Ted Saves the World Blog Tour and Giveaway

Blog Tour: Bryan Cohen - Ted Saves the World

Description of Ted Saves the World (Available for just $0.99):

A possessed cheerleader. A cursed gang of criminals. Mysterious telekinetic powers. An angry ex-girlfriend in gym class? One second, sophomore in high school Ted endures his first breakup in his favorite place in town. The next, a mysterious blue light turns him into a worldwide superhero sensation for taking down a posse of grisly murderers. As his views on YouTube increase and his friend Dhiraj tries to capitalize on the marketing potential, his dangers increase as well when a presumed-dead cheerleader begins taking a personal interest. Can Ted survive his first week as a superhero in the public eye? This novella is the first taste in a series of full-length novels about the adventures of Ted Finley and Erica LaPlante. The book is also available on Barnes & Noble and Smashwords for $0.99.

Guest Post:
Knowing Your Audience
By Bryan Cohen

Some time around fifth and sixth grade, me and several other students from my class went to a kindergarten classroom and created picture books that we read aloud to the wee ones during story time. When the class sent us a thank you letter, they mentioned my book, the tale of a radioactive puppy, first and foremost. I didn't realize it back then, but one of the reasons they enjoyed it is because I have a good sense of what an audience will enjoy.

For most of the last decade, I have used this ability on stage as an actor and an improvisational comedian. I have loved my time as the latter, since you literally have free reign of what characters and situations you can present to an adoring public.

When I worked on my first fiction book, Ted Saves the World, I considered my audience carefully. I didn't want to make the story too complex, because I wanted anyone from middle school to grad school to be able to pick it up without getting too bogged down in mythology and philosophy. Likewise, I wanted to use a style of humor that was readily accessible to everybody without being too dependant on pop culture or historical references. I realize that not everybody is into superheroes or butt-kicking cheerleaders, but I figure that most people I know and that I've performed for would eat that kind of stuff up.

I once heard writer and show runner Joss Whedon say something that really stuck with me. "I don't write things I want people to like. I write things I want them to love." After hearing this, I knew I couldn't just write something for the hell of it. I needed to put something together that people could really get behind. Sure, I'd love it if my books started selling like hot cakes and I could concentrate completely on my writing by virtue of the high sales. That'd be amazing, but it's not my goal. My goal is to write a book that will thoroughly entertain people from beginning to end. I hope that Ted Saves the World fits the bill and that you love it as much as I loved writing it.

--

Giveaway Alert!!

Bryan Cohen is giving away four $25 Amazon gift cards, one for each week of his month long blog tour. To enter, simply comment with your e-mail address (feel free to substitute @ with (at) or other tricks to stop spammers from getting it). Bryan will draw the four names at the end of the tour, picking one entrant at random from each week’s set of blog posts. Entries will be counted through Monday, August 15th, 2011. Enter on as many sites as you want, follow the tour at Build Creative Writing Ideas. If Ted reaches the Top 100 on Amazon at any point during the tour, a fifth $25 card will be added to the giveaway.

Bryan Cohen is a writer, actor and comedian from Dresher, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 with degrees in English and Dramatic Art and a minor in Creative Writing. He has written seven books including 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More. Contact Bryan through his Ted Saves the World blog, his Build Creative Writing Ideas site or Twitter.