When it comes time to promote your book, whether for indie publishing or in a query letter, you will inevitably face the challenge of deciding what age category your books fall into. For most, this is a simple task, as publishing categories are well defined.
But there's an awkward middle ground when it comes to the "18 and up" category. So today, we'll explore the differences, and hopefully this will help to clear away some of that confusion.
Young Adult (YA)
We'll start with YA. This category has seen a boom in recent years, with stories enjoyed by all age groups and numerous popular film adaptations. Where the problem arises is that traditional publishing houses have started to "age up" what is YA.
Young Adult books, at their core, are written for ages 13-18. (I already have a bit of an issue with this as I personally don't feel that books being read by 18-year-olds will always be appropriate for 13-year-olds, BUT such is life. Sometimes this category will be split into lower YA, or 13-15, and upper YA, or 16-18.) As such, these books feature main characters with similar age ranges. What's become popular in recent years is to have 18-year-old characters that act much older. These books have seen a significant increase in popularity, and it's causing the market to blur.
What used to be a relatively safe space for early teens is now chock full of mature themes and somewhat adult content. These books are pushed into YA because traditional publishers don't recognize a space between YA and Adult. (The Adult category here being anyone over 18.)
This creates a systemic issue in that many writers feel that they write too mature for YA but not comprehensive enough for Adult. Many Adult novels will have quite complex writing styles and immense world-building, especially when it comes to fantasy.
So what is YA, really? Well, YA books focus on characters from middle school through high school. YA books often deal with themes such as coming-of-age, first love, and self-discovery. These books are designed to help teens through their formative years.
This doesn't mean that there can't be heavy topics. Teens still deal with things like broken families, addiction, mental health, and more. In fact, it's important that books with such themes exist in an age-appropriate context.
If you're struggling with where to place your book, consider what themes are present and how old the characters feel - not just how old their age says they are.
New Adult
The issues mentioned above are where New Adult come in. This is an emerging market in the publishing sphere, the origins of which are hotly contested (Was it introduced as a romance subgenre? Or was it coined by St. Martin's Press in 2009?) While it's relatively loosely defined, New Adult these days is often considered the 18-25 space (although it can go up to characters aged 29 or 30).
This definitive separation is not only good for the market but for authors and readers as well. It creates a space where books can have mature themes, but they're a bit easier to digest. It's a gap that is satisfied neither by the coming-of-age themes of YA or the often heavy prose of Adult.
The struggle with New Adult is that few trad publishers will recognize this as a market. You're more likely to find agents wish-listing New Adult books than publishers marketing them as such. That doesn't mean you can't speak of your book in that space, but it does mean that, if you land an agent, they may work with you to decide where your book fits better.
New Adult is an excellent promotion tool, but be aware of its limitations.
New Adult picks up where YA leaves off. It's college age to the early adult years. Think moving out for the first time, getting a first job, finding a place in college, maybe buying a first home (I know, in this economy?) etc.
Common themes in New Adult fiction aren't so far removed from YA, but they often have a stronger focus on independence. Where YA looks at becoming who you are, New Adult looks at finding one's place in the world or learning how to exist on one's own. There may also be strong connections to loss of innocence and fear of failure.
Your book might be New Adult if the characters are older than YA, but they're not fully established in their lives like an Adult novel would be.
Crossover
This is the title publishers use to meet that New Adult space. The challenge, though, is that most authors don't get to decide for themselves if their book is crossover or not. (See this post by Carly Watters.)
Just as it sounds, crossover is any book that crosses over two spaces. Most commonly this will be YA to Adult, but it can also apply to genre (an urban fantasy thriller, for example).
If you're querying and you feel your book could appeal to readers young and old, it's okay to mention that. In fact, some agents look for this. My advice here, though, is to be cautious. Just because we as authors may hope that something appeals to wider markets doesn't mean it will. Keep in mind that your agent has to sell your book to a publisher in one category or the other, so decide which category fits the story best and talk about it that way.
An example of adding this in a query might look like, "I'm looking for representation for my debut fantasy novel, a YA with crossover potential." This shows the agent the category they will be pitching in, but also the potential for a wider readership.
Crossover is a tricky space because of the lack of parameters. But just remember, you likely won't be the one putting your book in that category, the readers will. So it takes off some of that pressure.
Hopefully that helps to clear up some of the discrepancies between these categories. The short of it is, a book is usually in a category simply because the author says it is. While there are common themes and language usage and age expectations, there are always books in these categories that subvert such things.
Trust your gut and write the books you want.
Happy writing,
Erin <3
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