Fall of Borders—Rise of New Adult?

Since the announcement of Borders' liquidation last week, the world has been abuzz with speculation. (Or sulking, in my case.)

 

I dutifully marched into my local Waldenbooks last Thursday, ready to say the first of my goodbyes, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. The place was still business as usual, the distinct scent of unturned pages clouding the air. All of the workers, though helpful, gave smiles that didn't quite reach their eyes. How was I supposed to induldge in my own pity party, when I knew they would be the ones suffering the most at the end of the day?

As if sensing my turmoil, the woman behind the counter struck up a conversation. "You know," she said. "Waldenbooks has actually been around a lot longer than Borders. It's a shame to see this place go." 

(If you're curious about their intertwined history, check it out here.)   

A shame? That was an understatement. Still, I couldn't help but admire her attitude. She'd only been at that particular location for a few months—since her last store shut down—but she'd been with Waldenbooks since 1993. The changing business environment didn't diminish her passion and loyalty. Even as the ship was going down, she still had the pride to sing its praises. Kudos to her.

(Photo courtesy of my sister)
I can't tell you how many times I've had someone wait on that same, exact bench—only for me to emerge an hour later, arms laden with debt bags. *sigh*

So, what does Borders' bow out mean for the rest of us? For me, the closest bookstore is now an hour's drive in either direction. Unless I want to empty my gas tank, I'm going to have to rely on the internet a lot more. That's got me thinking.

Now that places like Amazon have such a firm hold on the industry, what can we expect in the coming months and years? Will genre terms like New Adult—fiction similar to YA that can be published and marketed as adult—finally come to fruition? (You remember the whole New Adult movement, don’t you? St. Martin’s tried to make it a thing back in 2009, but the industry support wasn't there. Most reasoned that New Adult wouldn't have a clear place on bookstore shelves. The books—not unlike their MC counterparts—didn't belong with YA, but they weren't quite at the adult level.)

Physical stores simply don't have enough room to allow every age range a separate section. Is there a big enough market out there to justify New Adult as a genre term?

I think so.

I've seen plenty of forum threads and blog posts over the years, pleading for "traditional college-age" fiction. (Even fun debates on the matter.) No matter what the naysayers spout, I contend that it is a big transition in life. The sudden rush of freedom affects people. Old relationships are tested, priorities shift, and new goals come into focus. Every day is filled with fresh interaction and new experiences. No one is going to convince me that New Adult can't be "coming of age" fiction, sorry.  

(I still love you guys.)

For now, as far as queries are concerned, I'm fine with calling it Adult fiction. If the MC is out of high school, it's a bit of a stretch to call it YA. So, to me, Adult seems like a safe bet.

However, now that we're seeing more and more brick-and-mortar stores overshadowed by the e-revolution, is it time for a change? Now that there's ample categorical room online, can New Adult (or whatever they end up calling it) finally step into the spotlight? I say yes. What do you guys think?

If you need me, I'll be off in search of secondhand bookstores. ♥

P.S. If you have questions about Borders' bankruptcy proceedings, you might want to look here. 

[Update] Whoa! Looks like Jessica Faust touched on New Adult today too. It must be something in the air. ;)

Fear

 

In college, I wanted to be seen as a prodigy...

I devoured books on everything from organizational behavior to business philosophy—desperately trying to shape myself into the perfect, business-savvy android: a woman who could really give the old boys club a run for their money.  In my mind, having the grades, the experience, and the ambition was enough. More than enough. Companies would line up after graduation, vying to offer me entry-level positions to launch my professional career. My hard work would pay off.

And then I found myself caught in the headlights of reality.

The job market was crap, my field was oversaturated, and, suddenly, I was receiving more loan repayment notices than junk mail. Following suit, my life spiraled into a chaotic whirlwind of upsetting, personal problems. (Starting with the death of a close family member on graduation day.) Before I  even realized it, my delusions of grandeur had been shattered.  Permanently.

It took me a while to bounce back from that.

Living in a small town didn’t afford me many opportunities and, for a while, I thought that was my problem. The truth was, I’d lost my competitive spark and no mindless, part-time gig was going to replace it. I couldn’t put myself out there again, if I was only going to end up frustrated and embarrassed. No. I was ready to accept mediocrity and the safety it promised.

That is, until I found writing.

Again.

