If It's on Wikepedia then...

Tip of the Day: Add my forthcoming book, THE PAPARAZZI PROJECT to your "to-read" list on Goodreads.

It must exist! Ok, something rather cool popped up on Wikepedia this week. An entry for New-Adult Fiction. Maybe you've heard the term tossed around between your cool author friends and wondered what the heck is New-Adult? I know I did the first time I heard it. According to Wikipedia:

"New-adult Fiction or post-adolescent literature is a recent category of fiction for young adults first proposed by St. Martin's Press in 2009.^[1] St. Martin’s Press editors wanted to address the coming-of-age that also happens in a young person’s twenties. They wanted to consider stories about young adults who were legally adults, but who were still finding their way in building a life and figuring out what it means to be an adult.^[2]"

I remember a time, not terribly long ago (about 2006), when I was querying agents with a book about a college freshman and was told several times that no one would ever buy a book with a main character of that age. That I either had to jack up the ages of my characters and make it an adult book or lower the ages and make it a young adult. I'll tell you that I made the characters younger and went along with what I was being told. But I often wondered, why don't people want to read about characters in college? What do the readers who feel young adult books are too young for them (and I don't know what age this happens at as I've yet to reach it myself) and don't want to read adult books read?

And finally there is a genre! New Adult is getting increasingly popular with stand-out self pubbers like Jessica Park and Jamie McGuire.

  

And you may have noticed that traditional publishers have taken notice of these NA self-pubbers and are snapping up their books left and right.  

And finally Wikepedia has given the genre their own entry!

What do you guys think about New-Adult Fiction? Would you read it? Would you give writing it a try?

Kristina, Miss Author in Action

Shhhh! It's a Secret!

Tip of the Day: I'm still a fan of spiral-bound desktop calendars. Find really cool ones at your local museum or arboretum instead of just picking up some generic 52 Cats calendar at your local bookstore. (Yes, I'm already thinking ahead to 2013.)

I was trying to think of blog post topics for this week when a traditionally published friend suggested I discuss why some loud & proud self-pubs jumped the ship and signed traditional contracts.

Is it the fame? The money? The stamp of approval? Is the self-pub end goal a traditional contract, no matter how much we scream that it's not?

Amanda Hocking says she wanted more time to just write. Honestly, I believe that. Self-pub is a lot of hard work that doesn't involve much actual writing time. There's marketing, social media, and promotional events. Hey, wait a sec, my traditional friends have to do those things too. Was it the formatting? Well, that can be hired out for a flat fee. Maybe it's the professional editing. Huh, that's something we can buy for a flat fee too. But yeah, with more management, there probably is more time for writing.

Jamie McGuire preached endlessly about how money should flow to the author, not away. She just sold her books to Simon & Schuster. In my mind, that tells me that the money is no longer flowing toward her - unless she got some incredible royalty rate that other authors don't receive. Or maybe she's betting S&S can get her more exposure.

Besides, let's assume her novel was at $2.99 when she self-pubbed. She would have made approximately $2 per sold ebook. Let's assume she's getting 25% now (which is probably generous) at $7.99 with S&S. Her royalty would be $1.99. Interesting, right? Same income, but now she's got a bigger team on her side. (It's totally possible my math is wrong due to a slight learning disability. Feel free to correct me in the comments - I won't be offended.)

Before anyone gets upset, this isn't a flame on these two authors. I've read Amanda's books and I love 'em. In fact, I'm meeting her tonight at my local bookstore. As for Jamie, I don't know her and haven't read her books, but we have friends in common who tell me she's total awesomesauce.

I have a feeling there's more to the story than we know. There could be a million reasons these two uber-successful ladies chose to change paths. One thing I do know is that traditional publishers have access to contacts that most indie authors do not. Sometimes the trade-offs are worth it.

Point is, authors are going to make decisions that puzzle us. Unless you're good friends with someone, you may never know why they made the decisions they did. It's okay to speculate, but hold off on judging someone. Until you walk in their shoes, it's impossible to truly understand.

As for me? Would I take a trad pub contract if it magically came my way? Depends on the terms, royalties, distribution, and a million-zillion other things. I'm a never-say-never gal. But I can tell you one thing - I LOVE self-publishing. I love the freedom it gives me to explore my imagination. I love owning the rights to my creation. Giving that up would be really, really hard.

Publishing, in any form, is a gamble. Support your friends when they win and when they lose.

Megg, Miss Enchanted ePubber