Where's The Line Between YA and NA?

The New Adult genre has been in play for a while. It's not until I joined Indie Inked that I really started to find out more about it. Some of the authors within the group have had great success with their NA novels. It got me thinking... Should I write one of those? And then I started thinking... Well what is the NA genre really? How is it different to YA?

From what I can tell so far, NA books deal with characters who are slightly older - 18+ years. They are dealing with some of those issues you face out of high school...the really big coming of age type moments. A character's first proper job, first serious relationship... possibly an engagement, a heart shattering break-up, having to take care of family. You know, the really big stuff that makes or breaks a person.

I guess YA novels deal with some of those issues too, but in NA the author can go into more depth, make it more gritty and intense. I think another big difference is that NA can be more violent and also more detailed with sex. 

I'm still deciding how I feel about this. These books are aimed at a 16 - 18+yrs . I know people are basically adults by then and I don't want to by an old-fashioned stuff, but I am still going to think very carefully about how I present the sex and violence in any of my books. 

Okay - so now that I have laid my foundations, I want to put forward a question. 

Where is the line between YA and NA books?

I am asking this because I am currently writing a novella - Before. It's a prequel to Betwixt and describes Dale's journey when he was going through his bad boy phase. He got up to a lot of mischief and I need to include this in the story to make his journey more impacting. I feel like it is an NA style story, yet it's about a teenage boy. Do I market this book as a YA or an NA?

I know some authors who have faced the problem of starting a YA series and as the characters grow older the books need to become grittier... more NA like. So does the marketing change halfway through a series?

I'm really interested to know what people think on this.

As a reader, I am open to both YA and NA books. I love both genres, although some NA's go too far for me. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I have heard one author comment that someone complained because her NA novel wasn't raunchy enough?

I feel like the YA/NA genres are very closely linked and I think people need to be open to the fact that some YA novels will be racier and some NA novels will not have as much punch. 

How do you define the difference between the two genres?

How important is it to differentiate between the two?

Good Stuff To Know - July Edition

I haven't done one of these posts in a really long time. Sorry about my inconsistency with posting lately. I am planning on getting back into after our vacation. It's hard to keep things up when you're away from home...plus I've had all these releases in quick session. It's been a crazy couple of months... yet so much fun!

Anyway - I thought it was about time I got back into this post as I know many of you find it really helpful.

Here are a few links I've been storing away that may come in handy.

Jonathan Gunson is a total legend when it comes to sharing great marketing tips. I thought this post had some excellent points. 7 Best Seller Strategies for Writers.

I am a "do it yourself" book trailer maker. I came across this blog post the other day with a bunch of links for finding awesome background music for trailers. Not all of these are free, but they are royalty free, which is really helpful. 21 Sites of Free Music for your Book Trailer.

I actually hunted for these two articles. With the new adult genre rising in popularity quickly it's been hard to find the line between YA and NA fiction. I think even readers are confused sometimes. I think authors need a really clear idea in their minds about what New Adult fiction is.
This post was brilliant: New Adult Fiction: The Next Big Thing in Publishing?
And this post was really helpful when dealing with YA writing: 5 Tips for Writing and Marketing YA/Teen Books.

I've actually decided to do a full post on this topic, so keep an eye out for that next week.

Hopefully these articles are helpful to you.
If you have anything else you've come across that you'd like to share, please feel free to add it in the comments section.

So Many Things To Tell You!!

Well, it's the beginning of December, so time for my monthly progress report.

November saw the release of Betwixt, so that was a great lead-in to one of my favourite months of the year... December. Why do I love it so much?

 Because I love Christmas!! The family time, the presents, the decorations, the food, the history... I love it all.

And speaking of Christmas, that is my first piece of news. I am involved in the Christmas For Authors celebration that is being run by Young Adult and Teen Readers. If you'd like to take part in the Treasure Hunt Giveaway, you can check out my recent blog post here. This celebration will be running throughout the month and there are so many giveaways and awesome prizes. It is definitely worth joining in the event.

December has kicked off with a bang for me as A Tale of Many Reviews is currently hosting the Betwixt Blog Tour for me. Day One was filled with amazing reviews. I am so excited that people are enjoying it so much. Thank you so much to all the participants. I feel honoured to be featuring on your amazing blogs. There is a giveaway running and there will be plenty more posts to come - including interviews, a tweet chat between Nicole and Dale and a few other goodies. If you'd like to follow along, you can check out the tour schedule on my YAlicious site - Betwixt Blog Tour.

The first book of my fantasy trilogy is well underway. In fact I am hoping to finish it before I fly home for Christmas (in two weeks!! Squee!!). I am finding this project extremely challenging, but also so much fun. I have never written anything like this before and it's really stretching me. I currently have a "Name That Troll" competition running through my updates newsletter. The person who comes up with the best name for my monstrous yet completely adorable baby troll will win an Amazon gift card. If you'd like to participate, you can sign up for my Book Updates and Giveaways Newsletter. Entries close December 21st.

I had a photo shoot last week with some of the students from Suzhou Singapore International School. One of the teachers there helped me out and snapped some shots of these gorgeous kids. They are going to be the faces on the covers of my fantasy trilogy - The Elements Trilogy. The books are tentatively titled - Unknown, Unseen, Unleashed. I can't WAIT to see what my talented graphic designer comes up with. We've been discussing ideas and I think these covers are going to be pretty awesome-sauce.

On my YAlicious blog this month I have some pretty cool posts coming up - I have the amazing Patti Larsen visiting the site on Thursday, a surprise book blogger will be doing an interview for me the week after that. I also have some posts planned while I'm away for Christmas, including a giveaway, so keep your eye out for that.

In the meantime, I really hope you have a fantastic December filled with lots of warm, Christmas fuzzies. I know this season can sometimes be stressful, but it's also a season of giving and reflection and I hope you can all come away feeling better for it :-)