Difference between Young Adult, New Adult and Adult?

[SashaMcallister]

My book is probably good for anyone age 16-100 (maybe a smarter-than-average 16 year old). There's no sex, very little language, but it has some mature/dark themes and a lot of violence (although the violence is not overly descriptive/graphic). Which catagory should I market it to agents/publishers as?

 

[Wayne Mack]

Probably decide based on the age of the main protagonist. A teenage protagonist would relate to readers in the YA market, while older would sell to the Adult market. I haven't heard the term New Adult as a market before.

 

[Dragonlady]

it also depends on theme a bit, a lot of young adult books have coming of age themes. and plenty have language and sex, done right). I didn't set out to write young adult but I'm becoming sure that I am.

 

[Guanazee]

I believe New Adult is a short-lived market on its way out. YA is in the children's market and that market usually has entirely different agents and publishers. Is everything else you write firmly adult?

If you didn't purposefully write the book for the children's market then its likely you'll be better off in the adult market. But look at MSWLs and comps to find a fit.

 

[luriantimetraveler]

I believe New Adult is a short-lived market on its way out. YA is in the children's market and that market usually has entirely different agents and publishers. Is everything else you write firmly adult?

If you didn't purposefully write the book for the children's market then its likely you'll be better off in the adult market. But look at MSWLs and comps to find a fit.

Agree — everything I've heard from editor interviews is that NA is...not a long-lived category (and in terms of where books are sold/libraries — there don't tend to be separate NA sections...).

Age of protagonist matters some, but as @Dragonlady said, theme is much more important. YA (I'm a teen librarian so this is my NICHE) tends to focus on identity development as a young person separates from their family, often while they clash with the outside world. Without denigrating YA lit, I would also add that much of contemporary YA fantasy (if you're writing fantasy) is that the worldbuilding tends to create systems that are black & white (good is good, bad is bad — which is developmentally very appropriate!). I've found that adult spec fic/fantasy tends to have more nuanced ideas around good and bad. But that's just VERY GENERAL strokes.

 

[Juliana]

Yes to much of what was already said!

YA is not just about protagonist age but about capturing the sort of thoughts/fears/dilemmas that teen readers can identify with (even though YA has a huge adult readership, too). It's a marketing bracket, so you need to think about if it attends the demands/needs of the readership.

Lots of adult fantasy has teen protagonists (or MCs who start out as teens); this doesn't make it YA.