tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125214612971306615.post9174835410430238125..comments2023-11-06T12:28:13.575-05:00Comments on A Million Monkeys: What the #$%!Jon VanZilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14026643422328853037noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125214612971306615.post-16254519975608512762009-03-18T12:56:00.000-04:002009-03-18T12:56:00.000-04:00My agent had nothing to say about it ... I also fi...My agent had nothing to say about it ... I also figured this wouldn't be a deal-killer. No one will turn this book down because, at his angriest moment, Murph calls someone an asshole. No, they'll find much more creative reasons to turn it down.<BR/><BR/>By the way, I've heard that before about teachers. Editors can supposedly be touchy about making them bad.<BR/><BR/>All I can say, those editors never met Mrs. Oerkfitz.Jon VanZilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14026643422328853037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125214612971306615.post-11520744604794484322009-03-18T12:20:00.000-04:002009-03-18T12:20:00.000-04:00I'm inclined to leave it in. If your book was stre...I'm inclined to leave it in. If your book was strewn with profanity I'd suggest changing it, but with a single usage, I'd wait to see if an editor or your agent tells you to change it. (They might, you never know. I had one scene in a MG novel where the teacher turns into a demon and he vanquishes her with a magic sword and my agent said, "Cut it. Period. The demon's not the teacher." I didn't necessarily agree--Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson got attacked by teachers who were monsters and he took wiped them out--but I saw her point and moved the demon outside the school. It's a weird world). And either way, the book didn't sell--though it should have, IMHO.Mark Terryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09410424046477699059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125214612971306615.post-80346340245228464812009-03-18T11:07:00.000-04:002009-03-18T11:07:00.000-04:00That's pretty much my concern, too. It's not the k...That's pretty much my concern, too. It's not the kids. It's the editors and parents ... well, at this point, mostly the editors.<BR/><BR/>And yeah, I've heard a general rule is that kids never read down. So a 12-year-old MC will attract readers between 8 and 12, while a 16-year-old MC will attract readers aged 12-16. In general. <BR/><BR/>That's funny about butt munch. I actually remember using that word and its various conjugations. It's a noun! A verb! An adjective! That's the great thing about swear words -- they're just so darn versatile.Jon VanZilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14026643422328853037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7125214612971306615.post-60968443962516930742009-03-18T10:59:00.000-04:002009-03-18T10:59:00.000-04:00What you have to remember with middle-grade, I thi...What you have to remember with middle-grade, I think, is that your primary audience will probably consist of eight- and nine-year-olds, even though your protag is twelve.<BR/><BR/>My second novel was MG (it's tucked safely in a drawer now, where it belongs), and I remember substituting <I>buttmunch</I> (a word my son actually invented when he was eight or nine) for <I>asshole</I> in a couple of spots. You can use it if you want. :)<BR/><BR/>I think the main problem with using expletives in MG (and even YA, to some extent) is with parents and teachers and librarians (and therefore editors). The kids themselves have pretty much heard it all by fourth grade. That was true even when I was a kid in the 60s.Jude Hardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09994813046526310594noreply@blogger.com