It was something I hadn’t dabbled in for years—something I hadn’t made time for. Now that I actually had the time, it was daunting.  Could I chase down the few, idle storylines that lingered? Would I still enjoy making up stories? The answer, of course, was yes. 

In between applications and freelance work, I wrote constantly. I’d always been creatively minded—drawing, performing, and painting—but this was different. This, I couldn’t get enough of. It was the most free I'd felt in years.

After a while, I toyed with the notion of sharing my work. It meant putting myself out there again, but, for some reason, it wasn’t nearly as scary as it should have been. I wanted people to read my stories. I wanted to know what they thought about them and how they made them feel. With that in mind, I swallowed my nerves and posted a few things online.

The response was overwhelming. Strangers from all over the world offered constructive criticism and advice, encouragement and praise. It was amazing. I didn’t realize it at the time, but those people—people I’ll probably never even meet—helped rebuild my confidence, one brick at a time.

(I’ve since pulled all of my online writing practices. My style has changed so much from those early days!)

It was during that period that I became more involved with volunteer work, joining up with a few non-profits. Now, that might not seem especially pertinent to this story, but do you know what happened? It changed me. Interacting with my community made me realize I didn’t want to be a high-powered business android anymore. I just wanted to be Carrie. If that involved business endeavors, so be it, but I was going to do it my way.

Helping people.

Sharing experiences.

Learning, always.

Loving more.

For the most part, you know the rest of this story. I became interested in pursuing writing as a serious career and decided that, this time, I was going to make my dream happen. I've thrown myself into my work and I love it. :)

Four things I try to do every day:

• Research
  (I know, I know. Old habits die hard.)
• Write/Edit
  (My manuscript is in its final stages of editing.)
• Interact
  (...With all of you awesome people. ♥)
• Build
  (I'm building my online presence, using the marketing skills I've acquired over the years.)

Speaking of which...

You know all those business-ish books I talked about? Some of my favorites were written by a guy named Seth Godin. You know him, right? The bestselling author/marketing maven? I thought it'd be appropriate to share a little bit of his advice, now that we’re on the topic. :)

In this video, Seth sits down with Dan Cathy (President and Chief Operating Officer of Chick-fil-A) to share a few, quick points about writer’s block, fear, and putting yourself out there. 

(Don't worry. It's less than five minutes.)

I'll accept rejection, but I'll never accept defeat. ♥

Introducing Something New

Others bestow awards; I pass out stickers.

The

 So, You’re a Writer (Blog)

 Seal of Approval

That’s right, ladies and gents. I’ve created my own seal, in lieu of a plaquesqe button, to mark the best and the brightest blogs in our industry. 

That’s thrilling, Carrie! How does it work?

A few times a month, I’ll share and highlight a blog that I feel to be a true asset to our industry. (Does anyone else feel the compulsive need to cross out that, regardless of where and how you’ve used it? Oh, editing, what have you done to us?) *Ahem* The chosen blog might be the work of someone we’re all familiar with—like a power agent—or the work of someone up-and-coming, like a little known writer or book reviewer. You never know!

And you expect me to do what, exactly, with this sticker?

I’ll include the sticker for you (the recipient) to gaze lovingly at post on your own blog—that is, of course, if you’re interested. Examples of use:

•  A special post, highlight your new “achievement.”
• Piggybacking another one of your posts. You could even have the image link back to my post as a means of explanation.
• Coded as a button for your sidebar 

Really, the idea is to share great blogs with my readers and followers, so just have fun with it. If you don’t want to do anything with the sticker, that’s fine too. Just accept the post as a little traffic sent in your direction; you know, a token of my appreciation for your hard work. <3

If you'd like to nominate someone, let me know via my contact form.

The first sticker recipient will be announced this week!

Looking for Trouble

The recent overabundance of news revolving around a certain televised trial has got me thinking: How much can be read into internet search histories? As writers, surely we have some of the strangest and most obscure logs of all. (For research—research, I swear!)

 

 

Have you ever scouted the web for information about your villain’s weapon of choice? Looked up the gory details of your MC’s most recent injury? I'm not trying to make you feel paranoid. (I'll save that for another post...) I'm just curious if any of you had ever given it much thought. What’re some things you’ve had to look up that might cause misunderstanding?

I'll start! How about a random research scenario:

• How to treat a bullet wound

 ...Awkward, right? That would be fun to explain. Let's hear some of yours! :)