In only a few short years, the ability to use social networking as a literary megaphone has gone from an afterthought to the focus of most marketing and image shaping by publishers. "Everyone is now focused on it, because when it works, it can be a runaway train," says Tim Duggan, executive editor of Harper, an imprint of News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers Inc. News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Green's runaway train started like this: On Tuesday afternoon, he posted the title of his new book on Twitter, Tumblr and the community forum YourPants.org. An hour later, he upped the stakes by promising to sign all pre-orders and the entire first-print run, while also launching a YouTube live show. Mr. Green discussed his plans for signing the book and also read a section to give viewers a sense of what "The Fault in Our Stars" would be about. (It's a story of two young cancer survivors.)
The announcement then assumed a life of its own. Fans began to make and post hundreds of potential dust jackets for the book, which doesn't have one yet. They also turned to Twitter and Tumblr to discuss pre-ordering the books. The book then began a steady climb up the charts, says Mr. Green. It hit No. 1 on Amazon before 9 p.m., and No. 1 on Barnes & Noble.com an hour or so later.
Almost all authors today feel pressure to use social networking tools to try to build their fan base and generate interest in their work.As the number of big bookstores continues to diminish—Borders Group Inc. has already closed more than a third of its stores this year—the issue of how new titles will be discovered is of increasing concern. That fiction readers are increasingly embracing e-books has made digital channels even more important.
"People are finding their news online, and as long as they're there they take a trip to YouTube and follow their favorite blogs," says Patricia Bostelman, Barnes & Noble's vice president of marketing. "There's a tremendous amount of do-it-yourself in the marketplace today, and it's essential."
Publishers say that the issue of discovery has become critical, but it's unclear whether all books can benefit from social networking. "Clearly these are the tools we need to learn how to use, but they will work better for some books than others,," says Robert Miller, group publisher of Workman Publishing Co. "Books that need to be seen and held and that are thought of as gifts are different from commercial fiction."
Mr. Green and his brother Hank, a musician, made early use of the Internet, offering videos and zany postings that gave Mr. Green's fans a sense of his personality. In a video posted now on the Web, Mr. Green does a victory dance of sorts, celebrating the fact that "The Fault in Our Stars" was at the top of the best-seller lists.
For now, the book is listed online without any description and with a black-and-white block print placeholder cover. On Barnes & Noble.com, it even has an average rating of five stars.
