I’ve been working on a novel that dives into the world of trading card culture—focusing on the friendships, rivalries, and quirky personalities behind the cards. It’s written for middle-grade readers (8-12 years old), and I’d love to hear your thoughts. There aren’t many, if any, fictional novels about trading card culture, so I’m wondering if it’s been overlooked or if there’s just no interest.
After reading the first chapter, do you think kids who love trading card games (or just funny, slightly weird adventures) would enjoy this? Does the humor land?
I’d really appreciate any thoughts, reactions, or feedback! Even if it’s just, “Yes, my younger sibling would totally read this,” or “Nope, too niche.”
If anyone has ever given me the best advice its just to “do it”. Im sure it will reach someone, and if it doesnt then youll never know! I think its a subjective read, but I could see it reaching kids that will appreciate it.
I agree that this book is very niche, which may translate to little interest from large publishing groups and meager sales. However, I don’t think that this should stop you from pursuing publication if you have the money and time.
If you’re writing this book for the love it, then I say go full steam ahead and consider self-publishing. If you’re writing this book for fame or money, then I would point you in another direction entirely.
I’m a kdp author, I say go for it! If you go the kdp route I’d suggest to format your book so that it’s eligible for expanded distribution (goes to distributors who sell to schools and libraries.)
Okay yeah this probably would work as a childrens novel. Being real i just wanna see WHY molly is being added to the deck. (There is no way in hell she isnt.)
First of all, this is a great idea! We’ve got a 7 year old who loves his card binder and I’m sure he would LOVE hearing a story from the cards perspective.
This may sound Farfetch’d (speaking of ducks) bit for what it’s worth I’ve got a comedic writing background and I think a lot of the card humour lands! Things like “Fresh Binder Cologne” really bring the story to life, as we all know that particular smell quite well! I personally love the idea of cards having personalities and interacting with each other within a binder. The line “Darling slow down! You’ll crease my shimmer!” Is another great silly line that brings gives life to the character. I also just think it’s a funny sounding sentence that would make a kid laugh! (I do pray there’s a line where Mally calls another card a Quack
If you‘d find it at all helpful, I’d love to read this chapter to the little guy and see how he reacts? We could give you any feedback? I know it’s targeted for the 8-12 age range and he’s only 7, so he may miss some things, but we’re trying to read with him more so it could be fun! That would be with your permission of course, and absolutely no worries or pressure if you’re not comfortable with that yet!
And hey, Harry Potter was too niche until it wasn’t! I think this is great!! Congrats on finishing a whole book, that’s an awesome accomplishment! Also loveeee the title. It pops!
Hey there! Sorry about the delayed response! Night shifts the past week and a half made it a bit tougher to read at bedtime than I anticipated haha.
We read through the first chapter though and he emphatically said “YES” when I asked if he’d like to hear more! I think that’s a great sign! He also laughed out loud, and hard, several times, the hardest laugh was on the Motor Oil line which I find hilarious. He definitely enjoyed the story! I think it was a bit past his reading level, (he’s 7) and he’s used to seeing pictures with books too, but we did our best to comprehend everything! (Some of the longer paragraphs I could tell he was a bit like uhhh, but he was still able to grasp the concept of the story!”
I definitely think there is something there with this book and overall storyline! We’d both be excited to see where it goes and again, he really did enjoy reading through the book! He seemed especially into it when you were describing other characters/they were interacting with each other. That’s where his imagination was able to visualize the book best!
Awesome stuff, and hopefully we can finish the book one day soon!
Imma be honest that I didn’t read the full thing, but if you haven’t thought about format, I think adding illustrations like diary of a wimpy kid does would be a great consumable way to space it out and make it visually relatable even if the kids haven’t collected much.
I also think it’s a good concept and as others have said it is working—I think formatting and distribution will be more of the things to work out than direct content
It’s official! I’ve been signed by a literary agent, and we’re aiming to get this book submitted out to publishers.
I’d love to have a few beta readers from the Pokemon community. If you’re interested in reading and giving feedback (big picture stuff, not line editing), let me know!
