I can produce the best book within my power to do so. So this time, I decided not to try for such a needle-in-a-haystack goal as producing a blockbuster (and no, I don’t know the steps for doing so), and instead shoot for a measurable goal: quality. I hurt myself once by a three-year, no-writing decision. The discussion of blockbusters led to thoughts like this: How on earth do I make my book blockbuster worthy? and Arrrrrggggggghhhhh! Such thoughts in the past have resulted in my uttering, “What’s the use?” followed by a period of non-writing. While reading the interview with Elberse, I felt discouraged at first. Don’t we all wish we had a golden formula that would guarantee a product’s success, especially if that product is ours? Many experts try to find ways to predict whether a book, videogame, or a movie will be a blockbuster. As Elberse later said, “It’s incredibly risky to make entertainment products in the first place.” While Elberse’s statements might inspire a “Duh” from you (or not), they emphasize what I already guessed: participation in the entertainment industry is a gamble no matter what. Then we’ll see what sticks in the marketplace.” But, the alternative strategy also feels intuitive to many people-a strategy in which content producers say, “It’s so incredibly hard to predict what’s going to work in the marketplace, we’re going to make a larger number of smaller bets and spend our resources equally. They should spend a disproportionate part of their budget on what they see as a handful of the most likely winners. N order to be successful, it is probably best for content producers to make blockbuster bets. One of Anita’s comments jumped out at me: (I didn’t read the book.) She’s a professor at Harvard Business School and a marketing expert. Who’s she? I didn’t know either until I read the article. The other day, while reading the March 2014 issue of Game Informer, I stumbled upon a discussion of blockbusters in an interview Matt Helgeson conducted with Anita Elberse on her book, Blockbusters. On with the subject of this post (and it is a fitting one, since I was just discussing a great author like Juliet): blockbusters. Because these are highly coveted books, if you haven’t at least confirmed by the end of February 25, I’ll have to choose another winner. Check Juliet’s website for more details.)Ĭongrats, Sue! To prove you’re a real person and not a Spambot, please confirm below, then email me at lmarie7b(at)gmail(dot)com to provide the email address attached to your Kindle, iPhone, iPad, or other eReader, and the country in which you live, since that will determine to which Amazon I will head. Book 3 debuts on Feburary 25 in Australia! (The U.S. If that statement confuses you, check here and here for the interview with the always gracious author of the Shadowell series, Juliet Marillier. Welcome to the blog! You might be eager to know who won the Shadowfell series.

Shadowfell book series