 they transition to illustrated chapter books.
From 9-12 they are reading the longer chapter books.
If you check out the Penguin Young Readers Series for the 6-8 group you will see a page count of around 30-50 pages. Their level 4 for readers 8-9 has Alice in Wonderland at 48 pages. (this book would fall into BookBub's 8-12 category with a minimum of 100 pages, so would be disqualified)
Your Featured Deals do not include this huge readership as the page count disqualifies them. A number of authors have expressed their disappointment about this.
Perhaps you could consider dividing the juvenile books into three categories and be more flexible with the page count as children don't jump from picture books to Harry Potter.
I hope you will be able to discuss this, maybe by consulting some trad publishers.
Regards
Jan

And received this reply.

Hi Jan,

Thanks so much for this feedback; I really appreciate it! While changes in our submission requirements aren't something that we can implement immediately, I'm more than happy to pass along this message to the rest of my team so that they can take it into consideration moving forward.

[Bill Hiatt]

Thanks for posting this. It's very useful as I'd assumed that children's books are any books not written from adults. But their definitions cover the age range from 6-9 that I often write for. I wonder what they call that.

I've had some useful correspondence about their children's books. I wrote the following

Thanks for clarifying this. But as a children's author I feel you are missing out a chunk of readers with your Featured Deals.
Children 0-5 are 'reading' picture books.
From 6-8 they transition to illustrated chapter books.
From 9-12 they are reading the longer chapter books.
If you check out the Penguin Young Readers Series for the 6-8 group you will see a page count of around 30-50 pages. Their level 4 for readers 8-9 has Alice in Wonderland at 48 pages. (this book would fall into BookBub's 8-12 category with a minimum of 100 pages, so would be disqualified)
Your Featured Deals do not include this huge readership as the page count disqualifies them. A number of authors have expressed their disappointment about this.
Perhaps you could consider dividing the juvenile books into three categories and be more flexible with the page count as children don't jump from picture books to Harry Potter.
I hope you will be able to discuss this, maybe by consulting some trad publishers.
Regards
Jan

And received this reply.

Hi Jan,

Thanks so much for this feedback; I really appreciate it! While changes in our submission requirements aren't something that we can implement immediately, I'm more than happy to pass along this message to the rest of my team so that they can take it into consideration moving forward.

Assuming the reply is sincere, that does sound like progress. I wouldn't have expected a change overnight, but if they really do consider what they're doing, they'll see the evidence that supports your position.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

[/quote]

I've had some useful correspondence about their children's books. I wrote the following

Thanks for clarifying this. But as a children's author I feel you are missing out a chunk of readers with your Featured Deals.
Children 0-5 are 'reading' picture books.
From 6-8 they transition to illustrated chapter books.
From 9-12 they are reading the longer chapter books.
If you check out the Penguin Young Readers Series for the 6-8 group you will see a page count of around 30-50 pages. Their level 4 for readers 8-9 has Alice in Wonderland at 48 pages. (this book would fall into BookBub's 8-12 category with a minimum of 100 pages, so would be disqualified)
Your Featured Deals do not include this huge readership as the page count disqualifies them. A number of authors have expressed their disappointment about this.
Perhaps you could consider dividing the juvenile books into three categories and be more flexible with the page count as children don't jump from picture books to Harry Potter.
I hope you will be able to discuss this, maybe by consulting some trad publishers.
Regards
Jan

And received this reply.

Hi Jan,

Thanks so much for this feedback; I really appreciate it! While changes in our submission requirements aren't something that we can implement immediately, I'm more than happy to pass along this message to the rest of my team so that they can take it into consideration moving forward.

[/quote]
Assuming the reply is sincere, that does sound like progress. I wouldn't have expected a change overnight, but if they really do consider what they're doing, they'll see the evidence that supports your position.
[/quote]

When I first encountered BookBub they didn't have a category for humour or general fiction and those were the only two that fitted one of my novels. I asked about having a humour category and they eventually included one, so I hope the same will happen with the children's books. 

[Vijaya]

Jan, good for you for educating them! Although their categories are fine, they don't realize how big the market is for EZ readers and chapter books. Good luck!

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Jan, good for you for educating them! Although their categories are fine, they don't realize how big the market is for EZ readers and chapter books. Good luck!

Thanks. I'll keep you posted if I hear further. I guess we should do periodic checks to see if they have made any changes to their submission guidelines for children's books, or added a third category.