150,000 Autographs

2011-07-27 · announcement · John, Daniel Biss · 3:30 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Books & writing (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: Announcements · tags: self promotion, guest or collab, community lore

John announces that Penguin moved The Fault in Our Stars forward to January 10, 2012 thanks to Nerdfighters' pre-orders, and promises to sign all 150,000 first-printing copies (2,000 a day for 75 days, per Daniel Biss); he adds the Sharpie-colour poll result and that VidCon 2012 will be at the Anaheim Convention Center.

What is said

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

00:00:00 — Greeting; VidCon starts tomorrow; a clone of John signing books in the frame

• ★★ John says VidCon starts tomorrow and he has many exciting announcements. — 00:00:01 · VidCon

00:00:17 — Penguin moves The Fault in Our Stars to January 10, 2012 because of Nerdfighters' pre-orders

• ★★★ John announces Penguin has moved The Fault in Our Stars forward five months, from May 1 to January 10, 2012. — 00:00:17 · The Fault in Our Stars, Penguin Books
• ★★★ John says Penguin told him it had watched the comments and Nerdfighters wanted the book before May, and credits their 'hardcore pre-ordering' for the earlier date. — 00:00:28 · Penguin Books, Nerdfighteria, The Fault in Our Stars

00:00:48 — Agreeing to sign every first-printing copy; the Yeti's thermometer to 150,000 books

• ★★★ John notes he has agreed to autograph every copy of the first printing of The Fault in Our Stars; the Yeti made him a thermometer to chart his progress to 150,000 books. — 00:00:48 · The Fault in Our Stars, Sarah Urist Green

00:01:08 — Never underestimate Nerdfighters: P4A money, Billboard, Haiti airplanes, Helen Hunt

• ★★ John says Nerdfighters raised $150,000 in 48 hours during the Project for Awesome. — 00:01:08 · Nerdfighteria, Project for Awesome
• ★★ John lists other Nerdfighter feats: getting Hank's album on the Billboard charts, chartering airplanes of medical supplies to Haiti, and getting Helen Hunt to hear the Helen Hunt song. — 00:01:15 · Nerdfighteria

00:01:29 — A Nerdfighter's blog said he couldn't sign 70,000 in 180 days; Daniel Biss does the math: 2,000 a day for 75 days

• ★★ John says a Nerdfighter guessed on her blog he would have to sign 70,000 books in about 180 days and couldn't; he must sign twice as many in half the time and says he will. — 00:01:29 · Nerdfighteria, The Fault in Our Stars
• ★★ Daniel Biss, called in as 'Brotherhood 2.0 resident mathematician', works out that signing 150,000 copies means 2,000 books a day. — 00:01:54 · Daniel Biss, Brotherhood 2.0
• ★★ John says 2,000 books is not a lot for one day but a lot to do 75 days in a row. — 00:02:00

00:02:06 — How the signed pages get bound; Nerdfighter cover designs; the J-Scribble signature; why he wants to sign; all pre-orders worldwide will be signed

• ★★ John explains the boxes hold 150,000 pages he signs, which go to Pennsylvania to be bound into the book with a cover that doesn't exist yet; he shows Nerdfighter-designed covers. — 00:02:06 · The Fault in Our Stars, Nerdfighteria
• ★ John says his signature, 'like my rap name', is J-Scribble and relatively straightforward, and shows the first sheet he signed. (playful) — 00:02:23
• ★★ John says he really wants to sign all the books because he likes the idea of signed books going into awesome Nerdfighter homes, like puppies adopted by awesome people. — 00:02:34 · nerdfightastic

• ★★★ John announces that all pre-orders of The Fault in Our Stars, wherever buyers live (the US, the UK, Canada, Malaysia), will be signed, and promises to get it done. — 00:02:45 · The Fault in Our Stars, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  “I promise, I'm gonna get it done!”

00:03:01 — Sharpie colour poll on Your Pants: green won, colours split like a German federal parliament

• ★★ John reports Nerdfighters voted in a Your Pants poll on his Sharpie colour; green won, but rejecting winner-take-all he will split colours like a German federal parliament (40% green, 20% purple). (playful) — 00:03:01 · Sharpie, Nerdfighteria

00:03:18 — VidCon 2012 at the Anaheim Convention Center; sign up at VidCon.com; sign-off

• ★★★ John announces next year's (2012) VidCon will be at the Anaheim Convention Center, and invites viewers to sign up at VidCon.com for news even if they can't come this year (2011). — 00:03:18 · VidCon

Humor (significant)

• John finds a clone of himself signing books in the frame and orders him out. — 00:00:07

  “You can't live with them, and you can't sign a crap ton of books without them.”

