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I’m not going to lie. I was nervous.

I’m not sure why. I’ve talked to her in person at the ACFW conference. She already sent me a welcome-to-the-team email. And we weren’t even going to discuss revisions. We were just going to talk about what I can expect now that I’ve turned in my manuscript.

But I couldn’t help myself. I was nervous. And excited. And since I tend to talk too much when I’m nervous and excited, or tell people I have dreams about them (Hi, Rachelle), I gave myself a pep talk beforehand.

Basically the pep talk went like this: Don’t say anything stupid, Katie.

It worked. I think. At least I didn’t cringe when I hung up. Or blush. Or replay the conversation over and over again, wondering why in the world I said that. The entire experience was very pleasant. My editor has a calmness about her that put me at ease.

So what did we talk about?

Dates! We talked about dates! All kinds of wonderful, glorious dates.

Like my release date (scheduled for May, 2012).

When I can expect my content edit (that’s the big edit).

The due date for the revisions.

When we’ll do line edits.

When we’ll turn the manuscript over to the production team.

And when the ARC (advanced reader copy) will be ready. We’re thinking early fall….which means the cover will be done by then too. And if that’s not crazy, I don’t know what is.

We also talked a bit about marketing – how I’ll get this author questionnaire sometime soon. I’ll eventually have my own publicity contact person. My title may or may not change. It’s never too early to consider who might be willing to endorse my book (scary). And I do have to think about my “brand”. Which I found interesting, in light of recent blog posts.

Having read my work, she already has thoughts on my brand, but she also wants to hear my opinion. She likened the whole brand-thing to comparables in a book proposal. You know. Fans of such-and-such author will enjoy Katie’s work. Pinning that down really helps the marketing department.

She gave me some contact information. We talked a bit about other non-writing related things. And we said goodbye.

I hung up smiling. Big-time smiling.

And totally weirded out (in a good way) that by this fall, the ARC will be ready. Which is basically like a book, only it hasn’t gone through copy edits yet.

Three thoughts from this week:

• It’s completely normal to feel nervous. My agent said, “Eventually the nervousness will dissipate. You are still new at this!”
• The publishing journey travels in fits and spurts. I’ve been chilling out, maxing, relaxin’ all cool (Fresh Prince of Belaire style) for the past few months. But come May, things are going to start moving and shaking.
• Publicity takes a long time – which is why my ARC will come out eight whole months before my book release.

Let’s Talk: How do you feel about book trailers? Effective? Not effective? Any suggestions for a creative alternative? Play any good April Fool’s jokes on anybody today? Sorry, these have nothing to do with my post.

Fun news: His Masterpiece, one of my short stories, is out with CFOM this month. Even MORE exciting is that I’m being published alongside my local writing friend, Nichole Wagner, who wrote A Cup of Heartbreak. I hope you enjoy them both!removetweetmeme

Are you comfortable being a brand? Or does that particular verbiage make you cringe?

While reading through last Monday’s comments, and looking at other blog posts about the topic of author branding, I noticed two prevalent thoughts on the issue:

Thought 1:
I am an author. Not a brand. We should write whatever books are on our hearts and not worry about branding.

Thought 2:
Reputable brands sell products, and since our books are products we want to sell, we should consider our brand when choosing which books to write.

The first thought focuses on writing as art. The second regards writing as business. One side says write from the heart. The other side says write for the crowd. So which side is right?

I love how Thomas Nelson author, Rosslyn Elliott, brings both sides together:
“Good branding is capturing the essence of an author’s spirit so a reader can understand who the author is, immediately…..Branding can feel like a lot to live up to, so it’s important to remind yourself that your brand is just you. You just have to be you to the best of your ability, and that’s enough.”

Which got me thinking…

If our brand is who we ARE, is it even possible, if we’re writing from the deepest part of ourselves, to write something that doesn’t fit? I’m not sure. What do you think?

Novelist and poet, Tabitha Bird, raises another question:
“I wonder though if she (Francine Rivers) has a brand because she thought about branding and what experience she wanted to give her readers or because she thought about what book would make her God proud and God built the brand?”

However we answer that question for ourselves matters. It forms part of our writing/publishing philosophy.

Bethany House author, Jody Hedlund, puts it this way:
“It’s (branding) not anything I can establish before my book is released. It just happens over time and as an author’s reputation grows…Branding isn’t something an author can develop or force. It’s something that happens to them. And if we want to have a wide and popular reputation or a growing brand, the best thing we can do is write books (or blog posts) readers will love.”

I like how Jody says we need to write books readers will love. I think she gets to the heart of branding here. It isn’t about putting ourselves into a box. It isn’t about making ourselves into a product. It’s about considering our reader.

And that, to me, feels like a very respectful way to look at branding.

Some more thoughts on branding from…

Multi-published author, Karen Witemeyer (via this post):
“Branding is about creating specific reader expectations and then meeting those expectations. It consists of the images and feelings provoked when a reader sees your name. It is what breeds loyalty. If you continually meet readers’ expectations, they will buy your next book without even taking a look at the back cover or flap copy. They will buy it simply because your name is on the cover.”

Fabulous agent, Rachelle Gardner:
“It’s true for all artists: you can practice your art in any way that pleases you. But when you decide you want people to buy it, you’re no longer just an artist but also a business person. As such, you’re wise to create products to satisfy the audience (customer base) you’ve already worked so hard to build.”

So practice your art in a way that pleases you. Write what’s on your heart. Stay true to yourself and trust that your brand will develop naturally, because it’s who you are. Just know that if you want to be a published author who sells books, at some point, your brand will start to matter. Readers will develop expectations and whether you think about them or not, you can bet your agent and publisher will.

Let’s Talk: What do you think about branding? Love it? Hate it? Don’t care about it? What do you hope readers will experience when they read your books?removetweetmeme