Lol - just seeing your name reminded me to I forgot to mention. There have also been two - huge! - excerpts and a stellar trailer made, in part, by our very own, Somnambulist
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Add this to the list: a series of original promo illustrations (5 in total), released through Overlook's social media at one week intervals, starting June 6, on the run-up to the release date of TGO. Accompanying each are quotes relevant to the images. Basically, full-page ads promoting the book.
Congrats and congrats, Som. I can't wait to see that connection come to fruition.
I never really paid attention to releases and hype surrounding them. So, all this static in the airwaves seems like a lot of 'good press' to me. I can only hope it's not all pandering to the in-group already waiting for the book, and it actually entices people who are unfamiliar with, or had been resistant to, the series previously. Fingers crossed.
Well - I mean, data is sparse. Firstly because the portion of the fandom that participates online across all mediums is probably a disparagingly low percentage of his book-buying readership. There is also probably a percentage of that book-buying readership that lurks online but doesn't participate leading to the second data problem, which is declaration. I don't care for information gathering but we don't know enough to gauge, other than what people post about themselves and their book-buying intent and the demographics different mediums provide about those participants.
Wilshire and I have talked about the "all press is good press." I'd have to see some numbers to form a better opinion. Of the differing mediums ("places people talk about Bakker on the internet"), I'd say that reddit clearly has the most vocal number of those who like the series, don't like the series, but more importantly have not read the books, read only PON, or tried reading part-way into the saga and stopped for reasons other than not loving the series. Westeros has been occupied entirely by either the "Outside" scene from the Ch. 1 excerpt or the "Whale-Mothers" from Pat's (so far unidentified numbered) chapter excerpt - the latter clearly dominating the conversation and not to benefit of Bakker or, more importantly, "possible new reader's random exposure to Bakker by way of the eternal thread on Westeros." And we're basically the worst - despite Somnambulist and MG doing real outreach work - as there is very little discussion of the reviews or excerpts here because 60% and quickly rising (of our content-generating regulars) have already read ARCs and so disappeared I know not where for fear of infecting those who remain and those who lurk with their pollution
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GJ's poisoned me, what with his pointing out our mutual affection for hyperbole recently
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In terms of what could be done better... official marketing and/or promotions? Contests (a la, fanfic, fanart, etc.). Dare I say more author/fan interaction on a sustained/sustainable level? That's probably the most important one, tbh. Being accessible. Mark Lawrence comes to mind. The guy is prolific, and interacts regularly with his fan-base. I realize our man is not that sort, but still... Maybe he needs a PA, someone in charge of making sure there's some kind of regular communication between the top of the mountain and the masses gathered at its base.
Rambling.
Not rambling and you know from our conversations otherwise that I am quick to cite Lawrence, then Abercrombie, as the best at online interactions with fandom.
