New to New Adult discussion

This genre is so new, that the definition is still a little rough around the edges when in contrast to Young Adult books and themes. Someone might describe this genre as a spiced up version of Young Adult.
Others might argue that such a "coming of age" experience is deserving of it's own category, and should not be confused by being bundled into a genre with Harry Potter. What do you think?

new adult? haha. I'm just laughing at. so, who is declare about this "new" genre? Is there someone told you that there are a book for a child who grown ups to adult and he/she have to read the book "perforce" before they get adult? Tell me...

As an author, when I published my first book I was torn about how to categorize it. Character age wise - when it starts the characters are in high school and ends when they are adults - finished with college and starting in their careers, beginning to grow their families, etc. So there's the YA aspect as well as adult contemporary. I though NA was the perfect in between.
Now I'm not so sure.
I've had readers label my stories as both YA and NA. I had a friend read the book I'm about to publish and I laughed when she asked if I was considering YA, NA or Contemporary Romance - I told her I had no idea.
What I've noticed is that most (if not all) of the NA stories I've read have been written by Indie Authors (or started out as Indie). Some have lots of descriptive heavy sex (sometimes bordering on erotica), some have lighter sex, a couple have had none. The characters seem to be around 17-25ish. Some authors add disclaimers that people under 18 shouldn't read it due to content.
What it comes down to - I have no clue what the difference is.
I do know that one of the reasons that I'm on the fence about my next book is because I didn't write any graphic, descriptive, hot sex scenes. If it wasn't for that I'd label it NA.
(Yes, I know I'm not helpful at all. Sorry. :-S)

Abduraafi wrote: "new adult? haha. I'm just laughing at. so, who is declare about this "new" genre? Is there someone told you that there are a book for a child who grown ups to adult and he/she have to read the book..."

I love this inquisition! I'm not surprised by your reaction to the concept of this new genre. I've mentioned it to readers on goodreads who weren't familiar with the genre, and thought I was suggesting they read erotica or porn, because it sounds like it would be intended for a mature audience. Perhaps a book for children who are preparing to grow into adults is a good thing? There might even be a few out there that exist : ). The transition from childhood to adulthood can sometimes be scary, wild, awkward, and inspiring - what a great subject for potential stories.

Heather wrote: "As an author, when I published my first book I was torn about how to categorize it. Character age wise - when it starts the characters are in high school and ends when they are adults - finished w..."

You get credit, where credits due. You are helpful Heather, and I believe many NA YA authors can relate to your experience. I think the graphic sex in some of the NA books stirred a buzz and interest in the genre, but I hope that this category will evolve and include a wide spectrum of coming of age stories. Yes, sex is a big part of being NA, sometimes one of the biggest parts, but there is so much more to write and explore concerning this topic.
I clicked on your profile, and couldn't find your books. Are they on goodreads? This site encourages authors to self promote, so please share : )

Good discussion! I've written some NA novels myself, and one is currently in press. Still, I've found that even the publishers are not sure of the definition. And, depending on the publishing house, the age range for readers can go up to 29!

So maybe these are books for twenty-somethings who are not quite part of the suburban mom and dad landscape, and remain closer to young than adult. That's the way I look at it. NA audiences want to read about people in their twenties who are coming of age or coping with adulthood.

However vague it may be, the NA category does give us authors another group to write for, and I like that. As for the sex issue, I don't think a lot of sex is required to meet NA guidelines, but if a book is categorized as NA romance, usually sex is a big part of the plot line.

Categorizing can be tricky in general. I write sexy, saucy books about bold women and these books get categorized as "hot" but that is sometimes because of the language I use and not the amount or degree of sex. Literary novels and short stories have lots of sex scenes these days, yet do not receive "heat" ratings like romance books do.

Glad to see this group for all of us interested and somewhat confused about NA!

