[If you are a writer or storyteller, a maker or creative genius, this blog is for you, and this is our inaugural post! From The Power of SMALL Initiative, this blog feeds into the final "L" in S.M.A.L.L: Learners. In highly complicated and ever-changing field of publishing, the only certainty is that we will never be done learning and adjusting. Consequently, as members of several fantastic publishing and writers' associations, we have access to excellent training, current publishing news, trends, and expert advice. From time to time, we will share what we learn from our peers, industry partners, and the marketplace.]
It's our first post! Why not start with a touchy subject: author branding. When I work with my authors on getting their books noticed, by far I receive the most blank stares or uncomfortable resistance when I talk about building their brand. If you have, or intend to have, more than one published book, if you have a vertical market such as speaking or consultation, or if your work lies in the areas of politics, academia, professional/clinical expertise, or theology, for example, your author brand is critical. And, you already have a brand. The only question: has your brand developed by accident or design?
[Spoiler alert: If you are hoping for a quick set of bullet points listing actions to take to build your brand, think deeper, more long-term, foundational. You won't find your step-by-step here, but feel free to Google that - you'll come up with a dozen lists, all different.]
So, let's dive in by listening to an expert and paying attention to one highly brand-successful author's three gems of wisdom on the subject. David Vinjamuri, long-time brand expert and author of several books on the subject, turned in one of his Forbes branding articles to unarguably one of the most successful author brands on the planet: Lee Child. Don't know him? I'll bet you do.
First, what is an author brand? Think of it as your core identity - what you are known by, and for. The strength of your brand can be measured, not by how many people know who you are (did I just hear a big sigh of relief?), not by overall sales, but by your fan loyalty. In other words, what percentage of your current fan base will automatically buy and read your next book without question? A follow-up question: why are they loyal to you? I won't repeat everything in David's article here because, well - you can read it for yourself. So, instead, let me just blow your mind.
In 2014 when David's article was first published, the strongest brand in publishing beat out John Grisham, Patricia Cornwell, even Stephen King. A whopping 70% of his readers couldn't wait to pick up his next book, yet the top author brand was not an author at all, but a character by the name of Jack Reacher. [Pardon my gratuitous inclusion of a certain well-known actor who plays the role on screen; religion aside, I'm a Cruise-a-holic reveling in my no-longer-secret celebrity crush.]
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| Cover of "Past Tense" Courtesy of www.leechild.com |
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| Tom Cruise Courtesy Featureflash Photo Agency Shutterstock.com |
Now do you know who Lee Child is? You may not be able to conjure up a picture of Lee Child in your mind (so I'll give you some help here), but I'll bet you can visualize his main character and star of one best-selling book per year since 1997.
When Vinjamuri caught up with Child and asked him about the secret of his brand loyalty success, he clicked off three rather surprising elements:
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| Lee Child Photo courtesy of www.leechild.com (c) Sigrid Estrada |
1. Consistency. Do you write consistently? If you write non-fiction, do you stay in your lane on subject matter, voice and style? If you write fiction, do your characters carry forward, and if they do, are they substantially the same personalities, foibles and all? Child says, "There are two components of loyalty: one is the author and the second is the subject. If you like the author but you’re uncertain of the content of the next book, that’s an obstacle. ... Jack Reacher is the same person in every book."
2. Authenticity. Do you write in a manner that allows the reader to connect to you, and/or to the character? Can they envision the scene on a relatable level? Whether fiction or non-fiction, have you added details for the sake of accuracy but at the expense of authenticity? Vinjamuri clarified Child's point. "...Child means that the art of narrative authenticity is culling details that are authentic from the larger pool of those that might be merely accurate." So - yes. You can have both too many and too few details in your writing, and if your brand is built around you, the author, you may have too few details out there. In the interest of protecting your image (and perhaps your private life), you may have inadvertently prevented your readers from understanding and relating to you as a person and choked out their loyalty. Conversely, if you've been rather free about your social media interactions, you may have lost control of your own narrative and killed your loyal followers (and any chance at notable media coverage) in the process. Intentionally building your brand often means liberally using the "F" word: FILTER! Yes, you can, and should, filter yourself on any public platform. Is filtering the opposite of authenticity? No. It's simple wisdom. There are things you don't discuss with your 3-year-old grandson, and there are solid reasons not to engage the neighborhood hothead (or 50% of the online population) in an opinionated debate over things that are temporary and not a reflection of your core identity.
3. Uniqueness. This is not your "unique position in the marketplace" necessarily, but it can be. Child suggests uniqueness should be "organic," meaning you shouldn't write to fill a hole in the marketplace. Nor should you write strictly by a set formula. Both will kill your creative momentum and your brand loyalty with one shot. As an author, uniqueness also means not conforming yourself to fit a certain mold. Allow yourself to grow and develop, just as in writing we may not always know where a story, technology, or research takes us. We can have an outline, an intention, but being unique means allowing for growth and change. It means being "in the moment" and responding when brilliance shows up. As an author, as a person, you will make mistakes. You'll get caught with your pants down; hopefully not literally. You'll change your mind. Just stay true to your core.
In a word, these three elements, to me, sound a lot like integrity. To test Child's theory, think about your favorite reads. I looked on my bookshelf and considered my favorite multi-book authors through the lens of Child's theory. Without exception, each one was consistent authentic, and unique. Stephen Covey, Max Lucado, Dave Ramsey, Charles Swindoll, Beth Moore, Liz Curtis Higgs, C. S. Lewis (non-fiction is my jam), but also Agatha Christie, Shel Silverstein, how about Shakespeare, and every successful poet you can think of (I love Mary Oliver). And for consistent, authentic, unique characters I will always read, I've got to go back to my fiction days - way back: Nancy Drew, Charlie Brown, Calvin and Hobbes...heck - virtually every comic strip ever syndicated fits this criteria. After all, isn't it these three character elements that draw us in?
Here's some good news. Knowing your own brand makes decision-making a lot easier. And, there are certainly brand-building activities you can and should be doing to add new readers to your fan base, after you know who you are, or who your main character is. By the way - knowing your brand is very akin to knowing your mission - your "why" for doing what you do every day. At Encourage Publishing, this is the "M" in our mantra, "The Power of SMALL." We believe so strongly in mission-driven projects we require every author to share their mission with us before we look at a project. It's that important.
[Here's a fun fact. Child is so clear about his three elements, he's got Jack Reacher's bio on his website, and Reacher gets top billing. Or, maybe Child doesn't realize Reacher is a fictional character. Or, maybe Reacher and Child are the same person... . Either way, I'm good.]
Next post I'll dive in to some "how-tos" on one of those things authors can and should be doing to build their brand: Goodreads! Be sure to subscribe to this post to be notified of upcoming posts, submit comments about subjects you'd like covered, or post questions or opinions. I promise your subscription will not be shared.
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