The blog to book projects seem tired because so many of them have been one-trick ponies. They're based around a gimmick: They tell a joke and then they tell it again and again....The ones that have been really successful, and have a chance of making the backlist, have had a clear editorial voice: there's an honest critique or cultural observation built into the ostensibly humorous project....Their humor is not a result of a cheap gimmick (unlike another hipster book out there, LOOK AT THAT F***ING HIPSTER, which is the thinnest concept ever, and has no shot a backlist because of it); they have voice.Oh, sir, thank God you're here to explain life to me! I was under the impression that most book acquisitions were for the immediate profits, not for the long range backlist potential. I must have been erroneous, good sir! It's not like hipsterdom is a cultural flash in the pan or anything. Hipsterdom, like beatnik culture, mod, and grunge, is here to stay, allowing for this backlist pontential.
And indeed, your product is totally different than "Look at That F***ing Hipster." Sure, both may be by young Brooklynites making fun of hipsters, how they dress and what they think, but your product has more text, and is thus superior.
Just...ugh.
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Do people buy things they can get for free? Yes, yes they do. Many authors have discovered giving the first book in a series away for free increases sales of the series. One of my favorite examples is Girl Genius graphic novel series. Sales of the dead tree version had dropped so low the writers/artists Kaja and Phil Foglio put the stories on the web for free. The internet site (girlgeniusonline.com) has been a big success. The surprise was sales of the print versions jump to high levels. They continue to show new adventures for free on the web and sell out the print books collections of the free web comics.
ReplyDeleteIs this a joke? "Their humor is not a result of a cheap gimmick (unlike another hipster book out there, LOOK AT THAT F***ING HIPSTER, which is the thinnest concept ever, and has no shot a backlist because of it)."
ReplyDeleteBecause I laughed. It's Onion-worthy.
Just found your blog today, and I love it. You seem like the angriest person in the writing blogosphere that I've run across so far. Everyone else is so upbeat, all the time, despite the fact that everything about writing and publishing is, quite frankly, nuts.
ReplyDelete(I totally mean that as a compliment)
Guinevere: read Betsy Lerner. She's not one of the agent-pods.
ReplyDeleteGuinevere: thanks! I like to think of crankiness as part of my charm. At least, that's what I tell myself.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget the Rejectionist for your other crankster needs...