Flashback: Soaps & Serials 1986

THEY'VE SEEN THOSE TV SOAP OPERAS, BUT WILL THEY BUY A BOOK VERSION? New England Business, September 1, 1986 Publisher Sydney R. Seltzer, chief executive officer of Pioneer Communications Network Inc. in Rocky Hill, Conn., compares book publishing to producing a Broadway show. A publisher may think he or she has a sure thing, but until the public jumps on the bandwagon there just isn't any guarantee. Indeed, publishing can be risky. But there are some formulas that are fairly sure to produce a success. Seltzer contends he has one. Rather than trying to develop markets for books that have already been written, Seltzer found a market, created a specific format for its books and then lined up authors to write them. Seltzer approaches books as "products' rather than literature. He calls the final product Soaps & Serials--a series of books based on television's soap operas. For $2.50, readers can purchase "Unspoken Desires,' "Love's Shattered Dreams,' or any of the six other paperbacks produced by Pioneer each month. Soap opera fans can read about the early days of their favorite shows. All of the juicy details are there--the illicit love affairs, the family feuds, the sudden tragedies. The covers of these soap sagas are illustrated with couples locked in passionate embraces, but the sexual content of the books wouldn't make your grandmother blush. 1 Pioneer's initial public offering was in December 1985, and full production began in May. Seltzer doesn't expect to garner the attention of all soap opera fans. But he maintains that if even a small portion of the 55 million people who watch at least one daytime or nighttime soap opera are interested in reading books based on their favorite shows, Pioneer will be a winner. "We tested for two years before we came into the market," says Seltzer. "We threw away a lot of manuscripts because we hadn't hit the right formula." Startup costs were high and the company ran into financial problems when Havens & Co., its original underwriter, went out of business just before Pioneer's prospectus was scheduled to go into printing. "It was a hell of a situation to be in after we spent all of that money,' says Seltzer, "but we knew we had a good idea." A few months after their original attempt fell through, Pioneer engaged Monmouth Investments Inc. of English-town, N.J., as its underwriter. Pioneer was only the second underwriting venture for Monmouth, but Seltzer says he went with a less-seasoned firm because it is difficult to find a major one to underwrite a company that hasn't even gone into production. Further, because Monmouth is a small firm, Seltzer figured it would devote more attention to Pioneer's underwriting than a larger firm might. Since the initial public offering of Pioneer Communications' 2.5 million units (which consist of one common share and warrants to buy two further shares), the issue has performed both boldly and wildly in the aftermarket. The issue went public at $1 per unit, and they have subsequently traded as high as $8 per unit. At presstime, the units were bid at $1.69. As many as 1 million units have changed hands in one day. WOULD THE FANS READ? Seltzer knew soap operas had large followings, but the major question was whether soap opera fans would want to read about their shows. Pioneer conducted marketing studies in an attempt to lessen its chances of failure. "So Tender, So True," a book based on the GUIDING LIGHT series, was tested in supermarkets in the Troy-Schenectady-Albany area of New York. The results were quite positive, says Seltzer. The target audience of Soaps & Serials is more likely to frequent supermarkets rather than bookstores. "We never thought of bookstores as a great marketplace for these books," says Seltzer. The books are now distributed to 22,000 supermarkets and drugstores nationwide and are in the bookstore chains, Walden Books and B. Dalton. "I'm not an expert on the soaps, but I do know how to put a paperback together," maintains Seltzer, who has spent more than 25 years in the publishing industry. Most of his experience is in publishing educational materials for children. In 1979, while visiting a New York television studio, Seltzer noticed three monitors, each showing a different soap opera. This first exposure to soap operas led to the idea of publishing soap novels. "It was like an electric lightbulb," he says. Seltzer had never seen a soap opera. Nonetheless, he figured a market must exist for books based on the shows. He studied the demographics of soap opera audiences and asked if anyone had ever produced a continuing series of novels based on soaps. He then queried the soap opera production companies about the licensing rights for publishing novelizations of their television shows. LICENSING RIGHTS It took two years for Pioneer to obtain licensing rights from Columbia Pictures Industries Inc., Procter & Gamble Productions Inc., the largest soap opera producer, and three other television production companies. Obtaining the licensing rights for the daytime soap operas was critical to Pioneer's success, says Seltzer. "I've got them all sewed up. There is no way anyone can compete with me." Most of the licensing companies require Pioneer to produce a minimum number of books. Procter & Gamble's agreement calls for at least one book a month for each soap opera. Further, all of the companies require that Pioneer submit all proposed plot outlines, completed manuscripts, cover art and other material for approval. "No one has been successful in the past with these kinds of books in the soap opera field," says Lester J. Borden, vice president of Columbia Pictures Merchandising in New York. But Borden contends Seltzer may have the right approach. "What he's done is put them at a low price" while mintaining good quality, he says, and displayed them in the supermarkets. The principals at Pioneer don't want to leave much to chance. They are using calculated strategies to attract and hold on to readers of soap opera novels. In addition to supermarket and bookstore sales, Seltzer plans to begin a book club next year for Pioneer's Soaps & Serials series along with soap opera clubs. Plan also are under way to market books based on several non-serial nighttime programs such as T.J. HOOKER and FAME and magazines based on FAME and the GIDGET television series. In May, the company launched the first installments of its series with paperback books based on eight soap operas: THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, ANOTHER WORLD, KNOTS LANDING, GUIDING LIGHT, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, DALLAS, CAPITOL and AS THE WORLD TURNS. Each book has a central plot and a subtle cliff-hanger subplot. The subplot then becomes the main plot in the next installment in each series. The soap publisher claims his books represent "a new genre" in publishing. Like many romance novels, Pioneer's books are formula written, but Seltzer says the important difference is that his books are based on something most people recognize and identify with, soap operas. Further, like soap operas, they are written with a continuing story line to entice readers to keep up with the series. Sylvia M. King, 33, of North Adams, Mass., says she doesn't read romance novels, but the idea of books based on soap operas appealed to her. When she saw the Soaps & Serials series, she bought two books based on her favorites--AS THE WORLD TURNS and GUIDING LIGHT. King has been an avid fan of GUIDING LIGHT for 23 years. "The books are well-written and move right along," she says. According to Seltzer, "The key is to write a good story. . . . This is not schlock material." The story editor of the series is Mary Ann Cooper, a nationally syndicated columnist who writes about soap operas. She uses the original television scripts to write outlines of each book, which are then completed by free-lance romance writers. The formula for these books specifies how they are written, even to the number of words. Each book is 192 pages in length with an average of 40,000 to 45,000 words. The $2.50 cover price is calculated to be competitive.

