What
is the New Adult (NA) Clean Contemporary genre all about, and why am I embracing it? To say
‘I found my niche’ is an understatement! I’ve been writing in this category for
years but just didn’t know it existed. Then I found out that it didn’t exist prior to about 2012, and
still barely exists!
When
people ask me what genre my novels fall into, I have always struggled: Well,
they’re at a Young Adult (YA) reading level with a very mature theme and
college-age characters. To add to the confusion, they’re also very
Christian-themed books. They don’t really fit into the YA genre because they
involve adult physical relationships. You can pretend to be shocked if you
want, but (newsflash) even Christians have sex! Preferably after marriage, but
that too brings up real-life struggles of the difficulty of staying chaste
prior to marriage, especially in a world that criticizes that very pretense.
It’s not the easiest thing to accomplish, and I address that in several of my
stories, possibly all of them. I believe that physical relationships are very
sacred and very special. Lovemaking between a husband and wife is almost an
extension of God’s love. Anything less than that is demeaning. Sorry, that’s my
opinion.
A
few months ago I asked a question on one of my online communities (on Facebook)
about how to get a book published in that general description, and someone
pointed out that my book probably falls into the category of New Adult (NA)
rather than YA. I didn’t know such a thing existed, so I started doing some
research. It turns out that my stories fit the category almost perfectly!
By
the way, the readers of NA fiction are not necessarily in the new adult age
range. I’ll explore that later in this blog post, but first let’s examine what
makes a novel fit into this category. These are according to Deborah Halverson
in her book Writing New Adult Fiction.
Here
are the nine traits that distinguish NA fiction from teen fiction or fiction
for adults:
(Those
of you who already read my novels will be nodding your head reading each of
these!)
·
Main
characters between the ages of eighteen to twenty-five (although some online
communities claim 18-30 is the age range)
·
Themes
related to identity establishment (characters learning who they are and what
they want out of life)
·
Independence
as a story driver (characters learning to take responsibility for themselves,
their own actions, and their problems)
·
A
self-focused perspective (new adults are often focused on their own needs,
wants, dreams, and interests)
·
Heightened
sense of change and instability (this stage in life is naturally full of
change)
·
Clash
of high expectations and harsh reality (optimistic characters who aim big and
mess up even bigger!)
·
Peer-heavy
social circles (parents are nearly out of the story, peers become the new
‘family’)
·
Significant
romances (beyond the ‘first kiss’ of teen years, these relationships are
intense, often include marriage and sex)
·
New
adult relevant circumstances (may include temporary living arrangements,
short-term jobs, fluid social circles, unfamiliar activities and settings, and
financial stress)
If
you’ve read my books, you are probably already aware that they are indeed New
Adult novels! But, from where did this NA category originate?
Crossover
readers became writers! What is a crossover reader, you ask? Basically, the
same group of readers who propelled the Twilight series and Harry Potter series into superstardom.
Crossover
readers, as defined by publishing market research firm Bowker in September of
2012 were 18 years or older, purchasing YA books for themselves, not to give as
a gift to a teen. The largest segment of these readers were thirty- to
forty-four-year-olds. Simple escapism is cited as the reason for their choosing
these stories, as well as nostalgia for a simpler time in their lives.
When
crossover readers ran out of Twilight novels (the series ended, I
know, we’re all still crying!) they started writing stories they wanted to
read. That’s exactly what happened to me! I wrote The Cove in the summer of 2011, before
this genre even existed! No wonder I couldn’t define its genre or convince a
publishing company to embrace it!
The
largest group of readers of NA fiction are that same crossover audience that
took YA to the top of the industry, with college-age readers coming in second,
and some advanced teen readers bringing up the rear. My readership includes all
of those and more. I have a lot of teens who love my stories, several people
who are old enough to be my mother who love my stories, and everything in
between.
What
about the Christian aspect? Pretty much all of my novels include my church!
It’s as simple as that. You write about what you know and it’s difficult to
separate yourself from your core values. My core values include my walk with
Christ, and my membership in my church. Take it or leave it. I am who I am.
I
love it when people read my books, but I will not change my stories to fit a
genre or to engage a particular market or audience. I write the stories that
come from my heart and mind. That being said, it’s good to know my stories have
found their square-peg home in the round-peg publishing world.
Have
you embraced New Adult fiction? What’s your opinion? - Julie L. Spencer
Check out Writing New Adult Fiction by Deborah Halverson
