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Post by Dante on Jun 26, 2012 10:49:05 GMT -5
We've been speculating about websites associated with ATWQ for quite a while now, and we're just starting to get some information on what those websites will be and what they will contain. So this is a thread I've started to contain speculation on the subject, and which will possibly turn into a full discussion thread when any such websites open. At the very least it will keep our eyes open. So. While we've been pointed to LSATWQ.com ourselves, that address just redirects to a sub-site on the Hachette Book Group's website. What we're increasingly finding with recently-acquired promotional materials is that the web address now being pushed privately is LemonySnicketLibrary.com - which redirects to the same site as LSATWQ.com, for now. Update: LemonySnicketLibrary is now up, and LSATWQ.com redirects to it. I looked up the domain information and discovered four potential web addresses that Hachette have registered - the first two don't work, the second two are the ones I describe above. allthewrongquestionsseries.comlemonysnicketbooks.com lemonysnicketlibrary.comlsatwq.comYour guess is as good as mine whether they'll all eventually redirect to the same place; to a certain extent Hachette is probably just covering all their bases in case of domain squatters or Snicket-related searches. Edit: Hachette's Snicketmail archive: us4.campaign-archive1.com/home/?u=d1246bfae23ba28682549471c&id=d7502bf7a7Note: Egmont have registered the following: allthewrongquestions.comAdditionally, what content will be on that website? Well, Antenora's uploads show that LemonySnicketLibrary is planned to have an "interactive map, character guide, game, and more." So our speculation that the websites should get far more exciting seems to be correct. But isn't it strange that they're plugging all this when the website still just shows a sign-up folder? The publicity guide seems to indicate that the full website should have launched in May, last month - as a reminder, the sign-up folder has been up since at least late January. Edit: Here's an idea. The rate of delivery of the Snicketmail hints has dropped off ever since the beginning of May - from roughly once a week to every two or three weeks. What if there was meant to be more content to tide us over during that time - or, they had to extend the e-mail campaign because the website wasn't ready yet? This may even explain the change in e-mail styles - the WH questions were meant to be more conclusive! Continue your speculations and discussions - and keep a hawk-like eye on these domain names...
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Post by B. on Jun 26, 2012 12:04:40 GMT -5
I'm assuming that the publicity brochure was done in March, as it is listed then. The cover release is also under March- something which, as far as we know, wasn't originally intended.
As you said above, more than likely they just weren't ready to open the website publicly yet, but the fact that they are directing people to "LemonySnicketLibrary.com" instead of LSATWQ.com in a leaflet released at a largely public event in June hopefully indicates there will be a website coming soon.
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Post by Christmas Chief on Jun 26, 2012 12:34:41 GMT -5
The publicity schedule affirms LB was definitely planning on opening a full website in May, but something prevented them from doing so. Was it a lack of ready content? A rearrangement in events? A technical error? Given Dante's observation concerning the decline in Snicketmail, I would suppose the latter. But the fact they continued the mail - would they have continued even if the website had been launched? I doubt it, except to perhaps remind fans when something new is posted on the official site. Is it therefore possible the material we've been getting post-May was originally intended for the website?
But as for the multiple domains, I agree they're probably there just to cover all bases. The biggest risk here (for LB) is people confusing the ATWQ stuff with LemonySnicket.com, and being frustrated at not finding the promised material. (Not that they'd find it at this point, anyway. Does this classify as false advertising?)
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Post by Johanna on Jun 26, 2012 16:53:49 GMT -5
What puzzles me most is how, roughly five months since the series was first announced, there is absolutely no information whatsoever about All the Wrong Questions on Lemony Snicket's official site. What I really wanted was a site like the Nameless Novel - one that let you take daily notes and solve clues while simultaneously giving new information.
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Post by Hermes on Jun 26, 2012 17:38:47 GMT -5
lemonysnicket.com is run by HarperCollins, so it won't tell us about the new series, which is published by Little Brown.
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Post by Poe's Coats Host Toast on Jun 26, 2012 19:45:16 GMT -5
Yeah, but Little Brown could've also started something like a Nameless Novel site, which I loved. Though I still have hopes and do think that lemonysnicketlibrary.com or lsatwq.com will have some really exciting content. Also, why don't you join 667, Johanna?
