Edward the Moody Vampire - Meyer's Leading Man
Yes, you read that title right. Stephenie Meyer is a genius. I’ve come out and said it publically, and I can’t take it back. I think that Stephenie Meyer, author of Twilight, New Moon and all that other emo-Vampire stuff is a bona-fide, certified genius.
I also think her work is vapid, dull and derivative. I’m not the only one. Millions of people think the same. In fact, I’d go out on a limb and say that unless you’re a teenage girl (or a 24 year old woman who I won’t be accompanying to the pictures on Wednesday), you’ll think that Twighlight is, quite frankly, cobblers.
And that is why Stephanie Meyer is a genius.
Why is Stephanie Meyer a Genius?
Because she knows that it doesn’t matter what you think. Her books are aimed at teenage girls (and my 24 year old girlfriend, apparently) and they lap it up. Her characters, style and settings speak to her audience. And it’s made her a very wealthy woman indeed.
She’ll probably never appeal to the broad audience that JK Rowling has, but that’s not stopped her Twilight series becoming a huge success. And all because she knows her audience.
What you should learn from Stephenie Meyer
If your audience wants Emo Vampires, give them Emo Vampires: If you’re writing copy for a stairlift manufacturer, you should make sure that it appeals to the elderly, and middle-aged people with elderly parents. They want calm reassurance, so give it to them.
Ignore the cynical young men – the naysayers always sound louder: You hear that feedback? The sound of the internet laughing at you? Block it out. Focus on what your target audience want to hear – if you’re giving it to them, then it doesn’t matter what other people think. The hecklers were never going to buy the product anyway, so their views on the copy don’t matter.
Team Edward or Team Whatever-the-wolf-boy’s-called: Remember that your audience aren’t a homogenous mass, no matter how niche you think your market is. Identify the different needs of your audience, and make sure you’re catering to them.
You don’t have to read Twilight to appreciate that Meyer’s gone and found herself a goose that lays golden eggs, and thankfully you won’t have to go see New Moon to learn how to emulate that success.
5 comments
lemondrizzle says:
Nov 24, 2009
You make it sound like she actually planned it this way – rather than being natural for her to write dull, derivative emo rubbish. I think you are mistaken.
.-= lemondrizzle´s last blog ..Nation spits on hanky, wipes Gordon Brown’s face =-.
Andrew Nattan says:
Nov 24, 2009
I know, but “Write Dull, Derivative Emo Rubbish – Maybe People Will Be Thick Enough To Buy It” wouldn’t have made for a good title.
Just because she’s stumbled arse-first onto success doesn’t mean that we can’t learn how she did it!
Katy Evans-Bush says:
Nov 24, 2009
It’s a goose, all right.
The funny thing is, taking your advice to heart, I have an audience, and they seem to like me well enough, & I give them what they want. Today I’m going to give them a thing about the fall of Borders and the Net Book Agreement, and later on a spoof on novels (and emo, thinking about it) from The Onion. All great stuff! And my poetry goes down well enough. But my audience just isn’t as BIG as the emo-vampire audience. Damn it.
Meyer’s genius is to happen to like something really, really, REALLY mass-market. You have to be born with that.
One thing I saw today that I liked, even while it made me shudder. What Meyer is. “Hotter than Potter.” Arggghhh!
.-= Katy Evans-Bush´s last blog ..copywriter’s downfall =-.
Matt says:
Nov 24, 2009
On a limb, I’m inclined to agree with you. My lady’s in to it, too. It captures some kind of nostalgia for the mid-twenty-year-old. And really, genuinely, it’s hackneyed in places but the writing is not THAT bad; it wouldn’t have been published so widely if it were.
.-= Matt´s last blog ..Getting unpublished =-.
Inna says:
Jan 22, 2010
Thank you, Nattan, for the great post and useful advices! A lot of my friends are the fans of Twilight saga, but I don’t get it. Yeah, I’m not a TA (I’m 25 years old:) I have read the first book. The book is written really bad although I read it in Ukrainian and thought that translation is poor…
I think that the secret of popularity is an amazing PR. And a handsome actors:).