3 S.R. Johannes: Marketing To Teen - Teen Panel (Part 2)

Monday, March 22, 2010

Marketing To Teen - Teen Panel (Part 2)

Here is part 2 of our Teen Panel Q&A.

Click here to read Part 1

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What fantasy authors do you read and enjoy?


(Austyn) Rick Riorden, Cornelia Funke, Erin Hunter

(Morgan) Oh gosh..there are so many! Hmm..a few? Holly Black,Suzanne Collins, Libba Bray, Michelle Zink,& Lisa Mantchev!

(Viviane) (Not listed in any order) Neil Gaiman, Libba Bray, Tamora Pierce, Kristin Cashore, Michelle Zink, and others I can't Quite think of at the moment :)

(Anon) Any really. I jump around a lot.

(Yan) Stephanie Meyer--as much as the YA blogger community is divided when regarding this author I love her work, both YA and adult. Cassandra Clare--took a while to get into her series, but loved it in the end. Lisa McMann--simple writing but still thought provoking. Richelle Mead, Kristin Cashore, Maria V. Snyder, Alexandra Bracken (a '10 debut author that I plan to stalk for new releases already!), R.J. Anderson, Diana Peterfreund, Kelley Armstrong, Jackson Pearce, Alyxandra Harvey, Gail Carriger (an adult steampunk writer but she has the most captivating narration). Oh gosh this is such a huge answer; I'm going to stop right here before I fill an entire page up with authors.

(Chelsea) It isn't YA, but I really like the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. I really like fantasy books that build an entirely new world for you, and I think that series accomplishes that. For YA, I really, really enjoyed The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima. In it, she mixed history with fantasy, which could be hit or miss, but it ended up being a very engaging read. I'm really excited to read the sequel! I'm always looking for new high-fantasy books. I consider paranormal and fantasy to be very different (while some readers group them together), and it's a lot harder to find good YA fantasy.

(Tirzah) Tamora Pierce is my number-one, all time favorite fantasy author. I started reading her books when I was young, and I've read every single one of them. They are, in my opinion, the epitome of YA fantasy. I also enjoy Shannon Hale's fantasy books, and both of Kristin Cashore's books have really impressed me. Maria V. Snyder's Study series has great YA/Adult crossover appeal. I am also a major sucker for fairy tale retellings, so I love Simon Pulse's Once Upon a Time... series. Those are written primarily by Cameron Dokey, Debbie Viguie, and Nancy Holder.

(Khy) Does Scott Westerfeld count as fantasy? He's closeish? And I lovelovelove Richelle Mead and Vampire Academy. The series is AMAZING and Rose, the main character, is super awesome. Or do you mean like, high fantasy stuff? Because that I don't like as much, unless it's written by JK Rowling.


How do you find out about new authors?

(Austyn)
Browsing the library.

(Morgan) Luckily, my best friend is an avid reader, such as myself. Sometimes I get lucky in a bookstore with a really good find, but most of the time, my friend guides me to amazing new authors!

(Viviane) Mainly through browsing the bookstore or if I hear anything through the grapevine about new books

(Anon) Book club, browsing the web, and blogs from other authors. Recommendations from readers also help a lot.

(Yan) Word of mouth, debut author LiveJournal communities, blogging communities, publishers (i.e. catalogs/recommendations/surprise review books).

(Chelsea) Mostly from sites like The Tenners or the Class of 2k10. And from debut author challenges, like the one Kristi from The Story Siren is hosting. If new debut authors reach out to online blogs, etc, it's very easy to find them. They just have to be approachable. If I've talked to a new author, I'll always want to buy their book when it comes out!

(Tirzah) Mainly through Twitter! Occasionally some will email me, or drop me a comment on my website (which I love!), but I hear about a lot of them through other authors on Twitter, retweets, and sometimes on Publisher's Weekly announcements.

(Khy) From other people's blogs, twitter, stuff like that. The Internet in general.


What attracts you to a new author/book?


(Austyn) The cover and the title art, actually, have a lot to do it for me. If that got be hooked and looks like something I might like, I read the summary on the back/inside cover and decide if I want to read it.

