Twilight Candy

Tuesday was payday and I ventured out to fight the hordes of hungry natives for food so I could restock our sad little pantry. If there is ever a major break down of social order my family will have to live off of ramon noodles.... for the whole three meals they will last. Anyways, off topic...

I went to the store and the Halloween candy is out. It's good to know the candy manufacturers and dentists will not be suffering from the current economic issues. And neither will Stephanie Meyer. There was Twilight candy out. I mean, sure it makes sense. Vampire +sparkle + Halloween = candy. I can see that.

And I admit, I needed to pause for a moment and consider just how I felt about Twilight candy.

You know what I decided? That's pretty cool.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Twilight convert. I'm not into YA, sparkly vamps don't get my attention, I hate broody males, and High School? Yeah, I'd rather forget it. But I think it's cool that Miss Meyers took her idea and ran with it. That she was willing to suffer through rough drafts, editing, query letters, and rejections to get to the point where her book now sells candy!

Someone once told me jealousy was a form of pride. They were right. It's very easy to be jealous of other authors, especially the successful ones. It's easy to say nasty things, rip apart their manuscripts, and poo-poo the movies. After all, every writer knows in their heart of hearts that They Are The Best. No one could withstand the rejection letters that flood in with every submission if the didn't have enough ego to bolster them until the single elusive request comes in.

But ripping apart another author won't get you published. And it really is cool that people love reading so much that a book can market candy.

I love that!

Why? Because it means there are readers out there. I need readers. YOU need readers. If you have publication in your future plans at all the very thought of rapid readers stalking the night ought to make you jump for joy. All those people buying Twilight candy are your future victims.

Yes, okay, you might have to convert them away from their sparkly vamp obsession. But no worries. That's why you have a Page One that will not just grab attention but jump out of the book, slam potential readers against the wall, and force feed them your first chapter while stealing their wallet. You know, an aggressive opening. Any Page One that can steal your wallet can certainly persuade people to forget sparkly vamps. Or blackmail them, whatever.

So next time a friend announces they have a full request, or a cool idea, or a two book contract with your favorite publishing house cheer them on. They're paving the way for your grand debut and lining up readers for you to attack.

Not to mention the added bonus of adding fresh meat to the TBR pile. I'll throw a party for anyone who tells me they have a new Sci-fi book coming out. My TBR pile is currently very low and in need of an infusion of fresh blood.

Now... go write people!