Jon Prescott Exits ATWT

1 A message from Jon Prescott (Mike, ATWT): Because of budget constraints on AS THE WORLD TURNS Mike Kasnoff will be leaving Oakdale at the end of August. I'd like to express my gratitude to the entire cast, crew, and production team who have made this an irreplaceable experience. I have been privileged to be a part ATWT and this concludes an invaluable education. Most importantly, thank you to the fans who have been energetic supporters of both Mike Kasnoff and the show as a whole. I view my departure as a positive step forward. Stay tuned as I share my next creative challenge with you shortly. Wishing you peace and power, Jon Prescott

DC #277: TV Guide Canada's Soap Power 2008: The Most Influential Players In Daytime

In the latest "Daytime Confidential" podcast, TV Guide Canada's Nelson Branco reveals his Soap Power 2008: The Most Influential Players In Daytime. 1

Martha Byrne on "BuzzWorthy Radio"

1Martha Byrne (ex-Lily, AS THE WORLD TURNS) was a guest on "BuzzWorthy Radio" today. She is an actor who truly understands the genre and offered a number of insights from her early days on the show under Robert Calhoun and Douglas Marland. She spoke about her upcoming film project producing a screenplay written by Paul Leyden (ex-Simon) and starring Paolo Seganti (ex-Damian). She is also going to publish some new songs on her website in the near future for fans. She mentioned that she keeps in touch with many of her former co-stars, and even wrote a song for Michael Park's recent birthday party that she sang to him.

EVENT: ATWT's Magnussen & AMC's Stause

Event: “Gifts of Love” AIDS Benefit Luncheon/Auction Beneficiary: AIDS Center of Queens County, Queens NY Hosts: Billy Magnussen (Casey Hughes) AS THE WORLD TURNS & Chrishell Stause (Amanda Dillon) ALL MY CHILDREN Date: Sunday, October 19, 2008 Location: Terrace On The Park, Flushing Meadow Park (Flushing, New York) Time: 12:00 pm — 4:00 pm Tickets: $100.00 (10 Available to have lunch with the Actor of Your choice at their table) General table seating: $75.00 Call: 718.896.2500 9 am — 5 pm for ticket sales and more information. Please specify if you want tickets for the Actor’s table and which actor you would like to have lunch with. Questions, please email Jeff at Jaj3854@aol.com Activities: Buffet Luncheon, Open Bar, Live Action, Silent Auction

