Offthebookshelf.com

Posted May 06, 2010 23:46

I'm bemused by the fascination and continued hysteria the Twilight series generates. For decades there's been vampire tales by the truckload and yet this series soared to the top and has been phenomenally successful.

Does anyone understand why? Was the writing quality really that much better or was it their marketing campaign perhaps? Maybe the world was just ready for a resurgence of interest in vampire stories. Please share your thoughts on what elements contributed to its success.

Posted May 29, 2010 01:06

Stephenie Meyer is a web whizkid when it comes to marketing her books online. She's known for her approachability and friendliness towards her fans. It's how she gives back to them that makes her stand out from the crowd.

I read an article a couple of years ago about how she wasn't impressed with her webpage within her publishers site. She created her own site instead so she could now do whatever she wanted and share whatever she wanted to about her life.

What stuck in my mind was that she didn't just answer the comments the fans left on her site. She'd also go to a fan's own blog or site and leave a message. Can you imagine how thrilling that must be for a fan, for their favorite author to turn up and post on their site? That commands both loyalty and respect. A very, very smart move by Meyer. Whether it was a calculated one or if she was simply being nice, I'm not 100% sure.

I think that tactic helped Twilight immensely.

Posted May 29, 2010 14:07

Mairi, is this the article you're referring to? It was in the Los Angeles Times in November 2008.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/29/entertainment/et-twilightnet29

Posted May 30, 2010 23:27

I'm sure that was the article, F.B.! Thanks for digging that up. :)

Posted June 03, 2010 16:00

That's an excellent article! Thanks to you both for your thoughts and for sharing that. :)

It would be nice to think that talent alone is enough. Unfortunately it's not. Authors today need to be marketers as well and be happy to get out there, either online or in the real world, and strut their stuff. Being shy is a definite disadvantage.

Posted June 14, 2010 22:51

Stephenie Meyer's giving fans the chance to read The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner free online at LibreDigital. It's there until July 5 at midnight EST. She's also giving a dollar from every sale of the physical book to the American Red Cross.

http://breetannerbook.libredigital.com/index.html

Posted June 17, 2010 22:49

I told you she was good at giving back! :)

Posted June 22, 2010 22:51

I think that's a very generous thing for her to do. That gesture can only enhance that reputation. Nice move on Meyer's part! I'm warming to her. :)

Posted June 25, 2010 00:40

Here's a review of the book at Salon. Not a great one in my humble opinion. The reviewer seems to focus more on Meyer than the novella.

http://www.salon.com/books/review/2010/06/08/short_life_bree_tanner

Posted June 29, 2010 23:22

I guess that proves the point that giving any of your book away free online doesn't do you the slightest bit of harm! :)