Author Brand: A is for Authenticity

What’s your brand? Do you have an author platform?

Whether you are an indie author or traditionally published, every writer needs these.

When I indie published my first novel, The Bridge Club, eight years ago. I had no idea what I was doing. One clear message that never stopped resonating was that, if I wanted to sell my book, I needed an author brand and platform to help reach an audience. Say what?

Here’s what I’ve learned, in a nutshell because we should always try to keep things simple. 

Your author brand is how you want your readers to know you.

Your author platform is where you share your brand on social media and beyond.

In 2011, it was my good fortune, through a few other indie authors I met online at that time, to connect with Kristen Lamb. You might also know her as Social Media Jedi, Kristen Lamb. She was accepting 40 writers into a new program all about discovering our brand.

There are certain golden moments in our writing lives we always remember. This was one for me. The course was scheduled to last one month. Kristen extended it to two months, at no extra charge. By the end of that time, there were 40 enlightened writers (most of us relative newbies) who had an understanding of their brand and how to use it. As often happens in this collegial world of writers, most of us from that group are still connected (I love that part!!!) and have gone on to build satisfying writing careers.

One of the first exercises Kristen set for us was to create a list of 100 words or phrases that described our personality, our values, and our interests. Sound easy? It’s not. Ask your good friends and family to make contributions to the list. Trust me, here you will find authenticity.

That was the beginning of a process that enabled each of us gradually to identify the persona … in an honest and open way … we wanted to share with readers online, in person and through our writing.

My first novel, The Bridge Club, was all about lifelong friendship amongst women and geared to readers of a certain age. I had no idea how I was going to build that into a brand.

The manuscript I was working on when I joined Kristen’s course, was set in the south of France. In fact, I was living there for several months at the time. My husband and I had spent a great deal of time there through the past twenty years. I was a lifelong Francophile. I was also constantly taking photos as I have done all my life. I planned to write other books set in that part of the world.

Voilà! It may appear obvious, but it took a lot of thought and digging on my part to realize how clearly my brand was calling to me. I don’t really like to talk about myself or share a lot of personal information about my family life. Developing a brand doesn’t mean you have to do that.

What you do is uncover the parts of your life that you feel you would like to share. Then you build on those. You define how you are different. Of course, many authors will share similarities in their brands. But even so, each of you will have something different to bring to the table.

As Joanna Penn calls it, you find your “usp ~ unique selling point”.  

Travel. The south of France. Photography. Friendship.  

Those keywords formed the basis of my brand. I felt happy and comfortable sharing those parts of who I am. Blog posts became easy to write and photos attracted even more interest. A monthly newsletter developed as I discovered I had something to say that readers enjoyed.  All of this morphed into a tagline that defines my brand, eight years later. “Be a possibilitarian”.

Just like a business brand, such as Nike, is a promise to customers, your author brand is a promise to your readers. They learn what to expect from you.

When your brand is authentic, it fits like a glove. It’s easy and enjoyable to share and you soon find your voice. You may want to tie in colours on your website and logo to help define your brand. I haven’t managed to get around to that.  Readers will begin to recognize you as your brand reflects your values and thoughts.

Some authors choose to be branded through the main character they write about. I can’t speak to that, but it is an interesting concept.

What your brand never does is scream out “Buy my book!” But I don’t need to tell you that.

The bottom line here is that establishing your author brand should be an enjoyable process. It should not feel intimidating or unattainable. We all have strong points to share. That’s part of the reason we write.

Take a good look at yourself.

For new writers, I hope this is helpful information. If you have not ventured into this part of your writing journey, consider this: what is it you would like readers to associate with your name? Make that list of 100. Relax and enjoy the process.

I would love to hear your comments on this topic. What’s your experience?

Joanna Penn is one of my go-to sites and she shares these Seven Best Ways to Build an Authentic Author Brand.

Jane Friedman defines author platform here.

Brand Yourself as an Author and not Your Book Title

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Patricia Sands is the author of the bestselling Love in Provence series and Drawing Lessons for Lake Union Publishing and also is an indie author. She published a Christmas novella this month, The First Noël at the Villa des Violettes. You can reach her or subscribe to her newsletter through her website www.patriciasandsauthor.com or her Amazon author page.

She loves to share her photography and enjoy that of others on Instagram.

 

THE FIRST NOëL AT THE VILLA DES VIOLETTES, Patricia Sands

Everything was going so well in Kat and Philippe’s life together. Then suddenly it wasn’t.

Roman ruins delayed the work on the Villa des Violettes. The Russian drug gang might be back in the neighbourhood. On top of that, Kat had worked herself into what Molly classified as a full blown “Christmas conundrum.” Kat wanted the holidays to work perfectly as she blended a Canadian Christmas with a Provençal Fête de Noêl for the first time in their new home. Now she’d lost her confidence and, with it, the holiday spirit.

Philippe hoped a weekend trip to the famous Christmas markets of Strasbourg would solve everything.

As it happened, things were about to get worse.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

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Category: Contemporary Women Writers, How To and Tips