Evening News

TV Guide Canada's Weekly "Nelson Ratings" 1 Nelson Branco reviews last week’s soaps, provides this week’s viewing cheat sheet, and names top-rated actors and shows. Deep Soap: Don't Believe The Hype Sara A. Bibel blogs on Friday's "Sudden Impact" on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: "I'm not criticizing Y&R. It was a solid Friday cliffhanger. I'm thrilled that things are happening on the show again. However, CBS's relentless hyping made the episode anti-climactic." PATRICK ERWIN: Audacious list (1 of 10) - A lack of diversity "Diversity on daytime, or the lack of it, is hardly a new conversation. OLTL is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and it was new and bold in 1968 specifically because it did have ethnic diversity (much more diversity, it should be noted, than the show has today)." Irish Pop Singer May Play Tehran As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice considers the latest remarks of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, there’s another sign of warming relations between Iran and the West. Reuters noticed a report from Iran’s semiofficial Press TV saying that Chris de Burgh, the Irish singer, was planning to perform in Tehran in November. While the gig itself remains an open question, we’re free to wonder what impact “Lady in Red,” Mr. de Burg’s biggest hit, may have on world affairs. If the song brought together Patch and Kayla on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, why not Iran and the West? EVENT: Soap Cruise to Set Sail on Celebrity Century Cruise enthusiasts who enjoy the intrigue, drama and romance of daytime TV's most popular soap operas - and the actors who star in them - are likely to find the vacation of their dreams in "Soap Cruise," which will be held on Celebrity Century in 2009. Hosting Soap Cruise will be Cameron Mathison, who plays "Ryan" on ALL MY CHILDREN, and has appeared on DANCING WITH THE STARS. Mathison will be joined on Celebrity Century by fellow All My Children actors Alicia Minshew ("Kendall"), Ricky Paull Goldin ("Jake") and Jacob Young ("J.R."); Austin Peck ("Brad") from AS THE WORLD TURNS; Brandon Beemer ("Owen") of The Bold and the Beautiful; Winsor Harmon ("Thorne") and Lesli Kay ("Felicia") of THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; Nadia Bjorlin ("Chloe") and Jay Johnson ("Philip") of DAYS OF OUR LIVES; Bradford Anderson ("Spinelli") and Greg Vaughn ("Lucky") from GENERAL HOSPITAL; Murray Bartlett ("Cyrus") of GUIDING LIGHT; Kamar de los Reyes ("Antonio") on ONE LIFE TO LIVE; and Don Diamont ("Brad") and Christian LeBlanc ("Michael") of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. WHERE ARE THEY NOW: AW, AMC and NS alum Alla Korot Hulu begins airing ANOTHER WORLD tomorrow from May 10, 1991. Those episodes feature Alla Korot, who was very popular as Felicia's adopted daughter, Jenna. Korot later went on to play Allie on ALL MY CHILDREN and starred in the first season of GH: NIGHT SHIFT. She is current shooting the Gruntworks Entertainment film, The Intruders, where she has the lead role. The film also stars Brody Hutzler (ex-Patrick, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) and Derrell Whitt (Lucas, SCRIPTS AND SCRUPLES). The film is directed by Gregori J. Martin who also directed my film, Manhattanites. Kelley Menighan Hensley's Pet Peeve: Arguing Everyone has pet peeves, and actress Kelley Menighan Hensley's involves her kids -- Sophie May, 9 ½, Spencer James, 6 ½, and Georgia "Gigi" Grace, 13 months. The AS THE WORLD TURNS star admits "my kids fighting and arguing over stupid stuff annoys me to no end," adding that she just "want[s] to take everything away and leave them with one book to play with." The fighting that Kelley's kids do just makes the 41-year-old realize that "our children are so overindulged -- and we've probably created it -- that I can't stand it." Bell parties with the Pritkzers A Chicago's Who Who (including B&B Producer/Writer Bradley Bell) trekked to Lake Geneva and Bristol, Wis., for a pair of extravagant bashes that long will have folks buzzing: M.K. and J.B. Pritzker's party toasting both her birthday and the couple's 15th wedding anniversary, and Chicago philanthropist and financial guru Richard Driehaus' annual party celebrating his birthday.

DAYS Backstage Turmoil

1 Nelson Branco of TV Guide Canada has provided additional details in his latest Suds Report on Dena Higley's exit as Headwriter for DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Meanwhile, Tom Casiello has written an interesting blog on the situation at DAYS: "Since I heard the first inklings Friday morning of this insanity, I've had a hard time focusing. Or sleeping. And the more I hear about it, the more people tell me, the more the pieces fall into place and I see where this is heading over the next weeks? The more I want to scream at the top of my lungs and put a fist through a wall. And yeah, I'll say that out loud, on a blog, to anyone who wants to hear it. I'm hurt, and I'm angry, and I'm really sad about what this means for Salem, a town I love as much as my hometown, as much as my current city of New York."

