Why isn't *New Adult* a book genre when 18-25 year old human beings EXIST? Or did we just forget about an entire group of people trying to navigate their way through the world? -- FIRST DRAFT // ANGRY RANT 1
Some authors can get away with writing in the "New Adult" genre because they already have an audience. People like Sarah J. Maas who wrote "A Court of Thorns and Roses" can write whatever she wants because she's Sarah J. Maas. And even though ACOTAR is technically sitting on the shelves in bookstores in the "Teen Adventure/Romance" category, those books are probably not for younger teens. I'd recommend 16+ (but it also depends on the maturity and comfort level of the reader, and everyone is different). If you haven't read or heard of them, the next time you're in a book store, pick up a copy of book two, "A Court of Mist and Fury," and turn to Chapter 55. You will understand what I mean. There is a lot of graphic sex in those books. Which, in my opinion, is fine!
I don't understand why it's perfectly okay for kids to read books about violence and blood and gore and people getting their heads chopped off and swords getting plunged into hearts and heads and losing limbs, but god forbid our teenagers read a love scene.
What do you think it's going to make them do? Have sex?
Well, does reading a scene where someone gets their head chopped off make them go around chopping peoples heads off? No?! Well, gee! Who would've thought!
I've written a book that doesn't seem to fall into any category, and I don't know how to query/sell this book.
My main character is 19 years old, and her best friend is 20, and the love interest is 24. I've been querying this book since March and have gotten very few responses. Some of them have been positive. But most of them have said, "Sorry, but we don't publish/represent New Adult."
Which makes no sense to me!
Britney Spears AND Taylor Swift wrote/sung songs about this entire group of human beings! New Adults are people who are not kids anymore, but they also aren't adults either. They're either in college or just starting out in the working world, and they are creating themselves.
Your brain doesn't stop fully developing until you're 25 years old, so how can you go from being a Young Adult at 17, and jumping into Adult on your 18th birthday? That's not how we work! Human beings are complex and it takes us time to grow and mature into the people we want to be. Hence college parties and fraternities and sororities and most college kids acting like morons. Because they haven't learned how to navigate the world yet!
THIS IS WHY WE NEED THE NEW ADULT GENRE IN BOOK STORES!
When I was 19, I was in college, and I got pregnant.
Now, please, do not misunderstand me. Having my son was the best decision I've ever made. But I was so young, and I was not a fully developed adult. I had no idea what I was doing, and I was terrified. But I was lucky that I had a support system to help me because I would have been lost without them.
But I also feel like if I had more books, fictional stories about people my age going through similar situations, I wouldn't have felt so alone.
I understand that New Adult is a huge market for self published authors, but that's not enough. We deserve to have a voice in the publishing world. And the world of human beings alive who are New Adults deserve to have voices who represent them as people. Coming of age fiction is growing. Twenty year old kids have stories. Deep, meaningful stories that might be able to help another person.
So, I am here today to ask that not only publishing companies, but book stores everywhere give the New Adult genre a chance. Give us one small corner in your store in between YA and Adult and see how well it does. Just see how many readers want to read New Adult. And if I am wrong, then I will accept it, and I will never ask again. But I can feel it in my soul, in my bones, in my heart that New Adult is already a genre and should be apart of every bookstore. There are so many stories that need to be told by so many people, but they can only be told if you give us a chance to tell them.
Thank you for your consideration,
Jessica Russell
Author of Peyton's Playlist, a New Adult Contemporary Romance novel
Some authors can get away with writing in the "New Adult" genre because they already have an audience. People like Sarah J. Maas who wrote "A Court of Thorns and Roses" can write whatever she wants because she's Sarah J. Maas. And even though ACOTAR is technically sitting on the shelves in bookstores in the "Teen Adventure/Romance" category, those books are probably not for younger teens. I'd recommend 16+ (but it also depends on the maturity and comfort level of the reader, and everyone is different). If you haven't read or heard of them, the next time you're in a book store, pick up a copy of book two, "A Court of Mist and Fury," and turn to Chapter 55. You will understand what I mean. There is a lot of graphic sex in those books. Which, in my opinion, is fine!
I don't understand why it's perfectly okay for kids to read books about violence and blood and gore and people getting their heads chopped off and swords getting plunged into hearts and heads and losing limbs, but god forbid our teenagers read a love scene.
What do you think it's going to make them do? Have sex?
Well, does reading a scene where someone gets their head chopped off make them go around chopping peoples heads off? No?! Well, gee! Who would've thought!
I've written a book that doesn't seem to fall into any category, and I don't know how to query/sell this book.
My main character is 19 years old, and her best friend is 20, and the love interest is 24. I've been querying this book since March and have gotten very few responses. Some of them have been positive. But most of them have said, "Sorry, but we don't publish/represent New Adult."
Which makes no sense to me!
Britney Spears AND Taylor Swift wrote/sung songs about this entire group of human beings! New Adults are people who are not kids anymore, but they also aren't adults either. They're either in college or just starting out in the working world, and they are creating themselves.
Your brain doesn't stop fully developing until you're 25 years old, so how can you go from being a Young Adult at 17, and jumping into Adult on your 18th birthday? That's not how we work! Human beings are complex and it takes us time to grow and mature into the people we want to be. Hence college parties and fraternities and sororities and most college kids acting like morons. Because they haven't learned how to navigate the world yet!
THIS IS WHY WE NEED THE NEW ADULT GENRE IN BOOK STORES!
When I was 19, I was in college, and I got pregnant.
Now, please, do not misunderstand me. Having my son was the best decision I've ever made. But I was so young, and I was not a fully developed adult. I had no idea what I was doing, and I was terrified. But I was lucky that I had a support system to help me because I would have been lost without them.
But I also feel like if I had more books, fictional stories about people my age going through similar situations, I wouldn't have felt so alone.
I understand that New Adult is a huge market for self published authors, but that's not enough. We deserve to have a voice in the publishing world. And the world of human beings alive who are New Adults deserve to have voices who represent them as people. Coming of age fiction is growing. Twenty year old kids have stories. Deep, meaningful stories that might be able to help another person.
So, I am here today to ask that not only publishing companies, but book stores everywhere give the New Adult genre a chance. Give us one small corner in your store in between YA and Adult and see how well it does. Just see how many readers want to read New Adult. And if I am wrong, then I will accept it, and I will never ask again. But I can feel it in my soul, in my bones, in my heart that New Adult is already a genre and should be apart of every bookstore. There are so many stories that need to be told by so many people, but they can only be told if you give us a chance to tell them.
Thank you for your consideration,
Jessica Russell
Author of Peyton's Playlist, a New Adult Contemporary Romance novel