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

Time to Quit the Day Job???

Tip of the Day: Still think self-publishing is a bad idea? Check out Jessica Park's story on The Huffington Post. Jessica is a traditionally published author turned self-pub.

Warning: I come from a family filled with accountants, so money management is a high priority for me.

Before I started self-pubbing, I did have a quasi-day job (other than being a full-time mom). I worked as a freelance journalist for seven years. My articles appeared in national magazines like Parents and in many local parenting magazines. I worked about 15 hours a week - from home - and brought in a bit of income. It took me six months back then to make what I make in one month now. Fiction has not only proved more lucrative, but also more fulfilling. I'm chasing my imagination - there's nothing better than that.

Let's say you have a 9 to 5 job. Maybe you're making $50,000 a year. You might look at your self-pub (or trad pub) sales and assume that since you're making nearly the same amount selling books that it's time to quit the day job. You'll save money because there's no more dry cleaning, no more lunches out, and no more gas.

It's simple, right?

Wrong.

Don't quit your day job.

I'm making almost as much as my engineer husband, who has supported our family on his income for the last ten years (I lost my job while I was pregnant and never went back to working outside the home). Not once have we ever considered having him quit his job.

Publishing does not guarantee you a steady income. I know self-pubbers who were hitting big numbers last year, numbers that still beat my current sales, who are now languishing in the low-sales club.

If they had quit their day jobs, where would they be today? Frustrated with publishing because they can't seem to get their sales off the ground? Likely. Looking for a job in a crappy economy wishing they'd never quit their perfectly fine day job the year before? Definitely.

If you're publishing and considering quitting your day job, ask yourself the most important question: If I never sell another book after today, will I still have enough money to live my life the same way I'm living today? For most of us, that answer is a resounding no.

Yes, I'll probably pull down $100,000 this year. No, I will not ask my husband to quit his job.

What's my magic number?

$10,000,000


Yeah, you read that right. I'm in my mid-thirties and I have two kids who probably want to go to college someday. I have a mortgage and one car that desperately needs replacing. I fear taxes will only get higher to support our failing economy, not to mention the looming shadow of inflation. I can't even contemplate what health insurance will cost when I hit 65.

This topic isn't sexy. It ain't controversial. But it's important to your future and if you have a family, their future too.

So, unless your name is JK Rowling or James Patterson, don't quit your day job. Please.