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Michelle lives in New York and has always been fascinated with ancient myths and legends. Her debut novel, Prophecy of the Sisters, has received rave reviews and is a teen favorite. Her second book, Guardian of Gates comes out in August 2010.
On her blog, she interviews teens weekly to get more information on why they read what they read and what books appeal to them the most. You can also follow her on twitter or fan page.
You can also check out her trailer, the fabulous Vania (owner of VLC Productions and blogger on Reverie Book Reviews. Vania's other recent trailers include Kimberly Derting's Body Finder and Beautiful Creatures.)
Here is a post from Michelle Zink about the teen data she's collected while on her book tours:
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So, here’s the thing about being on tour for two weeks. You kind of lose track of how many people you’ve talked to and met along the way. Most days, I had two school visits – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – and an evening bookstore event. But a school visit doesn’t necessarily mean one group of kids. Sometimes, I’d give 3-5 back-to-back presentations with 100+ kids in each group.
Let’s just say for the sake of argument that I spoke to an average of 100 kids a day for 13 days (I think this is probably close to accurate).
That means I spoke to 1300 kids ages 12-18 in less than two weeks.
That is A LOT of kids!
But I loved every minute. I love talking to kids and teens because they tend to be so enthusiastic, so open-minded, so curious and passionate. And as I wrote in my previous post, it was really fun for me to engage in my signature, two-way Q&A. It was fascinating to watch them become excited and passionate about books and to realize that I cared what THEY thought.
I’m going to sha
Fantastic post, Michelle! The idea that a cover is SO important is not surprising - but I wish they would have shared WHAT they look for in a cover - color? picture?
So surprised to hear that hardback prices were not a deterent especially in this economy.
Very informative. Thanks for sharing.
This was so interesting - thanks to you both for sharing it. And what a cool way to think about a book tour - as an opportunity to meet and "interview" 1,300 teens - you really get to know your target market well that way!
Off to tweet this,
Namaste,
Lee
GREAT and interesting post! Thanks!
:)
e
Great guest post (and fascinating)! Thanks for sharing.
This was fascinating!
I was also surprised by not enjoying endings that are *too* happy, or romance that's too consuming. Teens have good taste!
Great interview!
Great interview, most interesting, especially the romance part. Thanks for sharing.
This is fabulous information and so interesting! I'm not surprised they don't mind the prices. My son would pay just about any price for a book he wants. Thanks, ladies! :-)
Thanks for sharing. This has been a super-informative guest blog, and I appreciate your taking the time to write it all out for us.
Great interview! I was really surprised to hear that some teens are tired of romance.
this was a pleasure to read. Thanks! I love hearing from the students!!
Awesome interview! Thanks for the great info!
Okay, wow. That was FASCINATING! Thank you so much for sharing these insights!
Oh, this is by far my favorite post of the day. Thanks Michelle and Shelli!
Wow - really interesting stuff! I'm a little surprised by the happy ending answer.
Interesting. I'm with the kids on blurbs. Who cares what someone else thought of the book? The back cover, particularly with paperbacks, should tell me what the book's about. I don't read a book because some else thinks it's great, I read it because it's about a subject or characters I think I'll find interesting. And if the publisher doesn't tell me anything about the book, I'll probably stick it right back on the shelf and look for something else.
So enlightening. Thanks to you both!
Great post. It was so interesting to hear that teens want books in a series. And I am relieved like others that book blogs aren't so important. By the way, I just finished your book yesterday Michelle & loved it. Thanks for sharing.
So glad this was helpful to you all! I run a teen book club through Borders as well. We talk about all kinds of things but mostly about BOOKS, so I'll be posting more information when it seems pertinent.
Glad you enjoyed the book, Natalie! Thanks for reading!
And thanks, Shelli, for passing along my raw data!
<3
MZ
Wonderful post! I'm bookmarking *and* linking back to this one.
Great interview. The "happy endings" answer surprised me.
Winged Writer
This was such an interesting post. You really need to stop making your blog so interesting. I'm getting addicted! Must have my Shelli Fix for the day kind of addicted!
Wow! Excellent information!
I love this post! Great to hear from teen readers and be surprised by their observations. Keeps things interesting.
What a great post. So many surprises in their answers. Thank you so much for doing the leg work and sharing the goods with us. *applause*
What a great post. So many surprises in their answers. Thank you so much for doing the leg work and sharing the goods with us. *applause*
Your questions were excellent, and the answers very revealing. Thanks, Michelle.