Big Pussy checks into GENERAL HOSPITAL

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Vincent "Big Pussy" Pastore is set to appear on GH this October as Maximus Giambetti, a big-time mobster who comes to Port Charles to deal with his two sons, Sonny's bodyguards Max (Derek Cheetwood) and Milo (Drew Cheetwood). (And yes, they're brothers in real life.) Pastore's Max hits town thinking his eldest is actually the local mob boss — an idea that his son may have helped foster — and is none too happy to find out about his sons' lowly status in the biz. You can definitely expect the storyline to have some humor mixed in, sources tell us. Pastore’s guest turn came about after he taped some promos (which start airing later this week) for GH, ABC, and SOAPnet as part of a campaign that jokingly gives people "permission" to watch soaps. Other stars in the campaign include Spice Girl Mel B. and actress Elizabeth Berkley.

REVIEW: GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT

REVIEW: Logo's SORDID LIVES When it comes to actors, you get what you pay for. With that in mind, the best part of the new Logo series SORDID LIVES: THE SERIES is its breathtaking cast that includes Olivia Newton-John, Rue McClanahan, Bonnie Bedelia, Caroline Rhea, and Leslie Jordan — even if, in the case of this labor-of-love project, most of this A-list talent apparently worked for far less than their usual fees. 1 German born actor Florian Klein joins the cast of GENERAL HOSPITAL GENERAL HOSPITAL, ABC’s longest-running Daytime soap opera, welcomes new arrival Florian Klein. The German native will make his debut on August 6th as a new, mysterious member of Port Charles’ Russian drug mafia. "I don’t speak a word of Russian," says Florian Klein, "But that’s why they call it Acting." He continues, "I have a dialect coach from Russia who helps me with the accent. Plus, Russian or German – we’re both used to playing the villains!" Florian, who was trained overseas and at the renowned HB studio in New York, just recently appeared in a Martini & Rossi commercial alongside George Clooney. "It was a pleasure working with someone like George. He’s so professional and just great." Soap stars hanging in Cherry Hill ALL MY CHILDREN actress Bobbie Eakes, and Kathy Brier and Kassie DePaiva, of ONE LIFE TO LIVE, have been at Cherry Hill's Four Star Studios of late rehearsing and recording sessions to prepare for their upcoming show "Divas of Daytime TV," which opens at the Canal Room in New York on Aug. 16. Ricky Paull Goldin, of ALL MY CHILDREN, hosts the live show, produced by Creative Entertainment's Mark Stevens of the Dovells and created by Marvin Segel, son of QVC founder Joe Segel. Canon U.S.A. XH G1 HD Camcorders help revolutionize the look of GL Satisfying the viewing public year after year requires many things from a television production organization, not the least of which is superior writing and acting talent. These days such efforts also include staying one step ahead of ever-evolving audience expectations. In today's era of reality television this means providing a "you are there" look that engages viewers as never before and reinforces the believability of the environments depicted onscreen. Guiding Light strategically enhanced its "look" earlier this year by becoming the first series of its kind to be filmed exclusively with small, hand-held, highly portable digital camcorders, which enable the show to be shot inside actual homes and offices, or on location practically anywhere. The camcorder chosen for this new production model was Canon's XH G1, which is engineered with the technology, features, and durability necessary for producing five daily one-hour shows each and every week for an audience of millions of dedicated viewers. "Our Canon XH G1 camcorders work great for us," noted GUIDING LIGHT director of production services Lou Grieci. "We do seven taping days a week over a five-day period; five days here in our Manhattan studio and two days in the field. We use a total of 18 Canon XH G1 camcorders and shoot 10- to 12-hour days, three cameras at a time, or four cameras out in the field. We produce 250 shows per year. We also have one Canon XL H1. We use its wide-angle lens for establishing shots." The key to GUIDING LIGHT's new production model of exclusively using compact, hand-held Canon camcorders is what Janet Morrison, the producer of the show's digital department, described as "Four walls and a ceiling." "No one else does that," she elaborated. "The concept of 'Four walls and a ceiling' is part of what we felt the show's new production model needed to be. Its purpose is to make the show more intimate for the viewer and to really bring them into Springfield, so they can be a part of these characters' lives in a way they haven't been before." Springfield, GUIDING LIGHT's fictional locale, is portrayed by a suburban New Jersey town several miles west of the series' Manhattan studios. Recap of this week's soap stories (spoilers for the rest of the week) On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Parker (barely 15) and his girlfriend/cousin have sex. While Luke and Noah fans are patiently waiting for them to finally make love, ATWT has decided Luke's cousin Parker should be the one to have sex first, with a family member no less.