Deport Justin Bieber – Young Adult Authors Cannot Do This

You’ve probably heard the White House website has a petition area where people can post just about any petition, and if it gets enough responses, they have to officially answer it. A funny example was from 2012, when petitioners asked the government to build a Death Star, like from Star Wars. They had to answer it. A more serious one was for the legalization of cell phone unlocking.

public domain 

A current one is for the deportation of Canadian pop star Justin Bieber. I signed it. Unfortunately if you’re a Young Adult author, you can’t afford to do this. Or at least not admit to it online.

You might say, “My audience is too intelligent to scream over Justin Bieber.” Think again. Or suppose that twenty percent of your readership likes the Biebs. You can’t afford to lose that twenty percent.

This reminds me of how a new author was interviewed on TV. He said his novel was like a Michael Crichton novel, only with good characters. I happen to like the characters in the couple of novels by him I’ve read. More to the point, the average viewer would associate Michael Crichton with the Jurassic Park movies, which they like, and not know what this guy’s problem was. So don’t introduce yourself by being negative—to your potential audience.

And don’t introduce your vampire story by saying, “At least my vampires don’t glitter.” Don’t do that.