I heart Teen TV - let me count the ways!

I am obviously a teen at heart. (Maybe in my maturity level too.)

Somehow I always fall in love the CW or Fox shows.

Why?

Good question: I will tell you my top 5 reasons (besides #1 these are in no particular order :):

1. Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder - Honestly do I have to say any more? All I can say is "Yes please!" OK so who cares if they are dead, who cares if they have fangs, and who cares if they have anger management issues - I say "the more to love them with". (Oh wait, all that stuff is pretend, right?)

2. Vampire Diaries - This shows takes a good bite out of my Thursday nights and I love it! Obviously, a natural follow-up to #1. The show is awesome and follows the amazing books of LJ Smith )who BTW was wayyyyyyy before Stephanie Meyer. Like in the 90s before. This shows manages to get me to have 2 heart stops, 2 jumps, and 1 squeal - in each episode! Yes the jumping out of the trees and popping up in mirrors is probably predictable - but hey call me slow.

3. Glee - This show makes me happy! Why? because I see my life as a musical anyway - really! (check out the post I did on my life's soundtrack). Every time Lea Michele (AKA Rachel) sings - chills run down my spin and goose bumps form on my arms. The inappropriateness of the Principal, Coach Sue, and others crack me up. Yes I love inappropriate humor (as long as it is not about me!:) Mr Shu is a cutie pie, the music rocks, but most of all, Jane Lynch (Coach Sue) is hilarious.

Jane - you had me at Best in Show!!!



4. Dollhouse - All I can say is Echo is a bada$$! I love her guts and the concept is so cool. I mean - a illegal and underground group of people who have their personalities wiped clean so they can get any new personas. Plus they all have eternal amnesia - what a world! How cool is that! Wish I'd thought of it! Oh yeah, and Joss Whelon (who wrote Buffy) - can't wait to see your episode on Glee!!! Maybe Coach Sue and Mr Shu can have a rocking fight scene.



5. CW and Fox Reality shows - Give me Top model, Runway, American Idol, or So You Think You Can Dance any day. I love seeing regular people make it. OK OK so maybe it's staged, but I'll take a fake "making it" over no "making it" any day. Makes me think everyone has a shot in this business if you keep pushing for it.



It gives me hope and I love the see the underdog win.

PS maybe tomorrow I will list my next 5! Yes, that's right, the teen list goes on. Maybe Ill even start a feature called Teen Tuesday where I will list another teen thing I love.

Marvelous Marketer: Alice Pope (Author, Children's Writers & Illustrator's Market)

Hi Alice, Thank you for joining us today.

Before I ask you to talk about your

marketing strategies, tell me a little about yourself.

I’m managing editor of Writer’s Digest (WD) Market Books and have been with Writer’s Digest Books for 17 years. I am also the long-time editor of the Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market (CWIM).

Do you/your agency/your house have a website/blog?

When did you start it and who manages it?

There are a number of blogs run by individual editors here at WD. My blog focuses on children’s publishing topics. I’ve been blogging since August of 2006. I kicked it off by reporting on the 2006 LA SCBWI conference. In fact, this summer, I am excited to be heading up a team of bloggers who will be blogging about the event.

In your opinion, how important is social networking such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc.

I think it’s extremely important for authors to use these networking tools. If they add in a blog and a website, even better. These social networking platforms don’t cost anything but time and they give authors more ways to connect with their audience and potential readers.

With the publishing climate today and the bad economy, publishers can only do a bare minimum in most cases when it comes to marketing and promotion. Authors would be foolish to not create Facebook page at the very least and be proactive with it (send friends requests, update status, comment on other people’s pages, send notices and event invitations, etc.)

Do you feel it is beneficial for authors to team up and promote books as a group? And if so, why?

I am all for strength-in-numbers marketing. The “Class of” collective marketing groups are a great examples (ie: the Class of 2k9) of how to pool resources and talents for a common goal—to promote their group of upcoming titles to booksellers, librarians and teachers.

ReaderGirlz is another great example but with a different approach. They are not a collective marketing group per se--they promote the work of many authors and promote reading. But at the same time they’re raising their own profiles and have a built-in platform for their own titles when appropriate.

It’s a win-win.

Do you have a formal marketing plan or is your marketing more random? What creative things have you done to promote your book?

In terms of CWIM and our nine other market books, they’ve been around for many years and do well year after year so our sales team can usually get them on display in the big chains. As a whole my company is now moving to more of an ecommerce focus--we do more email and online advertising these days than, say, sending out review copies.

Over the years I’ve taken a grass-roots approach. I send free books to many regional SCBWI conferences each year to be given away as door prizes. I think this is a great way to get the book in front of its audience and do something nice for these regions at the same time. I also send a free copy of CWIM to all the SCBWI Regional Advisors around the world each year after the book is published. I feel like it’s a nice perk for the RAs who are hard-working volunteers and in turn I hope they let their local members know that a new edition is available.

And I suppose my blog, my Facebook page, and my Twitter are part of this picture as well. CWIM comes out once a year (in August), but readers can check in with me anytime through these outlets where I can give them news, report from conferences, and get personal with them.

Hopefully they’ll like me and like my book!

Thank you for joining us today, Alice.

Thanks, Shelli!