Fans online and, perhaps, at bookstores - Chron.com
The result is "Galactic Hot Dogs," his new book about a boy who battles giant mutant worms and zombie space pirates with his sidekicks: a robot, a rebellious princess and a lumbering alien. Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, bought "Galactic Hot Dogs" in a seven-figure, three-book deal. The company is printing 500,000 copies and began promoting the book more than a year ago. Simon & Schuster has solid reasons to be bullish about "Galactic Hot Dogs. com, a popular gaming website for children that has been an incubator for some of the biggest blockbusters in children's book publishing. Jeff Kinney 's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series began as a free book on Funbrain in 2004 and now has more than 150 million copies in print globally. "Dork Diaries," a middle-grade series by Rachel Renée Russell , experienced improved sales through a story-based interactive game on Funbrain's sister site, Poptropica, and now has more than 20 million copies in print. "We've seen this model work before," said Mara Anastas , vice president and publisher of the children's imprints Simon Pulse and Aladdin Books. Simon & Schuster, which has plowed millions into acquiring and marketing "Galactic Hot Dogs," is making a risky bet that a healthy slice of the book's online audience will seek it out in bookstores. Source: www.chron.com
