Introducing the New Adult Book Genre

Tags

book genres, books, E-books, eBooks, genre, genres, hashtag, NA, New Adult, Twitter, Twitter chat, YA, Young Adult

I finally know what to categorize my upcoming book as!

You’re probably raising an eyebrow right now, thinking, “how on earth can someone figure out what category their book belongs in – weeks before it comes out?”

Yeah, I know. But its not like I was completely clueless over how to classify my novel, The Dark Proposal. I already knew its genre…because it is about vampires, so yeah it’s a vampire novel.

But what kind of vampire novel?

You have vampire romance, vampire horror, vampire YA. Neither of descriptions fit my book because there’s no romance throughout, its not gory enough, and the main character is a college graduate, not a high school student.

My book is an urban fantasy, yes, but what exactly is it target audience? Like I said, teenagers cannot be the prime target, even if some may be interested in a young woman learning about life after college.

As the deadline drew nearer for me to upload my novel onto Amazon Kindle, I was getting nervous on the exact category to put my work under.

Luckily, I just happened to be on Twitter this evening for the weekly #indiechat, where indie authors gather. The topic was the newest genre for novels: NA – or New Adult.

We are all aware of YA – Young Adult. That is for books which focus on the teenage years of the main characters. It generally is geared to 12 – 17 year olds, though some grown adults do read those books. After YA, though, there’s nothing but books aimed at adults who are 25 and older. What about the 18 – 24 year olds? You know, those who are in college or just graduated, struggling to become adults, learning to be independent and the ways of the world. Seems like that time period is not represented much in the literary world, despite it being a tumultuous and exciting time for anybody.

NA is still relatively new and as far as I know, the genre has only been thought up a couple of years ago. So, it has to grow a lot more in order to be noticed by the average reader and booksellers.

But even so, the very moment I learned what NA stood for, I knew I had at last found my genre for my book. The main character of my story, Claire McCormick is 22 years old and a recent college graduate. Along with her friends/roommates – Samantha DiCarlo and Monica Alejandrez – she struggles with post-college life. The three share an apartment and are trying to find work in a dismal economy (yes, The Dark Proposal takes place in the present day). Claire also is embarking on her first real adult romance with college professor Daniel Bertrand (who by the way she did not have as a student; she meets him as she works part-time at her alma mater’s English department office). Unfortunately, things do not turn out the way Claire hoped for in that relationship – which is what my book is all about.

So there you have it. A new genre not just for me, but for all writers looking for a way to classify their work. I’m excited about this because there is a lot of opportunity with NA books. As I said, anyone in their early 20s can remember those days as when they first began their adult steps. It’s a fun, awesome and scary time, and I truly believe there is an audience waiting to devour those books.

Here are some websites that promote the NA genre:

http://sarahnicolas.com/blog/2012/05/what-do-you-think-about-new-adult/

http://nalitchat.blogspot.com/

I Am Going to Self-Publish…Is That a Bad Thing?

Tags

authors, books, E-books, E-publishing, Kindle, PubIt, Smashwords

This September, I will be uploading my book onto Kindle. I will be doing this all on my own, without the use of E-publishing company and without going the traditional route.

In other words, I’ll be self-publishing. Now, is that a bad move?

One of the reasons why I am going to self-publish is because I like the idea of the control of I would have over my book, and selling and promoting it. I also didn’t like to idea of waiting a year and a half for my book to be published by a major publisher – if it reached that point.

But I am also aware of the stigma towards self-publishers. I’ve heard rumors of them producing “lousy” work filled with typos and poor grammar, that their covers are of poor quality, and overall their story just isn’t good.

Maybe there is some truth to those self-pubbed authors, but I am certain not all are like that. Go to the Absolute Writers Forum and you’ll see threads of such writers talking excitedly of their success, showing off their well designed covers and working with editors and beta readers. Of course, there are some who argue that they could’ve gone to a publisher and see even more success.

But then there’s David Gaughran who has done very well for a self-published author. He’s one of those who champions the self-published venture.

So, am I making mistake going into self-publishing? Time will tell, to be honest. It’s all up to how I promote my book, which I am completely up for. I like social media and blogging, so I wouldn’t mind doing all that work.

I don’t expect my book to be a huge hit and I’ll be the next Amanda Hocking. No, I’m being realistic about this. I may start off well and then the sales will slide significantly. That, or nothing will happen for months, and then my sales will take off out of nowhere.

I think this is the best time to self-publish. The technology allows it to happen, and as long as E-publishing does not turn into the way it is with traditional publishers (ie, the literary agents, going along with market trends), this is an exciting time for self-publishers. And I am looking forward to it!