YA & NA Romance ♥ discussion
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Oddly enough, my YA trilogy features 19 year old main characters. So if people are confused, I take some of the blame for that...lol. I think lumping mature YA and NA together is brilliant. Like characters 17 and up. People who find NA from adult often don't realize that lots of YA is similar to NA but YA is so big and it can be overwhelming trying to sift through what might still give you the same satisfaction romance wise from a YA without some hard-core recommendations.
I think of NA as being between 20 - 28, but maybe that is just me?I still consider college age to be in a gray area of in between YA/NA, as many college students aren't necessarily out in the "real world" yet. My perspective is that New Adults are those who are learning about surviving on their own in terms of careers/development. I could be terribly wrong!
the different opinions on this genre is so interesting. And I got away with a 19 year old Main character in a YA trilogy so it does happen, but I think NA evolved because many authors had an 18 or 19 year old main character in college and couldn't sell the book because publishers/editors/agents just didn't think college-aged would sell. So that leaves me to believe that my book is kind of a fluke and 18-19 year old main character had been rejected from YA for quite some time.
I've seen this topic being discussed in a number of other groups, and a lot of other members have mentioned that the NA genre encompasses a whole lot more than just age. If your 19-year old character is still far from grappling with adulthood, then I'm sure that your trilogy could be categorized as YA! The Twilight kids, even when grown up and married, didn't seem very adult-like to me. I would never brand that series as NA, as it is obviously for a YA audience. I do agree with you that NA could largely be used as a marketing tool to boost sales and acquire readers.
I've been going back and forth with a story of mine and whether to place it as YA or NA. The character is 18 and in high school. Other characters are the same age or older. There's some language and situations that I think isn't suitable for that younger spectrum of YA. So I've settled with Mature YA...which to me is a sort of merging of the two. Although Mature YA can just be another term for NA?
As an NA author I tend to describe it as that awkward time between childhood and being an adult. The characters are learning how to strike out on their own, but still have one foot in their immaturity, either financially or just in their behavior. Typically the characters are between 18-25, but personally I relate more to those that are 20 and up. A lot changes in those two years. Time to quote some Britney.... "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman." If you look at the actual lyrics, it fits the NA genre pretty well.
Adrianne wrote: "As an NA author I tend to describe it as that awkward time between childhood and being an adult. The characters are learning how to strike out on their own, but still have one foot in their immatur..."I'm like your writing opposite...lol. Love to write NA/Mature YA but I tend to stick to the 18-19 year old characters for NA. And I rarely got below 17 in my YA stuff. I have one MC that's 21 in one of my upcoming releases but the girl narrates and she's 17 but turns 18 quickly after the book opens.
Well before I had learned of the NA genre, I read and wrote YA and would consider books YA up until 18 and leaving high school. If they are in high school, senior year or not, to me that is still young adult. And since a lot of seniors in high school are 18 and some even 19 (I went to school with a few) it kind of clouds it for me.
Adrianne wrote: "Well before I had learned of the NA genre, I read and wrote YA and would consider books YA up until 18 and leaving high school. If they are in high school, senior year or not, to me that is still y..."I actually have a 19 year old main character in my YA trilogy and he's a sophomore in college *shrug* there's no real definition, I guess.
I have a question. Do you think there is an expectation of more explicit sexual content in a book marketed as NA? I'm about to release a book that I at first planned to market as NA as my characters are all 18 and older. (The MC turns 18 during the story) But my story just doesn't have the sexual content I've been reading in releases in the last year in the NA category. There'ssex, but it's not all that explicit. So now I'm thinking it's more YA. And I'm with you, Christina. It feels like splitting hairs to distinguish between mature YA and NA. Do you think this is a consideration when marketing? Will PG-13 NA sell? Is age the only factor or does content have a bearing on whether something is considered YA or NA?
Yeah, that was more than one question.
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I completely think its more about content rather than age! I have found that most of the NA books that I read have a LOT more sexual content than YA. I have seen it where a book can be YA even if the character is in their 20s, as long as it has less sexual content in it.
I feel as though it is a combination. while I would not consider a book to be NA no matter the sexual content if the main characters were 14 because chances are if you take out the sexual content the story would not interest the older readers while I would not usually consider a book where the characters are in their early to mid 20's YA just a cleaner NA book. as NA gives more opportunity for sexual content there are many authors who take advantage of this but I would not say it is necessary
Kimberly wrote: "I have a question. Do you think there is an expectation of more explicit sexual content in a book marketed as NA? I'm about to release a book that I at first planned to market as NA as my character..."I'm a YA author by heart. At times I may jump into mature subjects that I feel might make it more NA, which I did with my latest story. Plus the age of the characters are getting older so they might be dealing with mature issues. I guess for me, I'm remembering being a kid and reading young adult books, older than my age. I ask myself if I would want my 12-year-old self reading this material. Is this YA acceptable for me or is it more mature, regardless of the age of the MC.
