Harry Potter: Teasers

The first review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has hit the press fans.

Awarding the film only 3 out of 5 stars, Leo Lewis wrote that "The fifth - and longest - book on which the film is based plays a crucial but faintly turgid role in the saga. Much is explained, much is left hanging and there is nothing like the pace of action that readers had grown accustomed to in earlier episodes (especially The Goblet of Fire). The book pulled this off because it was tantalising in what it didn’t tell us. The film, meanwhile, a necessary digest of the 800-page book, leaves us faintly annoyed that the true denouement of the cycle is now two movies distant."

In his review, Lewis highlights an essential element of serialized fiction: the teaser. In magazines and newspapers, for example, front pages are not uncommonly littered with lines like "Who's the hottest hunk in Hollywood? See page 12." The purpose of these teasers is to, well, "tease" readers so that they delve deeper into the publication. As a novelist, you have to give readers a reason to continue from Book One to Book Two. Readers want to be intrigued. They want to be teased.

Scholastic, Potter's American publisher, has been tease-crazy over the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Their marketing campaign has rallied behind questions like "Is Snape evil? See Book Seven." "Who will live? Who will die? See Book Seven." "Will Voldemort be defeated? See Book Seven."

In short, see Book Seven.

Millions of fans are waiting to do just that. A month ago, more than 1,000,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had already been pre-ordered on Amazon.com.

Of course, marketing hooks like those in Scholastic's playbook rely on good storytelling. With so many conflicts awaiting resolution in the Harry Potter story, readers are kept in suspense, and they wait eagerly for July 21, when all of J.K. Rowling's secrets will be revealed.

Save your secrets. Tease your readers. It makes for good fiction and even better marketing.