BC Writing Workshop #2 - Branding

For the second workshop, we’re going to talk about branding.  Not only is branding perhaps one of the most often overlooked aspects of a fledgling writer’s dream, this subject will also tie into workshop #3.   

Unfortunately, most writers are not very good business people.  In fact, most artists in general seem to be introverted and enjoy creating for the sake of creating.  Maybe this describes you, maybe it doesn’t.  But even if you personally don’t suffer from being terminally non-business savvy, chances are, most other artists you know have this problem.

As a result, precious little information (relatively) is floating around writing circles about the business side of writing.  Not only that, but writing at a professional level is very competitive, so successful writers usually don’t give public advice.  The exceptions are writers who are so big it doesn’t matter what they say, or smaller folks like me who hide their (dubious) wisdom behind a paywall. :P

Branding is kind of important to figure out before any other stage of the professional writing game.  Notice that I said, “professional.”  Most writers start in a notebook or on a computer, probably without any serious plans of making money.  Even writers like me who knew from grade school that they wanted to write for money generally handwave such  ̶d̶e̶l̶u̶s̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ dreams to “some day.”

Well, let’s say that “some day” has come.  You’ve been writing for a while.  You have a decent audience, or your mom read your stuff and blew so much smoke that you believe you can make a buck.  Now what?

The next step is branding.  What kind of writer do you want to be?  I don’t necessarily mean whether you want to be indie or trad, although this decision can play a part.  No, I mean what kind of books do you want to write?  What do you want to be known for?

Are you more a humor writer?  Are you painfully shy?  Are you naturally outgoing?  Do you want a separation between your public life and your private life?  Are you comfortable playing a bit of a role online?  Do you plan to write one genre, or many?  If you ever do book signings, are you personable, or are you robotic?

See, branding is your business front, how the world to view you <as a writer>.  Your brand doesn’t necessarily have to be the real you.  However, it’s probably best to mix some truth with the fiction.  I really don’t suggest flat out lying with branding.  If people find out, it can really hurt your brand...and it just takes more effort too.  

Ethical considerations aside, some writers publicly change their gender or background in order to (in their mind) be more marketable.  Unless you write erotica and want to stay somewhat anonymous, I don’t suggest stretching the truth too much.

Deciding whether you will use your real name or a pen name is part of the list of branding decisions you will make.  If there is enough interest on this subject, I may write a standalone workshop for it.  Anyway, all of these decisions are personal and should reflect both how you want to guide your art, and how you want to make money.

When it comes to business in general and branding in particular, it’s important to be honest with yourself.  It’s also important to be honest about how you want to present your art.

I’ve give you an example.  

Jim Bob is a ‘prepper.  He really enjoys apocalypse stories and zombie stories, and these are the kind of stories he wants to write.  His MCs tend to be blue collar, everyday sort of people.

Jim Bob is actually from an Ivy League family, but he doesn’t really identify with them.  He has always felt most alive while out in the woods, whittling sticks and such.  Jim Bob knows that his audience will probably mostly be blue collar people, or white collar folks like him who don’t put a lot of stock in their upbringing or job.

When Jim Bob thinks about his branding, he realizes that hiding his upper class accent is difficult, and he doesn’t want to lie to his audience.  He wants to be genuine with his fans, and communicate in everything he does that he connects with them.  Jim Bob is kind of shy, but also friendly.

As a result, Jim Bob decides that his branding is going to be all about his hunting and bushcraft background.  He doesn’t lie about having a law degree, he just doesn’t voluntarily bring it up.  When he talks to folks in person or online with his voice, he doesn’t change his accent, but he tends to wear the kind of clothes he likes; faded jeans and Carhartt jackets.

He has a wife and a young daughter, and his wife is very shy.  Jim Bob doesn’t mind interacting with fans, but to protect his family, he writes under a different last name.  He knows that people calling him by a different first name in person would be hard for him to adapt to.

Jim Bob is very comfortable with social media and would like to have his own forum one day, so he commissions logos and branding for the books he writes, including lots of camo and outdoorsy appeal.

His plans for publication are vague.  He doesn’t know if he ever wants to be trad, or be indie, so he doesn’t say anything too crazy publicly, nor does he say anything bad about any publishers or other authors on social media.  Like all writers, he has strong opinions about publishing, but mostly, he chooses to engage the community by talking about zombies and building better bushcraft shelters.

Jim Bob believes in Christian values and incorporates them into his books, so he never publicly swears.

…

Notice all the decisions Jim Bob made there.  He could have gone other directions, or even further dialed in on what his brand will be, but based on my quick rundown there, you can tell who Jim Bob wants to be as a writer.

This is what it means to decide on your branding.  The sooner you know what kind of writer you want to be, the better.  I can take years, or even a lifetime to be successful at this.  It’s honestly something I haven’t been very good at.

I set out to be kind of cantankerous, no-holds-barred, grouchy writer.  In the last year I’ve somehow morphed into a generally helpful, community pillar.  I know this because I asked folks how they perceive me, and got a lot of feedback.  Furthermore, I know how I screwed up.  I just kept taking on projects and leadership roles where I saw a gap.  I’m not unhappy with the change, but I am illustrating my own failure to show how quickly these sorts of things can change.

Now I need to change up my entire business plan...(which will be covered in the next workshop).

-BC