Professional profile – Isabelle Merlin

http://isabelle.merlin.googlepages.com

How did you get started working as a writer of cross-platform writing and marketing?

I started because the particular project I was working on, the novel Three Wishes, has a strong Internet element which is actually part of the story. The narrator and main character, Rose, starts a blog for an English assignment and rather than just say in the novel that she has a blog and include extracts from a pretend blog (which has been done before), I decided to create a real blog entirely in Rose’s persona, which readers could turn to when they’re reading the book You get a more expanded sense of Rose as a person through reading her blog and looking at the photos she puts up. You also get a sense of her friends, because they comment on her posts (I created email addresses for them, web identities, so it would be just like real comments). In the book you only get a glimpse into her friends because Rose leaves Australia in the first couple of chapters to go to France – but the blog really expands them. As well, there’s a mysterious commenter who pops up, called Koschei, who is a very important strand in the story. Eventually you learn Koschei has a blog too – a very sinister one. It's also a real one.

I wrote the blogs in realtime so that they fitted in exactly with the events in the book. I don't reveal major plot things in the blogs, only hints. But there are also links to places Rose visits like the hotel she stays at in Paris and a big glamorous department store she goes to, which expand the setting as well. The blogs have been very successful in expanding the story with the stat counter I have installed showing a large number of hits. So clearly readers are interacting with the story/Internet element very well. The blog addresses incidentally are [http://fairychild3wishes.blogspot.com] and [http://koscheithedread.blogspot.com].

Each Isabelle Merlin novel will have that cross-media aspect: Pop Princess, which comes out in February, is linked to the Bebo band page of Sepajamax, the band depicted in the book. The song Underworld, which Lucie the narrator and main character writes, is actually uploaded onto the page (I wrote the words; the music and recording were done by a group of young musicians I know). The band page and song will be linked to the book and flagged in the book itself. The address is [www.bebo.com/sepajamax].

The third Isabelle Merlin Dream book, which I've just finished, has a dream interpretation website, called The Case of Dreaming Holmes, which once again, I created. It also links in tightly to the book. The address is [http://dreamingholmes.googlepages.com].
 
In the future I’m also planning to link in books with YouTube, Picasa web albums and more. I use the web to market the books: I have a YouTube channel [www.youtube.com/isabellemerlin] on to which I've uploaded a trailer for Three Wishes (which I'll also do for Pop Princess). As well, I have a website on GooglePages, with author information, books, links, etc. at: [http://isabelle.merlin.googlepages.com], a Bebo page and a Facebook page. The Bebo page in particular has meant some good interaction with young readers [www.bebo.com/isabellemerlin].
 
All this is really possible these days because the Web is so easy to use – everything has been simplified and refined, so anyone with a bit of imagination and a minimum of knowledge (or at least the willingness to learn) can easily put something together.

What is different about writing for stories across multiple-media platforms?

What’s different about it is that you can really expand that ‘suspension of disbelief’ thing – the book appears to live beyond the pages, it has a presence in the Web world too, and not just as a marketed thing. The characters feel even more real, because of that presence on the Web. I had experience already with blogs myself – I've been a reader and also an occasional writer of blogs for a few years, so the whole format was familiar to me. But writing Rose’s blog like this was spooky and made me feel as though at any moment I might get an email from her or one of her friends! Whenever I write, I enter into the world of the story I’m creating – I feel as though it's really happening – but this really sharpened and deepened the experience for me. And certainly the way readers are responding suggests they feel the same.

What skills suit such writing?

I think it's more a matter of qualities, rather than skills: obviously you need some computer/Internet skills but they don't have to be that great. What you need is firstly a willingness to take risks and a sense of adventure; secondly a certain agility of mind; thirdly to never lose sight of traditional narrative skills in your enthusiasm for the new media; and lastly to think carefully about the way in which you use cross-media; it shouldn't just be a gimmick but a real integral part of the project. You need to be flexible, not be put off by the extra work involved and be prepared to argue your case! And most importantly of all, you need imagination in order to push beyond the boundaries of what has always been done.

How have your publisher(s) responded to your cross-platform writing and marketing efforts?

Extremely well and very supportively. They got the idea straight away. They loved the blog idea and they’ve also loved my trailer (which they actually used as part of their own marketing strategy, playing it at conferences and so on as well as making it available to booksellers). In my experience, publishers are open to ideas like this –especially if it doesn't actually involve money being sunk into it!

As a small part of online marketing, I’ve sent out a few emails to online journals (especially those specialising in young people’s literature) in the persona of Rose, from her own email address! It worked well and people were really tickled by the notion of a character spruiking the book!

How do you stay current (professional development, networking)?

I read a lot of stuff online, I keep up with what Google is doing, for instance, I read some Web newsletters and I look at a lot of different things online. I use a good many Web tools but also basic movie-making ones, as well.

What is a valuable thing you discovered whilst working on a cross-platform project that you didn’t know before?

Well, I think I discovered that working in cross-media formats can really work! I was instinctively sure it would but it was great to have that backed up by real solid experience and facts.

What would you say to a writer who is considering the use of new media and/or cross-platform formats?

Go for it! You are only limited by your imagination and sense of adventure. New media isn’t the enemy of creativity as so many people seem to fear it is, but its an ally and even a close friend. 

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