Cassandra Clare raves about her fans in interview with Publishers Weekly

 

Publishers Weekly has a new article that discusses the upcoming Clockwork Prince release, as well as Cassandra Clare’s huge online fan base and how the buzz is just continuing to grow.

With an active presence on Tumblr, 81,000 Facebook fans, more than 50,000 followers on Twitter, and a popular blog, bestselling YA author Cassandra Clare has built a robust fan base online since her first novel, City of Bones, launched The Mortal Instruments series in 2007. Originally conceived as a trilogy, the urban fantasy series will add its fifth installment, City of Lost Souls, next May. And on December 6, Margaret K. McElderry Books will publish Clockwork Prince: Collector’s First Edition, the second installment (after Clockwork Angel) of The Infernal Devices, a prequel series set in Victorian London—150 years before The Mortal Instruments takes place. Pre-publication online buzz about this novel grew louder this week, when the publisher debuted its book trailer on EW.com.

Clare’s editor Karen Wojtyla discusses how much Clare’s fans mean to her.

McElderry editorial director Karen Wojtyla, who is Clare’s editor, emphasizes the effectiveness of the author’s online outreach to fans. ‘Cassandra is the most active writer online I have ever worked with,’ she observes. “She loves her fans and communicates with them through every kind of connection available to her. She always talks to them about her next book, and she gets a huge number of preorders and sells a fair amount of e-books. It takes a lot of work and effort to have such a strong online outreach, but the teen world really responds.”

Clare says that she finds online networking with fans “really meaningful.” She adds, “I go wherever the social media seems to be going at the moment. It’s really about the importance of building a relationship with my readers, and it is a wonderful way to get the word out about my books and sharing news.”

Clare said she is looking forward to meeting up with her fans during the Clockwork Prince book tour, which kicks off Dec. 6 in New York.

“That personal contact is irreplaceable,” she says. “It’s wonderful to make online relationships, but meeting readers in person and hearing their stories is amazing. One of the great things about touring is the fans who come up to get a book signed and drop off letters to me. I have a great collection of them. They give me a chance to hear from people who aren’t online and to learn what my books have meant to them.”

Read the full article at Publishers Weekly.