Episode #139: Celebrity Books and Social Media!
Welcome back! Grace and Alvina talk about social media and celebrity books, and how fame and followers may or may not equate to book sales.
Don’t forget to check out our Patreon Page! These beautiful notebooks are going fast! Support our podcast by becoming a Patron! For $1 an episode as a Patreon member you will get:
Access to the "Random Questions Secret Feed" for the Kids Ask Authors podcast
A small blank notebook with an illustrated cover (by Grace) inspired by Alvina's Mom quote "If it is to be, it is up to me." (While supplies last!)
An opportunity to share your own grateful on our podcast! Send us your grateful as patron and we'll read it on an episode!
How have you been?
Alvina has been productive lately even on a recent Friday! Grace asks, “how do you measure your productivity?” The first snow arrived in NYC, Alvina’s parents have COVID but they’re both on the mend thankfully. Alvina looks to re-hire an intern. Grace has recently hired a research assistant to help her with the research for her origin of Chinese food project. (To learn more about traditional recipes and the Lunar New Year, sign up for her newsletter HERE!)
Celebrity Books
A listener suggested this topic a while ago and then recently a NYT’s article about it was published in early December 2021. Grace and Alvina ask: Do a large amount of followers on social media mean big book sales? Here is a quote from the article:
An author’s following has become a standard part of the equation when publishers are deciding whether to acquire a book. Followings can affect who gets a book deal and how big an advance that author is paid, especially when it comes to nonfiction. But despite their importance, they are increasingly seen as unpredictable gauges of how well a book is actually going to sell. Even having one of the biggest social-media followings in the world is not a guarantee.”
Alvina shares with us the social media analysis side of book publishing. What truly matters is how much the celebrity authors really push and promote their books. Chris Colfer and Neil Patrick Harris are examples of authors who were really involved in the promotion of their books. The book friends talk about athletes, musicians, TV personalities, and other famous people who wrote books. How well did they do? What about celebrity biographies? Grace and Alvina breakdown their thoughts on picture book biographies. Celebrities mentioned with published books: Billie Eilish, Justin Timberlake, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt's books, Fierce by Ali Raisman, The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad, Jamie Lee Curtis children's book, John Lithgow children's books, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Julie Andrews, Strong Mama by Robin Arzon, and Kim Cattrall. Alvina mentions Grand Central Publishing happens to publish many celebrity books.
Fortune Cookie Segment!
Today’s topic is about the mysterious manuscript stealer! Read about the latest here in this NYT’s article. Still, the main question is, WHY!? Why would anyone do this?
What are we grateful for?
Alvina is grateful for her gratitude app and for getting Asian groceries that she loves. Grace is grateful for the first meeting of her Kids Ask Authors Kid Reviewer Club! She’s happy to see so many kids loving books. She’s also grateful to be recognized on a School Library Journal post about the 100th anniversary of the Newbery. They asked readers what books they thought should have won Newbery awards? The most popular write-in answer was Where the Mountain Meets the Moon!
SPECIAL TRIBUTE
The Book Friends were going to have a tribute episode to memorialize all the authors and illustrators we lost in 2021, but instead they decided they will play the recorded tributes at the end of these episodes until Lunar New Year (or whenever they run out of tributes.) The Book Friends would love to hear your memories of these authors and how they touched your life in some way or another. On the bookfriendsforever.com menu, click “Record your author/Illustrator Tribute” and record your memories through Speakpipe. Some of the authors and illustrators we lost: Jerry Pinkney, Tomie DePaola, Beverley Cleary, Lois Ehlert, Eric Carle, Patricia Reilly Giff, Floyd Cooper, and Gary Paulsen. We encourage you to leave a memory and we’ll share it on a special upcoming episode! Thank you!
On this episode, you’ll hear a tribute to Eloise Greenfield by Anne Wynter.
Thank you for tuning in!
*If you’re a patron, don’t forget to check out this week’s Random Questions feed! Authors Laurel Synder and Grace Lin answer the random question: “At what age did you become an adult?” Click here to listen! If you’re not a patron already, join today!
Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio for producing and editing this podcast. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.) Also, if you have any ideas for topics on future episodes, please let us know!
You can find Alvina @Planetalvina on Twitter and TikTok and @Alvinaling on Instagram
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Twitter and Instagram and @gracelinauthor on TikTok and @authorgracelin on Facebook
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