What Is Your Brand?

When we talk about a brand for an author, we are talking about what the author is known for. In other words, when a reader picks up your latest book, there will be an expectation of what they will be reading. This might be similar plots or a similar voice. It is important to note I am not speaking of writing a series with the same characters. It is all about the style.

I bring this up because I find that lately, I see authors who really don't have a sense of what they are writing. Query letters have them writing all over the place. Multiple genres, different topics and so forth. I do think they might be doing this to show diversity, but, in reality, what this is showing us is a a lack of brand.

I see this also when authors submit to me a second or third project if I have passed on something before. When their name comes up in the email and I log it into my database, I do go back and see what they wrote in the past and what I might have thought about the earlier project. But when I read the new project, I am often shocked. Instead of demonstrating a brand, the author has gone off to try something completely different. "I tried writing an inspirational for you in book 1 and it didn't connect with you, so let me try an erotic paranormal." Huh?

Even though brand is something that develops over time, you can start to craft that idea in your projects early in your career. In reality, we would love to see you can do one thing really well instead of a lot of different things just mediocre.

Great Article from Malle Vallik on Branding

Check this out! This is really right on the money and sometimes, things we often forget!


http://mallevallik.wordpress.com/2009/07/02/managing-your-brand-online/

Scott

Pick it and stick it

My oldest is heading into 4th grade this year. One of the things he left 3rd grade with was a wonderful habit that frankly, more writers need to learn to do. His teacher suggested at the beginning of each week to find one book and work through it all week. As she said, it was your "pick it and stick it book." The idea was to see things through to the end and not just jump around.

O.K. so the goal was to encourage the kids to finish the book so they could take a test on it at the end of the week for their reading program, but this was not the point that he left with. He saw the deeper level of the power of sticking to one thing.

For writers, it is important that you pick it and stick it as well. Find the genre you do well and make it work. Find ways to improve and to make a name for yourself.

At some level, this is that element of branding we hear so many writers talk about. You want to be able to be known for that one great style of writing so when someone says, "Do you know of a great [insert name of genre here] author," your name pops up. Historical - Beverley and Hunter; Contemporary - MacComber; YA - Cabot; Paranormal - Kenyon; Sci-fi - Sinclair. Get the idea?

I have to say, I get frustrated when I see the published authors jumping around like this. When their genre is struggling, they feel it is the state of the readers getting bored. Hey, who is in control here? It's the writers. The writers are the ones coming up with the same old stuff over and over again. Find a way to improve on your craft and then produce a story that keeps your brand going.

At the recent RWA conference, I heard several established authors complaining about the sales of their recent books. The funny part was the fact that they shifted to a new genre and didn't understand why their readership didn't like the new stuff. It's simply, they liked the other genre but got bored because the writer wasn't coming up with something new. Isn't it interesting that the writers with longevity have followed that rule of pick it and stick it?

Now for unpublished authors, you need to do the same thing. If a story isn't working for you right now, don't jump genres and go for something else. In all likelyhood, the reason you are struggling with that story/genre is because you haven't learned it well enough. This does not mean to give up.

There is one caveat here. If you started in a genre that you knew nothing about because you were following a trend, then you simply screwed up from the beginning. Go back and read my earlier posts about knowing your niche.

So, quit jumping around. Find something to work on and finish it. Focus on it. Brand yourself. And for you established writers, please pick it and stick it. We liked your writing the first time. Just show us you know that genre well enough to find something new and unique in it.

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On the schedule for the day?
Clean desk.
Answer submissions
Prep proposals to go out next week (over 15 requests for my author's writing).