One of the delights of the Brit Writers’ Awards
dinner was the chance to meet such a range of creative people. The excellent
meal could only take second place to a feast of writing talent that found its
expression in songs, scripts, poetry, and works of non-fiction and fiction. The
awards are all about encouraging and helping such talent, at whatever age, on its
journey towards publication, whether this is by traditional routes, such as
agents and publishers, or by more modern methods such as e-publishing.
In all cases it is essential to know your
market and so when there is talk of a new target market we writers tend to prick
up our ears and, shortly afterwards, our pens.
As we all discover in the struggle for
publication, knowing your market in the literary world means identifying category
(Young Adult or Middle Grade, for example) and genre (Romance, Fantasy, etc.). Hence
the excitement and controversy surrounding the introduction of a new category
in the world of fiction, called New Adult or NA. Referred to by some as ‘the next big thing’ it
is rejected by others as a shallow marketing ploy.
The category was first suggested by St Martin’s
Press in 2009 and thought to be stimulated by the number of adults reading teen
fiction. SMP described it as:
“…fiction similar to YA that can be
published and marketed as adult
– a sort of an ‘older YA’ or new adult.”
The editors were interested in the
coming-of-age that happens from about 19 to 26 years old. This is a time when
we have more experience and insight than teenagers (who tend to live in the
present) but are still trying to see where we fit in the world and how we will
cope when separated from family and institutions like school and college that
have so far protected us. It is a time of making decisions about relationships
and commitment, about sexuality, about economic survival, and about what we
want to be in life.
Not only editors were in favour of the new
category. Novelists too had complained about publishers forcing them to scale the
age of their main characters up or down to fit with existing categories, even
though such a shift meant a complete change to the story.
However, the idea was not met with universal
approval. Some said it was confusing and not a viable market, others felt it
would be restrictive. Still others challenged whether it could address
universal themes.
So was it just a marketing gimmick and what has
happened in the three years since SNP’s proposal?
- Firstly, understanding of the target market for
this category has broadened and we now see references to a range of ages from
14 up as far as 41. It seems we all want to stay younger longer!
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- The take-up by authors has been most significant
in the self-publishing arena.
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- Ebook buyers are driving the growth. This is no
surprise as book stores in America shelf by category and are uncomfortable with
books which do not fit neatly into Adult or Young Adult.
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- Despite this, during the summer of 2012 a
significant number of self-published authors who described their work as ‘new
adult’ were snatched up by mainstream publishers.
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Not everyone is convinced and some still
perceive NA as a pseudo-category.
As for me, I am delighted to discover this new
category. Far from being restrictive, it enables authors to develop new themes
that address the transition from teenager to adult, a time of high emotions and
difficult decisions that have a significant impact on our future lives.
Mind you, I would be supportive since my own
fantasy novel falls neatly into the NA category. I have to say though that I
hate the name. It’s not only confusing (try looking it up on a search engine)
but sounds too similar to Young Adult.
Yet I think it is here to stay. I feel a sense
of excitement among young novelists, agents and readers when they talk about NA
and something tells me this is a trend that will just keep on growing.
How about you? Would you write an NA book or as a reader would you buy
one?
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