Paper Towns in Paperback: A How-to Guide

2009-09-22 · announcement · John · 3:36 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing · mode: Announcements · tags: self promotion, community lore, timely hook, on location

On the day Paper Towns comes out in paperback, John thanks Hank and Nerdfighters for the book's year (bestseller list, tour, foreign editions, screenplay, Edgar Award) and jokingly demonstrates how to buy the $9.99 paperback, with a Nerdfighter note, at a bookstore.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Paperback release day; the year since the hardcover, when Hank and Nerdfighters changed John's life

★★★ John announces that Paper Towns comes out in paperback today, Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009. — 00:00:00 · Paper Towns
★★★ John says that looking back on the year since the hardcover, he will remember it as the year Hank and the Nerdfighters changed his life. — 00:00:00 · Hank Green, Nerdfighteria
★★ John credits their commitment and organization with putting Paper Towns on the New York Times bestseller list, thanks them for gifts, and says the tour let him meet Nerdfighters. — 00:00:00 · The New York Times, Tour de Nerdfighting, Nerdfighteria, Paper Towns

00:00:47 — Paper Towns' year: foreign editions, screenplay, Edgar Award; thanks for reading and cover cakes

★★★ John says Paper Towns is coming out in many countries and won the Edgar Award, and that none of it would have happened without Nerdfighters. — 00:00:47 · Paper Towns, Nerdfighteria
★★★ John says he is writing a screenplay for the people who made Juno, and at the end leaves to work on the Paper Towns screenplay. — 00:00:47 · Paper Towns
★★ John thanks Nerdfighters for reading Paper Towns, giving it to friends and making cakes of the paperback cover. — 00:00:47 · Nerdfighteria, Paper Towns

00:01:16 — Covers, the $9.99 price, how to buy, 10-word challenge copies, Nerdfighter notes

★ John says cover changes make him nervous, but he likes the Paper Towns paperback cover, and a Nerdfighter picture won him over to the Abundance of Katherines paperback cover. — 00:01:16 · An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns
★★ John says Paper Towns used to cost about $18 and the paperback costs $9.99. — 00:01:16 · Paper Towns
★★★ John tells viewers to buy the paperback via the sidebar link or at any bookstore in America, and to ask a bookseller to order it if it is not in stock. — 00:01:45 · Paper Towns, link in the sidebar
★★ John says he needs 15 copies of the paperback by Friday (25 September 2009), when he will announce the winners of the 10-word challenge contest. — 00:01:45 · 10-word challenge
★★ John suggests writing a Nerdfighter note, a note slipped into copies of his books telling readers they may be a nerdfighter and pointing to nerdfighters.com. (hedged) — 00:01:45 · nerdfighters.com

00:02:24 — Writing a Nerdfighter note and buying the paperback at an Indianapolis bookstore

★ John goes to a children's bookstore in Indianapolis to buy a copy of the paperback, signing the one he buys. — 00:02:24 · Indianapolis

00:03:07 — Ask a bookseller to order it; off to the screenplay; congratulations to the book's editor

★ John congratulates Paper Towns' editor Julie Strauss-Gabel on the birth of her daughter. — 00:03:07 · Julie Strauss-Gabel, Paper Towns

Humor (significant)

Willy got a haircut for the paperback release; John says he needs a copy himself, since what he is holding is not one. — 00:00:00

“this is not a paperback. It's just a piece of paper.”
John tells Nerdfighters none of the book's success would have happened without them. — 00:00:47

“Well, actually, I might have still won the Edgar”
John imagines viewers not wanting to spend $10 on a book. — 00:01:45

“I'm not asking you to spend $10. I'm asking you to spend $9.99. plus applicable sales tax.”
John dictates a sample Nerdfighter note ending with your name. — 00:02:24

“Only you don't write your name. You write, like, whatever your name is.”

Threads in this video

outcome · Paper Towns paperback release (2009) — John announces the Paper Towns paperback comes out today. (00:00:00)
looked back · Tour de Nerdfighting 2008 edition — John looks back on the tour, crediting it with letting him meet many Nerdfighters and talk about Paper Towns. (00:00:00)
update · John writes the Paper Towns screenplay (2008) — John says he is writing a screenplay for the people who made Juno, and at the end goes to work on the Paper Towns screenplay. (00:00:47)
reminder · John asks viewers to buy the Paper Towns paperback (2009) — John asks viewers who haven't read Paper Towns to buy the paperback online or at any bookstore. (00:01:45)
promised · John: announce the 10-word challenge contest winners on Friday (2009) — John says he will announce the 10-word challenge contest winners on Friday, for which he needs 15 paperbacks. (00:01:45)
looked back · An Abundance of Katherines paperback release (2008) — John says cover changes make him nervous, but he likes the Paper Towns paperback cover, and a Nerdfighter picture won him over to the Abundance of Katherines paperback cover. (00:01:16)
reminder · John asks viewers to leave 10-word comments on YouTube or the Ning to win Paper Towns paperbacks (2009) — John says he needs 15 copies of the paperback by Friday (25 September 2009), when he will announce the winners of the 10-word challenge contest. (00:01:45)

Where the stories that moved here went next

John: announce the 10-word challenge contest winners on Friday (2009) — kept late
John writes the Paper Towns screenplay (2008) — told 3×, last update 2015; last: retold, 2015-04-28

Mentioned

Central: Paper Towns

Also: People: Julie Strauss-Gabel

Projects: 10-word challenge · nerdfighters.com · Tour de Nerdfighting

Works: An Abundance of Katherines · Juno

Organizations: Edgar Award · Kids Ink · The New York Times

Rituals: Nerdfighter note

Terms: link in the sidebar

Places: Indianapolis

Products: Playmobil

animal: Willy

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