If we're going with the definition of NA being more explicit sex scenes (which I definitely see) then my books are nothing like that. I have one series where the MC is 19 and I market it as YA. A novella where the MC is 18 and I had pointed out that it's Mature YA/NA (yes, I added the NA to the description). Is there sexual content in it? Yes. Is it explicit? No. Do I consider it strictly YA? I don't think so hence my NA add-on.
This may be a discussion we'll be asking over and over again.
When I published my novel a several months ago, I hadn't heard of NA (bad, I know!!) and I struggled with what genre my book would be because the main characters are in their early to late 20's BUT there's nothing sexually explicit (or remotely close!) so it's appropriate for teens. Perhaps as young as 14. So now I know my book falls under NA. But it's still listed as YA, so whatever! Several of my readers have mentioned that the novel is for all ages. Although, I wouldn't let my 9 yr old read it (too much kissing, lol), I think it's okay for youngish teens...
When I started working as a lit agent intern, I asked my bosses about the "correct" definition of NA. Their responses were all the same: There really isn't one at this point. Personally, I agree with this. To me, NA is that awkward stage between teenager and adult, when you're kind of supported by others, kind of not. I don't think the definition should rely purely on age, because everyone goes through this process at different times. That being said, most of the NA submissions I see have MC's ages 18-25.
Anyway, that's just my thought on the subject. :) It's so interesting reading other people's takes on NA!
Been reading lots of NA books lately. And my big question is the age of the main characters. There's seems to be some debate about it (18-25 vs 18-30). So I joined in & explained on my blog why 29-30 is a better age-limit than 25.
Here's my blog post link:
http://movesme.blogspot.com/2013/08/a...
Here's my blog post link:
http://movesme.blogspot.com/2013/08/a...
For me the difference between YA and NA is the content not the ages. YA can have sexual situations, but not descriptions, and NA can have descriptions of sexual intimacy.
I sort of agree with that but I don't like it when people assume NA has to have sexual content in it. I've read plenty of NA romance with characters say 19/20/21 ish and there has been nothing explicitly described. In fact I've read adult romance that isn't explicit.So whilst I think YA definitely wouldn't have sexual intimacy explicitly described, I don't think it follows that NA or adult romance definitely would.
Sarah wrote: "I sort of agree with that but I don't like it when people assume NA has to have sexual content in it. I've read plenty of NA romance with characters say 19/20/21 ish and there has been nothing expl..."I agree
I wondered about the sexual content too. One of my books is aimed at 14 yrs + and has no explicit sex but does refer to it and the hero and heroine do go to bed in the end (still nothing explicit but they are both over 18yrs old by then)So is that YA or NA? The thing is, I want my characters to be realistic and having sex is completely legal in the UK at 16 yrs old even if you are not yet classed as an adult (for voting and drinking etc)You can be legally married here at 16 too, so I feel that the lines cross even more. Confusing isn't it.
I think if the sex in it is not explicit but the characters are under 18 and going through typical character growth for that age, then I would say YA.I agree about your comments on the UK and to be honest not at all referring to sex between them would be odd.
It's hard to write about the consequences of young teenage sex if you never refer to young teenagers having sex.
Hi, I'm new here. Sarah, your description--that's exactly how I see it, as both a reader and a writer. I've read plenty of books that sit on the cusp of YA/NA--I personally think they'd do great in NA, but they're all "sweet romances".Sarah wrote: "I sort of agree with that but I don't like it when people assume NA has to have sexual content in it. I've read plenty of NA romance with characters say 19/20/21 ish and there has been nothing expl..."
There's nothing wrong with "sweet romances", I love a sweet romance :)
NA, new adult, was in response to the growing need for novels addressing the transitional life period (such as college). You are not yet a full adult, but not a teenager anymore. When discussing NA, I tend to reference "Fangirl" or "A Little Something Different," because they are great examples of what NA should be.
There is quite a difference between a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old. We certainly had different rules for our boys when they were at those age levels, and that extended to the material we made available.
In my own words, NA is usually about adolescents and adults between the ages of 18 and 25 or the targeted audience is between the ages of 18 and 25. Although, some books can range from the ages of 16 and 30. It just depends on the type of book. This genre is a little more mature than YA.
If anyone has a definition that they would like to share, please feel free to comment below!