On Writer's Wisdom Wednesdays, we're excited to announce a new monthly blog post contributor. Please welcome Patty Smith Hall to Seriously Write. You'll read her posts on the third Wednesday of each month. Today, she's providing needed information about branding and how to protect yours. Welcome, Patty! ~ Sandy
When the news broke last week about the college admissions
scandal, I was disappointed. One of the defendants plays a wonderfully wise
woman on one of my favorite TV shows. It’s not just this show either—she’s
played this kind of character throughout her 30+ year career with great
success. How would her fans view her now?
She didn’t protect her brand.
What is branding?
As writers, one of the most important things that we do is
build relationships with our readers, and as in any relationship, we must gain
their trust. In order to do that, we must know who we are and what we can give
them in our books. Author Fay Roberts believes “it’s a promise we make to our
readers.” Author Debra Breese Marvin agrees. “It’s what your readers expect
when they see you have a new book coming out.” Marilyn Turk, author in the
upcoming novella collection, Crinoline Cowboys puts it this way, “Branding is
your identity with the reader. It’s a commitment that you are who you say you
are and write what you say you’ll write.
So how do you know what your brand is? Look for a common
thread that’s weaved throughout your work. Author Janetta Fudge Messmer’s brand
is comedy. “I can write in any genre but whatever I write has to have comedy in
it. It’s what people expect.” For me, I write about strong women and their part
in history. For example, my novella, A Cowboy of Her Own is based on Elizabeth
Johnson Williams, one of the wealthiest cattlewomen in Texas. These kinds of
stories play out in most of my 15 books.
Once you figure out your brand, it’s up to you to protect
it.
How to Destroy Your
Brand.
Remember the actress. Her brand was playing characters who
walked the higher ground, the kind of person you wouldn’t mind leaving your
kids with—for my daughters’ generation, she’s considered a favorite aunt. Yet,
going forward, a large number of people won’t see anything other than her
arrest which makes losing yourself in one of her movies difficult.
So, what are some ways to damage your brand?
1)Publishing before your manuscript is ready.
You’ve probably seen the reviews on Amazon, the ones that
say something like ‘This would have been a great book, but all the misspelled
words took me out of the story’ or worse still, ‘There were so many grammar
errors, I couldn’t finish it.’
Ouch!
How can we expect to gain our readers’ trust if we don’t
give them our very best? If we publish books full of grammar errors, passive
writing or unclear conflict, what will the readers expect from us the next
time? More of the same, which is why they’ll be saving their money!
Don’t rush to publish, and please don’t publish your first
draft! Make sure everything that can be fixed is. Hire a content/copy editor.
Run it through your critique group. Because in a writing career, first impressions
are everything.
2) Stay with what the reader expects from you.
Recently, my dear friend and brainstorming buddy faced a
dilemma. She was 30K into her next book, a fantastically dark tale we’d been
talking about for months when she realized she had a problem. All of her
previous published books featured slapstick comedy. If the book was published,
what would her fanbase, people who loved her stories because they lifted their
spirits, think about her latest offering?
We came to one conclusion. Her readers would feel like
they’d had the rug pulled out from under them.
Which is exactly why Ane shelved it and started on something
new. That’s how important living up to your brand is.
~~~~~~
A multi-published author with Love Inspired Historical and Barbour, Patty lives in North Georgia with her husband of 35 years, Danny; two gorgeous daughters, her son-in-love and a grandboy who has her wrapped around his tiny finger. When she’s not writing on her back porch, she’s spending time with her family or working in her garden.
