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?
If you want to do more than just write for fun – meaning, you want to be published and actually sell your books – yes, you need a brand, and you need marketing as well. Your brand is YOU. Your books, your blog, your tweets – it's the you that you put out there for your audience. It would be nice if you had a short tag line or something to use across the board for consistency, a sort of platform. Once you get really big, like Starbucks, you can rely on a simple mermaid symbol. (just kidding!)
I just finished my novel and I'm in the process of looking for an agent. So I'm no expert in this industry. I am, however, in marketing, and there is nothing more valuable to you than developing yourself as a brand and using all the free social media tools to you advantage.
Good luck to you!!! You're doing great so far, keep it up!
Hi Katie –
I think a writer's voice and brand are connected. My first priority is to write what's pleasing to the One who called me. If I seek Him first, the audience will recognize and respond to what I've written.
Blessings,
Susan 🙂
Katie,
I've read Rachelle's recommended book by Christina Gatz; Get Known Before the Deal. Which would have been even more helpful before my deal. On my Nook now? Branding Yourself – How to use social media to invent or reinvent yourself.
And, you know what? I'm just as confused as before.
My thoughts are this: A brand is something you and your audience work together to create.
It's just like what a cow gets on their fanny…the mark of ownership. A brand says what they are and whose they are. So, whatever marks me, my passions, my values, those will be the things that mark me with my brand.
My brand? I'm trying to narrow it, but I think- Christian mom, who sifts her failures and victories through humor and real, transparent speak. How many words does my brand have to be!? Back to the drawing board for me!
Like Jody said, I think branding is what readers do for an author. I also think it can change.
Take Rivers.
Tabitha wondered about her brand. Well, Rivers wrote secular romance first and when she switched to Christian, imo, she brought all that wonderful romance into the Christian field. So her brand didn't change, it just became Christian. But now she's been writing Women's fiction and you know what? I know she doesn't write the romance like she used to, so I haven't read her newest books because I wasn't that into the last book of hers I read.
Her brand has changed and so has her audience, I bet.
Just my thoughts though…
Loved the way Catharine likened "brand" to birthing and raising individual children. That made so much sense.
Your words were inspiring and insightful, Katie. Thanks!
I'm okay with it. I think that comes partially from the fact that I've spent most of my professional career in marketing and PR — currently I'm in fundraising for Nebraska NPR/PBS (a PR challenge these days!). It's not my favorite part of the process, but I realize its necessity.
This is a REALLY good post, Katie!
It all depends on your motivation. I write because I have stories to tell. If publishers don't think they're the kind of stories others might want to hear, I'm okay with that because the stories are mine. I do thing, though, that most people write things that would interest someone else. Usually a lot of someones.
It reminds me of being back in school and having a teacher tell us to not be afraid to ask our questions. If we had them, most likely other people have them too. If we write books we want to read, I think the same thing applies… 🙂
As for branding, in any sense of the word, I don't mind. I figure that what other people think of me is inconsequential when compared to what God thinks of me. Labels/branding can change for people as they get to know you and your work. They might not, but they can. I hope that makes sense.
I think you nailed it with this post, Katie.
(and thanks for the intro as novelist and poet- very nice of you 🙂
I love Jody's take on it, that it is what happens to you. It is the natural outcome of a writer who is writing from the heart and being authentic. I can totally live with that definition of branding. In that case I am already working on my 'brand.'
And yes, it is possible to write something that is not authentically us. You can feel it is some authors work. I think it happens when a writer becomes afraid that they can't live up to the last book, or has some other fear of their work or feels inadequate as a writer. We produce work that is unauthentic when we lose faith in ourselves and lose sight of what God has placed in our hearts. It is WORK to maintain commitment to yourself and stay humble enough to be lead by God. Well, I find it work anyway 🙂
blessings Katie 🙂
GREAT POST!!!!
This is a fantastic post, and the comments just add to it! When I took a class last year at ACFW, the instructors mentioned that branding isn't something a writer can just create early on, it's something that simply comes about after he/she's released two to three books. That statement has really stuck with me. And as I'm writing another novel, I'm realizing that although this story is so very different, it has some of the same themes woven in. Definitely a lot to think about here. I love what Rosslyn and Tim had to say. We must strive to be who we truly are in this world. When we try to force it, something less than authentic occurs.
I don't like to be labeled, but yesterday I found myself using the word "brand" to my dad, who's a graphic artist. I want to rebuild his website for him with his name, rather than his business name. You are your brand, I kept telling him–your personality, your art–that's your brand. In that sense, branding is a very real part of marketing. But, and here I cringe, I still don't want to be labeled. So let my brand just be me. Oh, and I guess I agree w/ Jody's idea of brand–it springs from the author and her voice.
Branding strikes me as another of those nebulous and nettlesome tasks authors are burdened with on top of trying to write the books they're called to write. I like the comments here about brand just being the author's voice. I can handle that. But the whole idea of then *building* that brand…that's where I get lost. It's like Twitter–I get what it is, but I have no idea how to use it effectively. I get what branding is, and why it's a good idea, I just have no idea how to make it work for me.
Very great points, Tim. In my emails with Rosslyn, she said the very same thing that you brought up when you said:
"As soon as we start trying to create a false persona, we're on the wrong track. We're not just fooling our readers, we're fooling ourselves."
