Publishers and bookstores, just like libraries, are
obsessive in categorizing books. They need to be in order to file things
properly so that they, and their customers, can find things. Unfortunately,
this has a downside. What do you do with something that doesn’t fit?
Young Adult, or YA as it’s called in the industry, was
invented when publishers discovered that kids in high school know how to read.
Prior to that time, there were children’s books and adult books. With the
publication of Harry Potter, many adults discovered the YA category. In addition,
high school kids grow up, but continue to read.
For some reason, publishers haven’t figured that out.
One of the myths in publishing is that adults want to read
about adults, and children want to read about children. Teenagers read YA
because they relate to the characters. And since college-age people don’t read
fiction, books with college-age characters won’t sell.
As a result, authors who write about characters between high
school and their mid-twenties are told that there’s no market for their books.
In the same way, many authors have been led to believe that
the category of New Adult, where the characters are of that between age, are
being read by people of that between age. And so a debate rages within the New
Adult community as to exactly what it is.
Is New Adult aimed at readers between 18 and 25, or is it
stories with characters between 18 and 25?
I know that many authors and readers in that age group feel
the books are aimed at them. But if they stop and think about it, they might
have read Harry Potter, Twilight or the Hunger Games when they were much older
than the characters in the books.
A couple of years ago, St. Martin’s Press put out a call for
New Adult books and coined the term. Some incorrectly classify it as a genre,
but it is actually a category. Within the category, books in many genres have
hit the market. What do I mean by genre? Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance,
Westerns, etc., are genres.
So what exactly is New Adult?
Some in the media have labeled New Adult as YA plus sex. But
it is much more than that. After a character graduates high school, they are
technically an adult. Faced with a new world of jobs, college or university,
and adult romance, they have different motivations and challenges than they did
as a teenager in high school. They are able to explore a wider world, travel,
and experiment with sex. But that doesn’t automatically mean a story about
someone who is 20 includes them having sex.
In another era, such stories were often called “coming of
age” novels. Think about Pride and
Prejudice, Catcher in the Rye, or
Anna Karenina. I’ve often wondered if
The Devil Wears Prada might be
classified as New Adult.
As I said earlier, often people in that 18 to 25 age group
feel such books are aimed at them and identify with the characters. They
therefore fall into the same trap as the publishers, thinking that age group is
the only market for the stories. But a much wider audience will read such
books, both younger and older.
Many authors who have unwittingly written books with
characters in this age range are surprised when they are rebuffed by
publishers. The reasons are always the same. There’s no market. Agents and
publishers suggest making the characters younger, getting rid of the sex. Or
maybe make the characters older. Change the conflict. In other words, write a
different book.
Self-publishing changed that. The growth of New Adult and
the fact that some of the big six publishers are now soliciting NA manuscripts
is directly attributable to sales of self-published novels, proving there
really is a market.
In my own case, I was told that I should make my characters
younger, get rid of the sex, and perhaps include some vampires. In other words,
write a different book. Thankfully, what people read is no longer exclusively
dictated by six large publishing companies. I just received a letter from a fan
who raved about my new novel, Succubus
Rising, the third book in the Telepathic Clans Saga. He’s read all three
books and he definitely falls in the age range for New Adult novels. He’s 72.
By B.R. Kingsolver. "I made silver and turquoise jewelry for almost a decade, ended up in nursing school, then took a master’s in business. Along the way I worked in construction, as a newspaper editor, a teacher, and somehow found a career working with computers.
I love the outdoors, especially the Rocky Mountains. I’ve skied since high school and I’ve hiked and camped all my life. I love to travel, though I haven’t done enough of it. I’ve seen a lot of Russia and Mexico, not enough of England. Amsterdam is amazing, and the Romanian Alps are breathtaking. Lake Tahoe is a favorite, and someday I’d like to see Banff in Canada.
I have a very significant other, two cats and two Basset Hounds. I’m currently living in Baltimore, nine blocks from the harbor, but still own a home in New Mexico that I see too infrequently."
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