Danielle wrote: "I think the graphic sex in some of the NA books stirred a buzz and interest in the genre, but I hope that this category will evolve and include a wide spectrum of coming of age stories. Yes, sex is a big part of being NA, sometimes one of the biggest parts, but there is so much more to write and explore concerning this topic."

This is my main concern about the genre right now. When I first heard about separating NA and YA I was excited about it, and then I soon came to realize that most of the popular NA books are basically porn targeted towards teenagers. :P And while I don't necessarily have a problem with that, I'm just not a fan of erotica. So as you said, I'm hoping NA books with more themes than just sex will emerge at some point.

Danielle wrote: "Abduraafi wrote: "new adult? haha. I'm just laughing at. so, who is declare about this "new" genre? Is there someone told you that there are a book for a child who grown ups to adult and he/she hav..."

I got the point.

I like this NA classification. My book, which is a coming-of-age novel dealing with a young sex addict appears to be the personification of this new genre. When I was preparing to release the book, people wanted me to classify it so they could easily wrap their brain around it.

I was torn because the book isn't an erotic novel, nor is it a sex smut book or literary fiction. NA nicely places the book in a category that can be serious fiction with adult themes. Here's a link I found on NA when I Googled NA:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/e...

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Danielle wrote: "I think the graphic sex in some of the NA books stirred a buzz and interest in the genre, but I hope that this category will evolve and include a wide spectrum of coming of age sto..."

Brigid, Yes! Your comment made me realize that packaging sexed up story lines for a younger audience is insulting in a way. I wonder if this is an aftershock from the quake in the literary industry caused by .

Darryl wrote: "I like this NA classification. My book, which is a coming-of-age novel dealing with a young sex addict appears to be the personification of this new genre. When the book came, people really wanted ..."

Oooh, I'm intrigued about your book. I think sex addiction and sexual deviation can be a common subject amoung young adults and new adults.I spent several years working at a high school and found it interesting that these subjects are often untouched, and yet it exists. I might add your book to our October Book nominations!

Danielle wrote: "Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "Danielle wrote: "I think the graphic sex in some of the NA books stirred a buzz and interest in the genre, but I hope that this category will evolve and include ..."

I think Fifty Shades of Grey definitely has a lot to do with it. Considering it's pretty much just badly-written erotic fanfiction that became a best-seller, that seemed to inspire a lot of people to write something in a similar vein. :P

Danielle wrote: "I clicked on your profile, and couldn't find your books. Are they on goodreads? This site encourages authors to self promote, so please share : )"
Yeah, my books are on goodreads, but under my pen name of
H.R. Willaston
Heather Williams is a very common name so I mashed up my married name (Williams) and my maiden name (Kenaston)

This may seem really obvious, but after some initial confused moments when I felt like, yes, NA was just sexed up YA, I realised it really just comes from the name. YA can deal with young people who are maturing, but not having to do the 'serious relationship, paying bills and taxes, living by yourself'. Or maybe it's in college or uni and having to deal without parents. That's why they then often deal with very serious themes, such as rape, or taboo relationships, because the MC has to learn to deal with it themselves and be an adult.
That's what I think anyway. (However, some authors think that is really is just sexed up YA with tons more expletives! Makes me angry)

Danielle wrote: "Darryl wrote: "I like this NA classification. My book, which is a coming-of-age novel dealing with a young sex addict appears to be the personification of this new genre. When the book came, people..."

Yes, please consider my book for your October Book nominations!

Please consider my book as well for October. I write coming-of-age books about young women who are finding out, slowly but surely,they are a different breed of woman: sirens in human form. They arise from an old lineage with lots of history to absorb. The sex is honest and explicit, but the book is not sexed up. It's not erotica, in other words. The young sirens are dealing with issues like sexual obsession, extinction, and oh yes, a family curse.
Anyway, please consider

Anne wrote: "Please consider my book as well for October. I write coming-of-age books about young women who are finding out, slowly but surely,they are a different breed of woman: sirens in human form. They ari..."

This looks really good!