Brent Hartinger (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} brentsbrain) wrote,@ 2008-05-11 19:15:00 |
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On Paperback Releases...and "Branding" as an Author
Can I make a confession? I hate promoting my hardcover releases. It always makes me feel like a hypocrite: I occasionally buy hardcovers of beloved books as gifts, but I rarely buy books for myself when they're new releases (even when I hear good things, I usually wait for the paperback). Who has $16.99 to spend on a book you may not even finish? And it's even worse for authors of brand new "adult" books who are asking readings to take an utterly ridiculous $24.99 leap of faith!
But the hardcover is where it's at as far as publishers are concerned; this is where they make their money, and it's basically when they determine whether a book is a "success" or not (which plays into how much subsequent attention they give a book and/or author, and how much they pay an author for future books!).
So I can't afford to not promote my hardcovers; my career depends upon it. I just end up feeling really, really guilty about it.
All this brings me to my point: my last novel, Dreamquest, is now out in paperback (with a snazzy new cover, above!). So now I can enthusiastically urge you to run to your nearest independent bookseller to pick up a copy immediately.
Dreamquest is my first children's book (for readers 8 and older). It's the story of a young girl plagued by nightmares who wakes up one night in "Slumberia," the magical land inside her own brain where they "film" her nightmares. Feeling powerless in "real" life, but determined to put an end to her nightmares for good, she goes on a quest to find out who is responsible for her nightmares: the hapless, powerless dreamwriter? The shadowy dream-producer who lives in a far-away castle? The mysterious dream-executives who live in towering Nightmare City? Along the way, Julie meets a group of Oz-like friends: a gentle shark, an optimistic glowworm, and a handsome boy named Roman.
(Needless to say, all this is based on my experiences living and working as a screenwriter in Hollywood in the late 1990s. So while this is technically a "children's book," I'd like to think this element of satire gives it far more adult-crossover potential than most other children's books.)
I'm very proud of Dreamquest, which I hope will be the first in a series, Tales of Slumberia. So pick up a copy now! (It's only $5.99! What a bargain!)
But this brings me to my second point. Dreamquest is very different from my other books; not only is it for kids, it's a fantasy. Which I know causes no end of confusion on the part of readers and book-buyers. When people buy a book by "Brent Hartinger," they expect a certain kind of thing (which is cool; I'm proud of all my books and my little niche in the teen lit genre).
That said, every author I know, while absolutely appreciating existing readers, yearns to try different things, to explore different stories and characters--and hopes fervently that his current fans will be sporting enough to follow him to new and (hopefully) exciting places and genres.
That's my hope anyway. And that's my pitch for Dreamquest!
It's all cool,
Brent Hartinger
My Books:
* Dreamquest
* Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies
* Grand & Humble
* The Order of the Poison Oak
* The Last Chance Texaco
* Geography Club
Can I make a confession? I hate promoting my hardcover releases. It always makes me feel like a hypocrite: I occasionally buy hardcovers of beloved books as gifts, but I rarely buy books for myself when they're new releases (even when I hear good things, I usually wait for the paperback). Who has $16.99 to spend on a book you may not even finish? And it's even worse for authors of brand new "adult" books who are asking readings to take an utterly ridiculous $24.99 leap of faith!But the hardcover is where it's at as far as publishers are concerned; this is where they make their money, and it's basically when they determine whether a book is a "success" or not (which plays into how much subsequent attention they give a book and/or author, and how much they pay an author for future books!).
So I can't afford to not promote my hardcovers; my career depends upon it. I just end up feeling really, really guilty about it.
All this brings me to my point: my last novel, Dreamquest, is now out in paperback (with a snazzy new cover, above!). So now I can enthusiastically urge you to run to your nearest independent bookseller to pick up a copy immediately.
Dreamquest is my first children's book (for readers 8 and older). It's the story of a young girl plagued by nightmares who wakes up one night in "Slumberia," the magical land inside her own brain where they "film" her nightmares. Feeling powerless in "real" life, but determined to put an end to her nightmares for good, she goes on a quest to find out who is responsible for her nightmares: the hapless, powerless dreamwriter? The shadowy dream-producer who lives in a far-away castle? The mysterious dream-executives who live in towering Nightmare City? Along the way, Julie meets a group of Oz-like friends: a gentle shark, an optimistic glowworm, and a handsome boy named Roman.
(Needless to say, all this is based on my experiences living and working as a screenwriter in Hollywood in the late 1990s. So while this is technically a "children's book," I'd like to think this element of satire gives it far more adult-crossover potential than most other children's books.)
I'm very proud of Dreamquest, which I hope will be the first in a series, Tales of Slumberia. So pick up a copy now! (It's only $5.99! What a bargain!)
But this brings me to my second point. Dreamquest is very different from my other books; not only is it for kids, it's a fantasy. Which I know causes no end of confusion on the part of readers and book-buyers. When people buy a book by "Brent Hartinger," they expect a certain kind of thing (which is cool; I'm proud of all my books and my little niche in the teen lit genre).
That said, every author I know, while absolutely appreciating existing readers, yearns to try different things, to explore different stories and characters--and hopes fervently that his current fans will be sporting enough to follow him to new and (hopefully) exciting places and genres.
That's my hope anyway. And that's my pitch for Dreamquest!
It's all cool,
Brent Hartinger
My Books:
* Dreamquest
* Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies
* Grand & Humble
* The Order of the Poison Oak
* The Last Chance Texaco
* Geography Club
Explore "Brent's Brain"
See my gay entertaiment video blog, "Two Gay Guys"
