thoughtful
deird1 wrote a really fascinating article about something she terms "the Vegemite Effect,", which is so accurate and earnest that it should just about be required reading. Because she's right. The short precis:"No matter how good something is, if you were expecting something else, you'll hate it."
People ask me periodically why I chose to be Mira Grant for my science fiction when I was already happily myself for my urban fantasy. My standard answer is all about marketing and branding and setting expectations, and all of this is completely true...but the real answer is all about Vegemite. People who like me for me were going to know that I was Mira Grant, because it was an open secret, and they were the ones who'd just be expecting my words. People who like my urban fantasy weren't going to pick up a book by someone else expecting magic and hijinks. And once Mira established a readership of her own, people who liked science and zombies weren't going to up my books expecting the dead to walk.
The Vegemite effect explains a great deal about how we approach media of all types, not just books, but comics, movies, and television. There's a lot to think about. And if you've ever wondered why sometimes I say "this is salty" repeatedly before I hand you something...
...well, there you go.
September 25 2012, 19:04:59 UTC 4 years ago
Mind, with zombies, I have to know what it is going in. I know not to read certain authors if I'm wanting gore and guts and they write more character-driven stories. Likewise, if I want something similar to Feed, I know that Ed Lee or Tim Curran is not the direction in which to go.
Sometimes it's hard for me to try new authors based on, say, Amazon reviews. Someone will say "OMG this book is the most (insert adjective that always gets my attention) I've ever read!" then come to find out there was one paragraph maybe that matches that. Gore and sex (I'm a very visceral person) always get my attention, and if someone says "This book was so gory it made me sick!" and it turns out that all there is is a barely described "Rawr, I'm a zombie!--fade to black" scene, then I want to tell them "Maybe you should go back to reading (insert tame author here) if that's your idea of gore."
So yeah, the book might not actually suck, but if I go in expecting Edward Lee or Wrath James White levels of shocking and I get something along the lines of Charles Grant or Lovecraft (I love them both, mind), then I am usually disappointed.
September 26 2012, 15:10:45 UTC 4 years ago
September 26 2012, 18:01:13 UTC 4 years ago
Try Charlee Jacob some time.