Can I write a middle school story?

Hi, and I’m just wondering if I can write a middle school story on Episode? The reason I ask, is that I’m wondering if a middle school story can meet Episode’s guidelines and if it isn’t objectionable by Episode.

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i cant think of why not, just have to be careful with characters under 16 on the cover and what they do in the story yano

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I don’t think your story can feature characters under 16. Maybe make it a freshman year of high school story? It’s one year out of Middle School age so the youthful immaturity of a middle schooler would still be there and acceptable-- but with “of age” characters.

Like you can have little brothers and sisters, kids and babies but they can’t be the “focus” of a story. If that makes sense?

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You can’t have a character under the age of 16 be the “focus” on a cover so not sure how a 12-14 yo can be the MC if you can’t put them on your cover.

And I’ll be honest, I don’t think that will be something that anyone will want to read on the app. High School stories barely get read on the app. Most stories now have young adult MCs as the general age range of readers has gone up. So I wouldn’t attempt to do a story with middle school characters.

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Most stories feature high school characters close to prom for this exact reason. If they’re 17 and above, you get a green light.

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I don’t see why you couldn’t as long as you write it appropriately and adhere to guidelines. You can’t have characters under 16 on covers, but there is no rule that says you cannot have under 16 year old main characters within your story. It would be strange if you couldn’t due to the app’s rating being 12+.

Particular content guidelines regarding age:

No graphic/explicit/detailed description or depiction of active, ongoing sexual abuse involving a character who is under 18 years of age.

No description or depiction of active, ongoing drug, alcohol or tobacco use by characters who are under the age of 16.

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I don’t see why not. As long as guidelines are followed, and it’s compelling enough for that target audience.

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