Tag Archives: John Locke

YA Epic Fantasy Readers and The Ebook Revolution

Last week’s post, Sex and Swords, generated a lot of great comments and a sound discussion. In the post, I wondered whether the author I was comparing myself to was selling more books than me because his audience are adults. Given that both of us sell more ebooks than tree books, am I likely to sell less books because young adults do not have the access to ebook readers that adults enjoy? Wait a moment  I need to tell my sons to get off screens and go play…

I wrote a post on another blog a couple of years ago and have taken material from there for this. There are a number of authors who have become bestsellers riding the ebook revolution. Amanda Hocking, J.A. Konrath, and my own marketing guru, John Locke. But none of these fine people write for young adults (10-18 year old) – my primary market for the Wycaan Master series.

teenelectronic_396Laura Hazard Owen recently wrote: “The children’s and young adult e-book market faces special challenges not shared by the adult market, new research shows. And teens are slow to adopt ebooks, in part because they do not see ebooks as a social technology and they think there are too many restrictions on sharing digital titles.”

She reached her conclusion based on two online surveys commissioned by PubTrack Consumer towards the end of last year who surveyed 1,000 teenagers and 1,000 parents of pre-teens. The details of the survey can be found here – Children’s Publishing Goes Digital.   There are some interesting theories and statistics here. Firstly, youngsters are extremely social and want to share their books with friends and e-book technology is perceived as too restrictive. This is changing now and Amazon has been quick to identify this need. I thought that perhaps the teens did not have access to comfortable ebook readers. The majority has cell phones, but I am not including this. 60% of those surveyed receive technology from their parents as the latter upgrade.

images-7Ms. Hazard Owen makes another excellent point It is not just young adults propelling YA books like the Hunger Games trilogy onto ebook bestseller lists:

– 30-44-year-olds constitute 28 % of YA print book sales and 32 % of YA ebook sales.

-18-29-year-olds buy the most YA books, purchasing 31% of YA print sales and 35% of YA ebook sales.

Making a decision to invest in the YA fantasy ebook market doesn’t look as attractive as genres aimed at adults, but this is going to change as more young people receive the necessary devices. Also, the realization that the YA market goes not from 12-18, but 12-44 year olds make for a more encouraging prospect.

images-1A final interesting point is that this age group is more likely to buy a book because of a recommendation on a social network. Perhaps this prompted Amazon to make the investment to purchase Goodreads.

Now, please excuse me, this 49-year-old is going to read The Hunger Games, recommended to me by my 14-year-old son.

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Alon Shalev writes social justice-themed novels and YA epic fantasy. He swears there is a connection. His latest books include: Unwanted Heroes and the 2013 Eric Hoffer Book Award for YA – At The Walls Of Galbrieth. Alon tweets at @alonshalevsf and @elfwriter. For more about the author, check out his website.

       

Being A Bestseller, Being A Mensch

The majority of this post has come from an account by a non-fantasy reader, One Ill Writer,  who happened upon a book signing of Terry Brooks in August 2011.

I have been looking of a way to recognize Brooks, whose first novel, Sword of Shannara,  will soon celebrate its 30th anniversary. I have personally finished three of his trilogies and I am, one would say, indeed a fan.

“This past Thursday, some friends and I went and checked out Terry Brooks at the Cedar Hills Crossing Powell’s Books. I had read one of his books back in the late 80′s. He writes elf magic fantasy novels mostly, which aren’t really my thing, but I’m always interested in hearing what an experienced novelist has to say regardless of genre.

“My favorite thing about genre fiction is that the fans are dedicated to their favorite authors. And let me just add here that Terry Brooks’ fans are fanatics. I love that. There’s something infectious about people being so in love with an author’s world that they squirm with unrestrained giddiness and exchange obscure trivia about the different books set in that universe. I didn’t know much about Terry Brooks or his novels, but within five minutes of sitting down, I was pumped for I didn’t know what.