(Morgan) Honestly, so many things are important to my interest. A) Do I know the author? B) Is the book's cover appealing? Sometimes, I'll admit, there are GREAT stories that aren't portrayed in their covers, but still.. C) Who's reviewed it, what do they normally like, and what did they think? D) Are there any vampires/werewolves/weird and odd relationships in it? ( If so, it goes back on the shelf.)

(Viviane) Covers, firstly, then title, then summary. I mean, covers are what you first see. I always keep an open mind though, so even if the cover's not great, I keep in mind the title. Lastly, the summary. If it's intriguing enough, I'll give it a go.

(Anon) The summary on the back of the book plays a huge part- if it makes sense, is exciting, and still allows me to ponder a bit on the actual contents of the book, I'm willing to give it a try. My choices for what I read aren't dominated by the cover on the book, but it definitely plays a part in getting me to pick the book up and read the back

(Yan) Cover and summary mostly. Sometimes their personality plays a part as well. If they're friendly, easy to talk to, understanding of the blogging community it just appeals better to me that I feel their book might appeal to me as well.

(Chelsea) Like in the above question, when an author is approachable, I'm more likely to buy their book. Whether it's through blog tours or Twitter or email, I'm always happy to hear about and from a new writer. If they reach out to readers, readers will reach out to them.

(Tirzah) Well, on a very shallow level, usually a cover is the first thing I see, and if it's a good one, I'm hooked. More often than not though, it will be the title, or blurb I find on other websites. However, if the synopsis is well written, that usually sells me on a book. Author buzz also works as well--if I see more than two or three authors talking about a book on Twitter, then I really sit up, pay attention, and get the book!

(Khy) An intriguing premise is always the best, but I have been known to see a pretty cover first and then hunt for more info on the book. (:

Our Panel will be back again in April! Feel free to leave additional questions!


19 comments:

sruble said...

It was really interesting to read what the teen panel had to say. Thanks for hosting them!

Natalie Aguirre said...

It's so interesting to hear where you find out about books. I'd be interested to know what author/book review blogs you regularly read and why you like them.

Chelsea, I love Terry Goodkind's books too. It's a TV series, Legend of the Seekers, if you can find it on a channel where you live. It's my favorite and only series I'm watching right now.

Kerri Cuev said...

Some of the answers why they choose books surprised me! That was a fun post!

Anonymous said...

Wow, I had no idea that blogs, Twitter, and so forth were important to teens finding out about books. I mean it makes sense, and I would have guessed it, based on how wired in kids are, but everything I've read online says kids don't read author blogs, only other authors do. Just goes to show you can't believe everything "the experts" say, I guess. :)

Karen Lange said...

Interesting to hear this. Thanks for sharing it! :)

Kayeleen Hamblin said...

Thanks panel! I love hearing your answers. It's really helpful!

Anonymous said...

I'm with lisanowak - this is really interesting feedback. This market really makes us old authors work! Marketing effectively with social media is a big job.

Great post.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

There's some strong proof that covers are hugely important! :-)

Thanks, panel!

PJ Hoover said...

I love this, Shelli! It's beyond helpful!

Christina Lee said...

FASCINATING!!!!!!!!

Shari said...

Really interesting. Thanks panel and Shelli!

Jennie Englund said...

I love that Chelsea gets her book info. from The Tenners!!!

Robert W. Leonard said...

Good couple of posts, I like how things haven't changed all that much since I was a kid. It's still about a cool book cover and an interesting synopsis in most cases.

Creative A said...

Hey Shelli,

So I gave you an award on my blog!

http://headdeskforwriters.blogspot.com/2010/03/events-of-march.html

-Mandy

Tahereh said...

great post!! so informative and helpful! love what you do on your blog -- thanks for everything :D :D

Christina Farley said...

What great responses from your panel. I found it so interesting.

Meghan Ward said...

Like Shannon said, this shows how important book covers are!

Sherrie Petersen said...

Very cool to see their opinions on what interests them. Thanks for putting this together, Shelli!

Michelle Zink said...

I do find it interesting that of your non-blogging teens, only one of them actually cites blogs as a source of new authors and none of them cite blogs and/or author sites as key in their pre-purchase research/decision to buy a book. This definitely syncs with what I heard from non-blogging teens while on tour.

Very interesting, Shelli!
<3

MZ