• Listing Nerdfighters' achievements, John recalls their Helen Hunt campaign for Hank. — 00:01:21

  “people who got Helen Hunt to hear the Helen Hunt song and threaten you with a restraining order,”

• John explains why signing 150,000 sheets is feasible. — 00:02:23

  “My signature, like my rap name is J-Scribble,”

• Green won the Nerdfighters' Sharpie-colour poll, but John doesn't believe in winner-take-all. — 00:03:10

  “so I'm gonna do it like a German federal parliament,”

Threads in this video

• announced · The Fault in Our Stars: writing, title and publication (2011) — Penguin moves the publication of The Fault in Our Stars forward five months, from May 1 to January 10, 2012. (00:00:17)
• thanks · John points viewers to pre-order The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — John thanks Nerdfighters, whose hardcore pre-ordering led Penguin to publish five months earlier. (00:00:40)
• callback · Hank's crush on Helen Hunt (2007) — John recalls Nerdfighters getting Helen Hunt to hear the Helen Hunt song and 'threaten' Hank with a restraining order. (00:01:21)
• progress update · John: sign every copy of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — John restates his agreement to sign every first-printing copy of The Fault in Our Stars: 150,000 sheets (about 2,000 a day for 75 days, per Daniel Biss); all pre-orders, wherever buyers live, will be signed, and he promises to get it done. (00:01:37)
• reminder · John points viewers to pre-order The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — Right after promising signed pre-orders, John points viewers to the pre-order links in the doobly-doo (the description links B&N, Indiebound and Amazon). (00:02:54)
• result reported · Nerdfighters are asked to vote in a Your Pants poll on the Sharpie colour for John's signatures of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — Nerdfighters voted in a Your Pants poll on John's Sharpie colour; green won, but John will split colours proportionally. (00:03:01)
• announced · VidCon 2012 edition — John announces next year's (2012) VidCon will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center. (00:03:18)
• asked · John invites viewers to sign up at VidCon.com for news of VidCon 2012 (2011) — John invites viewers, even those who can't attend this year's (2011) VidCon, to sign up at VidCon.com to find out more about next year (2012). (00:03:22)
• result reported · John asks Nerdfighters to prove Helen Hunt has seen Hank's song about her (2008) — John lists other Nerdfighter feats: getting Hank's album on the Billboard charts, chartering airplanes of medical supplies to Haiti, and getting Helen Hunt to hear the Helen Hunt song. (00:01:15)
• looked back · The Harry Potter Alliance's Helping Haiti Heal raffle (2010) — John lists other Nerdfighter feats: getting Hank's album on the Billboard charts, chartering airplanes of medical supplies to Haiti, and getting Helen Hunt to hear the Helen Hunt song. (00:01:15)
• result reported · John asks viewers to buy a physical copy of Ellen Hardcastle to get a ten-word Hank video (2011) — John lists other Nerdfighter feats: getting Hank's album on the Billboard charts, chartering airplanes of medical supplies to Haiti, and getting Helen Hunt to hear the Helen Hunt song. (00:01:15)
• looked back · Hank's album Ellen Hardcastle: release (2011) — John lists other Nerdfighter feats: getting Hank's album on the Billboard charts, chartering airplanes of medical supplies to Haiti, and getting Helen Hunt to hear the Helen Hunt song. (00:01:15)

Where the stories that moved here went next

• Nerdfighters are asked to vote in a Your Pants poll on the Sharpie colour for John's signatures of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — reported back; last: result reported, 2011-07-27
• John asks viewers to buy a physical copy of Ellen Hardcastle to get a ten-word Hank video (2011) — promotion (not a request); last: result reported, 2011-07-27
• John asks Nerdfighters to prove Helen Hunt has seen Hank's song about her (2008) — reported back; last: result reported, 2014-07-18
• John: sign every copy of The Fault in Our Stars (2011) — kept; last: recalled, 2024-12-31
• VidCon 2012 edition — completed; last: looked back, 2013-04-12
• The Fault in Our Stars: writing, title and publication (2011) — completed; last: looked back, 2026-09-22

Mentioned

Central: The Fault in Our Stars

Also: People: Daniel Biss · Helen Hunt (actor) · Sarah Urist Green

Projects: Brotherhood 2.0 · Project for Awesome · VidCon · Your Pants

Works: Ellen Hardcastle · Helen Hunt (song)

Organizations: Billboard · Bundestag · Penguin Books

Terms: doobly-doo · nerdfightastic

Places: Anaheim Convention Center · Canada · Haiti · Malaysia · Pennsylvania · United Kingdom · United States

Products: Sharpie

← Previous: I Am Not a P#$$Y - this video contains mild swear words. · Next → I Love My Brother