“In all about 60 people sat in folding chairs and stood around the edges. There was a guy a row ahead of me who had a duffle bag full of all the Brooks novels in paperback. An employee from the store was handing out post-its so Terry would spell your name right when he personalized your book.

“There was a rolling rack full of dozens of copies of his latest novel and a few people grabbed a copy before they sat down. There was a microphone at a podium behind which was propped a large poster of the new book cover. To the right of that, a table with pens on it. Pretty standard book release/signing setup. I’ve been to a few of these things and sometimes the authors come out, they read, they answer a few questions (one of which is invariably, “Where do you get your ideas?”), then they sign books. The author’s demeanor at these things normally ranges from contemptuous to putting-on-a-good-face.

“But Terry Brooks has been in this business a long time. When he came out, he said hello and from that instant, he was in 100% control of his fans. He said he would read a few pages from a book, but instead of the book being released, he would read from the next, unpublished book. He then said he would make an announcement about upcoming works that he hadn’t even told his publisher.

“Lastly, he said he was going to release a book every sixth months instead of once a year. If you think the crowd was excited when they showed up, after these three statements, people were losing their minds. It wasn’t like they were cheering and screaming like a drunk at a soccer match, but they were exchanging looks and shifting in their seats. If there’s one thing about fans and collectors, they love knowing something before anyone else. And more than that, they love to be the ones who tell their friends who didn’t make it to the reading! More than one person was using their phone get video of the announcements.

“Mr. Brooks understands his readers. Maybe better than any novelist I’ve seen speak. When the Q&A came, he didn’t laugh or scoff at the obscurity of any of the questions. And he answered every question quickly with engaging humor and honesty. I couldn’t tell if he actually had his whole universe in his head, or was just making stuff up on the fly, but either way, every fan was satisfied with his answers. He never dismissed anyone or said anything like, “What do you think should happen?” It was amazing. I won’t even go into the pages he read, but I’ll sum up by saying the reading ended with a cliffhanger. I read one book 20 years ago and suddenly I can’t wait for the next one? Brilliant. The guy was a master of his element.

“What I took from this besides an admiration for the professionalism of Terry Brooks was that it’s crucial to know your audience. Crucial! He writes books that he knows his audience will love. He’s not writing to a general fantasy market, but specifically to those who already read his books. John Locke, the million-selling ebook guy, said the same thing. Guys like them know they will ultimately sell more books because their hardcore fans will be a marketing army. For FREE.

“I had noticed he pronounced “Shannara” (his universe) differently than all his fans did. He said “Shanneruh” while everyone else says, “Shuh-nara.” You know, sounds more elf-y that way. So I asked him if he ever got into arguments with fans who pronounce things differently than he does. He said, “No, man. It’s your book. Say it how you want.” People behind me in line laughed. Flawless. Now it’s MY book!

“The number of books he sold that night was astounding. People who had casually picked up a used paperback before he spoke had stacks of books by the time they got in line for the signing. The new release rack was nearly empty when I left. He had converted everyone in the room. He reminded his die hard fans why they read his books. If said before that the energy of the fans was infectious, Terry Brooks’ respect for his fans was doubly so.

“People who aren’t sci fi or crime or fantasy dorks don’t get it. Book nerds are weird people, they think. They also think it’s ok to dress head to toe in Timbers or Seahawks colors and get hammered in the nosebleed seats on game night, but not ok to take an armload of books to the suburbs and actually shake the hand of the man who enriched your life for the past 30 years? Give me the book nerds any day.”

I love this account because it comes from someone outside the genre. Brooks endears himself to people because he is both a master of his craft and a humble person. That’s a rare blend for a 21st Century celebrity. It feels almost mythical, even other-worldly.

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Alon Shalev writes social justice-themed novels and YA epic fantasy. He swears there is a connection. His latest books include: Unwanted Heroes and The First Decree, the sequel to At The Walls Of Galbrieth. Alon tweets at @alonshalevsf and @elfwriter.  

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Young Adults and the E-book Revolution

I have entered my Young Adult epic fantasy novel into the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. My plan is if I do fall at some point to send submissions to about 20 agents and try to publish in the conventional way.

