Not being up on all the latest publishing trends, I struggled to categorize my novel, Loving the Missing Link. I did want to put it into a category so people would have some idea of what they were getting. Yet, it seemed to be its own unique entity – I had never read a book quite like it. When I wrote it, I wasn’t thinking about these things. I was only writing what was in my mind and in my heart. Here’s why it didn’t seem to fit into the old categories.
Young Adult (YA)
It dealt with issues that young adults are not ready to tackle. Like leaving home, exploring sexuality, struggling with career choices, making your own home. By putting the label of YA on it, I would be telling the world that children could read it. Certainly, some midgrade and teens would be able to get it, but I think the parents would need to be involved to make that call. It is not an obscene book, but it does imply sex and sometimes puts a positive spin on things parents might want to talk to their child about – like teen marriage and infidelity. So, YA didn’t seem quite right.
Coming of Age
It is a coming of age story, but it is about the coming of age that happens not only in your teens, but also in your 20’s. It is sort of a crossbreed. By saying it’s a coming of age novel, I would imply that it is about the teen years. Cheryl, my protagonist goes through a coming of age gone wrong in her teen years. It is only in her 20’s that she finds herself, as well as exploring all those grownup issues. I listed it as coming of age on Amazon simply because I didn’t see a category that fit better. Yet, that wasn’t quite right either.
Literary
I was told by a writer who has been published multiple times by traditional publishers that it should be in the literary genre. However, I felt that my story was too simple for that. I have taken as many college classes as I could squeeze into my life – figuring out to be about midway through the Junior year of college. But I don’t want to give readers the wrong idea. I don’t want to claim to be a master of fiction, but that is what I think the literary genre implies. I am still learning, and have a lot more to learn. I think my story is a good one, and every reader who has reviewed it or contacted me has recommended it to others. I would love to think it is high art, but I feel presumptuous making that claim.
Finally Found It!
Just this month, I discovered the New Adult category. It is not listed on CreateSpace as a category yet, so I couldn’t label it as such there. But, the gist of it is that a New Adult book is supposed to cover issues like…leaving home, exploring sexuality and making career choices. Sound familiar? It did to me too.
Many people have maligned this new category. Some see it as a marketing scheme, but don’t all writers need to market their books? Anyway, I didn’t write it with marketing in mind. I just realized after it was written that it needed to be set apart in some way so readers would immediately say, “Oh, that’s what it is!” I understand that not everyone is familiar with the new genre of New Adult. After all, I just found out about it this month myself. But as the genre gains momentum, my book will already be on the shelves, one of the trailblazers that helped define the genre.
If you don’t know much about the New Adult category, just do a Google search. There is lots of information about it. Some of it is negative and other articles and blogs are positive about it. I encourage you to learn about both sides of the issue.
And read my previous blog post called “Coming of Age – What Is It, Really?” You’ll know why it makes sense to me to call Loving the Missing Link a New Adult novel.
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