The point to take to heart is that we can't force a brand that isn't who we truly ARE. Or if we do, it will surely backfire.
It all comes back to authenticity. People admire that quality for a reason. Because it's real.
Thanks for the comment! And I liked your shameless plug. I also liked your guest post on Rachelle's blog the other day. 🙂
Since my book "Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture" comes out in June (shameless plug), I thought I should reply to this post.
To me, there's a big difference between trying to MAKE ourselves relevant to our potential readers and showing them in creative and effective ways how we ALREADY ARE.
One is fake, the other is real. One is self-focused, the other is others-focused. One is external, the other is internal.
As soon as we start trying to create a false persona, we're on the wrong track. We're not just fooling our readers, we're fooling ourselves. Writing from our hearts, and then sharing with people how our true self relates to where they are – to me, that's how branding should be.
Very cool post! I'm with the school of thought that likens branding to the author's style/presence more than anything. I'd like to think it comes through organically, eventually, like one's written voice does.
I recently talked about brand on my blog. It is a scary thing. What if your brand gets sour? Frankly, to me branding is marketing and that's all. How is your name perceived in the marketplace? How best to get your name out there so you are recognizable. Which is entirely separate from your work.
Love Tabitha's illustration. I want God to give my work the brand that it needs to reach the audience He has prepared. My stories come from a need to share all that God can do when we give Him our situations, and who better than Him to find the readers who need the encouragement. I write His glory!
Great thoughts here, Katie!
I'm with Eileen. I think it needs to come about organically from the writing aspect, but it's nice to fill a niche that readers need.
I really like the thought that branding comes organically out of your work. So, I guess being true to yourself in your writing is key to discovering your brand!
I think it's necessary. I read in a book once that you wouldn't want to go into your favorite store and realize they're selling something different, I think you can relate that to being an author.
All great thoughts! I think branding can't be forced. Right now I'm taking the "if I write it, it (branding) will come" approach. I'm focusing on the craft of writing because without something to sell, there can't be any branding! I hope as I find the voice that resonates with editors, readers, and my heart, the branding will take care of itself.
I like your closing thought…well-put!
I think branding is a balancing act. We have to write from our hearts, but at the same time we have to take our readers into consideration. They read our work and label us.
Mary Connealy's stories are laugh out loud funny. Jody Hedlund's are gripping page turners with lots of tension. If I opened a book by Mary and was thrust into a drama or one by Jody and found a humorous, lighthearted tale, I'd be confused. My expectations would not have been met, and I'd feel like the writer let me down somehow.
Like you, I've been thanking about branding lately, Katie, and appreciate your post.
Katie, great collage of thoughts here. You bring me another thought–I'm often very grateful that I did not publish earlier in my life. It took me a long time to settle into my own skin and learn what really mattered to me. Not coincidentally, I could never finish writing projects when I was younger. My confusion about my worldview seeped into my writing.
Katie-Just recently found your blog and LOVE it. Really, really great stuff.
Now, for the branding thing. I've been a marketing and branding consultant for more than 15 years, and here's the deal: every client has something they want to sell– whether a service, product or message. Every consumer has a need to be filled– whether it is a new car, creamy peanut butter, or a great read.
My advice to clients is to make a list of everything they want to say. Now make a list of everything your target audience needs to hear to convince them to buy. FIND THE CROSSOVERS ON THE TWO LISTS.
There's your main branding message.
This applies to writing books, too. I think if you write what you think the reader wants to read, it comes across as insincere. If you write only what you want to say with no regard to themes readers connect with, you won't sell many books.
A writer has to find the magic spot of writing the story with their vision, while keeping a focus on the needs of the end-user … the reader.
Consumers are smart. Tell them only what they want to hear, you'll lose their trust. Be honest and strategic with your branding, and you'll find your audience and gain their loyalty.
I'm just going to keep writing in this here Voice and let the rest fall into place. (Southern today.)
Trust God. Wait on agent. Key = to keep writing.
It's a mystery, but it will work out.
~ Wendy
These were excellent comments. Awhile ago, I wasnt sure I understood branding or wanted it but now I think I see the need and would want it.
Cathy – I LOVE the children analogy!! So well put!
Hi Katie!
I think it is definitely all about what people come to expect once you are a published author. To be honest, I don't think I really had a firm grasp on the concept until I had a book out there with my name on it. People now know I write romance. That I like to write about strong women with battles to fight and issues to conquer. That said, getting my next book ready to submit is more than a little terrifying. I think there is the feeling that you can't possibly live up to the first one, you can't 'do it' again. Well, I know my next book is nothing like the first because it's not a series – so I look at it this way – it's kind of like having children. Some may be alike, some may be very different, some may share some similarities, others not so much. But they all have the same Mom and when people look at them, there is something that says, "Oh yeah. That's so and so's son or daughter." So while I agree that branding is important, I think it's more about style and writing the kind of books your readers will come to expect. I hope that make sense because it's really early!!!
From everything you said in this post, to me branding sounds synonymous with an author's voice.
I like Rosslyn's summary. When I get too caught up in all the peripheral "requirements," I start to resent the idea of writing for others. But if I think of it as just being myself, and thus, branding emerges (as Jody says) organically, then it seems more like art (and not business) to me.
Barb
I don't love or hate it. I think it's a tool to build a fan base. And it makes good business sense. It doesn't scare because right now I just try and be myself. We'll see as times go by if that changes.