New Adult
Update (4/23/13): In the three months since I originally wrote this post, New Adult has progressed significantly to the point where some of this information is obsolete or opposite from what I wrote earlier. So I’ve revised the post below to reflect new changes in how NA is developing. And this info might well go another 180-degrees within the next three months. If you participate at all in the online YA writing publishing community, you’ve undoubtedly heard the term New...
Read MoreWhat do you mean by “weary”?
I’m getting questions from writers curious about why I’d specifically say I’m weary of paranormal romance and dystopian, so let me explain. By the time a book hits the shelves, it’s already old hat for agents and editors. Most fiction is acquired 1 1/2 to 2 years before it is published. So that means when The Hunger Games hit theaters, the acquisition of dystopian books has been going on for the past three or so years. Even longer, if you start with publication of the...
Read MoreDanger of the “bad boy” fantasy in YA
Update: For another perspective on this, using one YA book as an example, see Bookshop’s post Bad Romance (or YA and rape culture). I’ve been noticing something disturbing with quite a few of the beautiful paranormal romances currently shimmering on bookstore shelves, and I’m not talking about the paranormal aspects. In too many of them, the controlling and violent behavior of the “bad boy” becomes fodder for a romantic fantasy where the sweet, innocent girl...
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