If this does not succeed, I assumed that I would then join the e-book revolution and hope to create enough splash to be picked up in the footsteps of Amanda Hocking and J.A. Konrath. I have read closely John Locke’s successful business model and would love to try it.

But today something hit me. Do young adults (10-18 year old) – my primary market for my epic fantasy series – read their books on e-Readers?

recently wrote: “The children’s and young adult e-book market faces special challenges not shared by the adult market, new research shows. And teens are slow to adopt e-books, in part because they do not see e-books as a social technology and they think there are too many restrictions on sharing digital titles.”

She reached her conclusion based on two online surveys commissioned by  PubTrack Consumer towards the end of last year who surveyed 1,000 teenagers and 1,000 parents of pre-teens. The details of the survey can be found here –  “Children’s Publishing Goes Digital.”

There are some interesting theories and statistics here. Firstly, youngsters are extremely social and want to share their books with friends and e-book technology is perceived as too restrictive. I thought that perhaps the teens did not have access to comfortable e-book readers. The majority has cell phones, but I am not including this. 60% of those surveyed receive technology from their parents as the latter upgrade.

makes another excellent point It is not just young adults propelling YA books like the Hunger Games trilogy onto e-book bestseller lists:

– 30-44-year-olds constitute 28 % of YA print book sales and 32 % of YA e-book sales. -18-29-year-olds buy the most YA books, purchasing 31% of YA print sales and 35% of YA e-book sales.

Making a decision to invest in the YA fantasy e-book market doesn’t look as attractive as for genres aimed at adults, but this is going to change as more young people receive the necessary devices. Also, the realization that the YA market goes not from 12-18, but 12-44 year olds make for a more encouraging prospect.

A final interesting point is that this age group is more likely to buy a book because of a recommendation on a social network.

Now, please excuse me, this 47-year-old is going to read The Hunger Games, recommended to me by my 13-year-old son.

——————————————————————————————————

Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener’s Tale. He has written two fantasy novels and the first will enter the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in January 2012. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/and on Twitter (@elfwriter).

Seeking The Higher Concept

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings set the bar. Everything since has been compared to this masterpiece. I have heard interviews with Terry Brooks and Christopher Paolini where each has had to deal with the comparisons.

Neither seemed particularly happy with the need to defend or compare their works. Each agree that Lord of the Rings (LOTR) stands on the pinnacle of fantasy and will for many years,

This leaves the rest of us wannabe fantasy authors with a dilemma. While my own Alliance series has its own specific aspects, it is inevitably compared to LOTHR. When I introduced my elves to my writer’s group, it is Legalos who comes to mind.

I've never survived a mighty battle with every hair still in place.

It is not only Tolkien of course. My antagonist is the Emperor and immediately someone compared him to Star Wars’ Palpatine, and his right hand man to Darth Vader (even without the mask and asthma).

I recently began to meet with an agent who is coaching me to prepare the first Alliance book to market. When I offered my pitch, he immediately asked what is my higher concept? He knows of Tolkien, Brooks, Salvatore and Paolini: what differentiates Shalev from these masters?

I admit to being stuck. I am reading John Locke’s How I Sold 1 Million Ebooks in 5 Months book and he admits it is much harder to change a book already written to hook your target audience than to begin a novel with the specific demands of your target audience in mind. This is doubly hard for me as I have already written two books in the series and have the third mapped out.

Every time I, or anyone helping me, have an idea, I feel resistant. I have created my world, my characters, my conflict…but I cannot explain its unique or higher concept.  Reluctant hero must learn his magic from a master and overcome the all-powerful evil dude. Sound familiar? There are many ways to make an omelet, many variations of vegetables, spices and cheeses, but all omelets involve eggs.

Need to crack a few eggs!

When someone has already used organic, cage-free, grade A eggs, how do you change the recipe? How do you find a higher concept? Any ideas?

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener’s Tale. He has written two fantasy novels and the first will enter the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award in January 2012. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/and on Twitter (#elfwriter).