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johanna
Bewildered Beginner
Posts: 7
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Post by johanna on Jun 26, 2012 20:44:01 GMT -5
I didn't make the connection between Little Brown and Harper Collins. Though it's technically also Lemony Snicket's site, who is the author of both. And thanks Terry Craig! As you can see, I did join ;D
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Post by Poe's Coats Host Toast on Jun 27, 2012 0:58:59 GMT -5
Well done, Johanna! This is a fine forum, and there'll be plenty of stuff to talk about in the near future with the website first, and then the books coming our way.
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Post by Dante on Jun 27, 2012 2:18:50 GMT -5
Welcome, johanna.
I think it's evident that Little, Brown / Hachette did mean for there to be a website by now. Given how heavily they're promoting the series in non-digital space, including a prominent web address, it's very surprising that there's no detailed web contact to authorise that information. We'd found this situation very curious anyway, and increasingly so by the day, and given the new information we've just received I'm sure something must have gone wrong for them behind the scenes. The website features mentioned in the publicity guide sound - well, not exactly Nameless-Novel-ish, but more than exciting enough to keep us busy for a while, and to attract curious readers.
As for LemonySnicket.com, I imagine that Snicket's transfer between publishers does problematise any potential link there; of course HarperCollins isn't going to spend any money on advertising somebody else's series, even if they clearly fully intend to benefit from Snicket's raised profile (and even if they're the Canadian publishers of the series - I would imagine LemonySnicket.com to be operated by their American partners). That's an awkward situation and I don't think there's likely to be any resolution to it, and this is probably why LBC are trying to push a web address which also happens to have "Lemony Snicket" in it, to avoid people confusing it with HarperCollins. I wonder if that's caused a conflict, though? Although it's also true that they have officially been pushing two completely different web addresses, and again, that's strange.
Replacing a series-specific abbreviation with an author-specific one that doesn't mention the series... no real web advertising from either the Canadian, American, or British publishers... what the heck are they all playing at? I should point out that Snicket as an author isn't listed on Little, Brown's website at all (although he is on their parent company, Hachette), and there's no mention of ATWQ on Egmont.co.uk or UnfortunateEvents.com.
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johanna
Bewildered Beginner
Posts: 7
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Post by johanna on Jun 27, 2012 14:10:49 GMT -5
Great points, Dante. Something probably did go wrong behind the scenes - which also explains why we're getting slightly fewer emails now. But still, that brochure did promise a fun and interactive website - it's probably undergoing beta testing or something similar. And also - to be a successful series, Snicket's publishers will want the word to go far and wide about ATWQ. It makes financial sense for them to hook us - and newcomers - on an interesting website.
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Post by Dante on Jun 27, 2012 15:20:22 GMT -5
Absolutely. I am sure there will be one, but all we can really do is wait, and check some of those URLs occasionally, even though we'll probably get advance warning.
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Post by B. on Jun 27, 2012 15:26:49 GMT -5
Yes, I imagine they would try to notify as many people who'd signed up to Snicket mail as possible, similar to what they did with the Drop Everything promotion.
The publicity schedule describes the website as having an "interactive map, character guide, game and more" but whether this would tell us anything we don't already know from the first two chapters seems rather unlikely. I can't really think of how an interactive map would be used, but perhaps in May they already planned to let on that the town was called Stain'd by the Sea. I assume they meant a map of the town with locations such as the ink factory and the Lost Arms, but that seems a lot of information to release so long before the publishing date.
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Post by Dante on Jun 27, 2012 15:31:26 GMT -5
Not necessarily... they can tell us a little bit about a few places, but that's not the same as revealing what happens there or what their secrets are. I imagine it just laying out whereabouts the many locations of Stain'd are to help us develop a mental image.
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Post by B. on Jun 27, 2012 16:29:11 GMT -5
Then it may well be the same with the character profiles they were planning on providing. S. Theodora Markson, Lemony and hopefully Ellington Feint are three people that are most likely to be on that list.
I can't really think of what the game could consist of. I imagine it would have to be fairly vague to the plot of the story- but then what do they mean by game? Something like the arcade on unfortunateevents.com, or a hunt for clues to reveal important information, like a scaled down version of thenamelessnovel.com?
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Post by Poe's Coats Host Toast on Jun 27, 2012 18:16:54 GMT -5
I really hope for the "Hunt for Clues" type of game. I don't know, the arcade games are OK, but kind of cheap. More like "website fillers," than something to get people hyped about the upcoming books. They don't even need to reveal that much about the actual plot in the book, but information that is linked to the plot, that we're going to understand better once we read the book(s). Now that would make sense for a promotion.
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