Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Building Marketable Products into Books

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

Bella's wedding ring.

A Mockingjay pin.

Authors do a fantastic job of extending the reach of their story through the creation of marketable products. Is this intentional? Probably not, but it's smartsmartsmart. It's all a part of the visibility game.

Have you ever sampled a Chocolate Frog? I sure have! It's about two inches of solid milk chocolate shaped like a flattened amphibian. Absolutely nothing special, right? But I paid my two bucks and enjoyed every bite (yep, just the one). The magic of Rowling's books made that sub-par sweet a mouth-watering thing of beauty.

Have you created something like this in your book? Something small, maybe, that moves your story forward, but could also be sold to readers wanting to show their love. Like a golden pin with a bird and an arrow. I'll have one before the end of March 2012. I can almost guarantee it. And speaking of, have you seen the latest Entertainment Weekly? Yeah...awesome!

I'm leaving for Backspace today (YAY!), so my Friday post will be invisible, but I'll be back next week with a movie review from a Special Guest, as well as a recap of my first trip to a major conference!

But before I go, I wanted to mention the disaster in Joplin, MO. I don't live in Missouri, but I am a Midwesterner, and like the earthquake in Japan and the tornadoes in Alabama, this one hit me very hard. Some people lost everything they owned. Cars, homes, photo albums, Christmas ornaments. Large things, small things, some replaceable, and others so sentimental and loved that are now gone forever. There are people still waiting for loved ones to be found.

So, why do we ever wait in life? I mean, my wonderful mother is the classic example of 'well, I'm sure I'll do that before I die.' No! Prioritize the things you want to try/experience/see, and do them. Live. LIVE. LIVE!  And enjoy every second of your life. I realize there are financial hurdles that have to be cleared, but make it happen. My heart flies out to that town and the others affected yesterday, as well as those that will be touched today (yes, that storm system is doing its best to introduce itself to the entire Plains, Midwest, and Southern states). Please be safe, take warnings seriously, and remind those around you how much you care. I appreciate all of you for being part of my life. You give my cheetah her wings! 

-Marie

3 comments:

Golden Eagle said...

I really don't have much in the way of product placement in my novel--there are a few symbols, but I don't think they would really be marketable.

The storm that hit Joplin, MO is so sad--my thoughts are with those in the Midwest.

Write Life said...

Ah, Cheetah....this sums up why I adore you!!
Beautifully said. Been a hard year for a lot of people world wide, that's for sure. Stuns me really.
My heart and thoughts are with those hit by such incredible devastation. I don't know what else to say.
It's overwhelming.

As for marketability. I thought about it the second the book took shape. I suppose that's the old ad girl coming out!
Have a wonderful time away!

Andrew Leon said...

I wish I had better words for the families around the world dealing with storm devestation, but I just don't. Old friends of mine live in Joplin and lost everything in the tornado. Almost lost their sone, too, but, for them, that turned out okay.

I saw an article, recently, that said that the 21st century will be the century of storms. Like the 20the century was the century of wars and genocide.