In my college years, I
saved up my money, put away my pain and went to get my eyebrow pierced. When I
returned home to my conservative mother, she had an absolute fit. She wanted to
know why and what I was thinking. My only response was, “I liked it.”
I had that eyebrow ring
for all of two weeks before I had an interview at a prestigious organization
and my mother had my uncle bring his tools over to cut the jewelry that
represented my rebellious college years, from my face. Oddly enough, I let them
cut it because deep down, I knew my mother had a point. I might not have agreed
with her point, you might not even agree with the point but it was one that I
subscribed to at that time in my life and to a certain extent, even today.
That event happened almost
twenty years ago and how I represented myself mattered then, as it does now.
Things may not be the same and depending on the circle you’re in or subscribe
to; people will make assumptions about you based on things like the placement
of jewelry, body art, hair color or your accent. Now that we live in a digital
world, those same assumptions can be made with a click of a button.
As an educator, I do not
friend my students, teachers or staff members on social media with my personal
account because it’s for me it's personal. On my professional account, I will
add almost everybody and on my author accounts, I am very strategic about who I
invite into my world. In all of my various worlds because it does matter.
Everything you do online
can be tracked, pulled back up and put before you. It can even be used in a
court of law. Nowadays, it’s one of the first things official look into, as
well as the media when there is something to cover; social media profiles,
posts, pictures, etc.
Why am I discussing this
topic?
One, because branding is
vital to an author’s trajectory in the industry. Two; because branding is often
misrepresented with marketing. Three; having the title author comes with a
responsibility.
How can an author’s
branding advance or hinder their status within the industry? In many different
ways including but not limited to logos, website, book covers, signatures, tag
lines, books other readers purchased along with your books, collaborations,
publishing companies, images, comments and posts.
Most authors know that
people do, in fact, judge a book by its cover. I'm not saying they should but
the reality is that they do. There is also the fact that certain covers
represent different things. A cover with a shirtless man often means that the
level of sexual encounters will be present. Versus a fully dressed couple whose
foreheads are touching; which can signify a sweet romance. When a reader sees
these covers, this also is a part of an author's branding.
An author’s profile
picture, posts, retweets, likes comments speak louder than our taglines for our
books. Even an email address can also send a message. This may sound a bit
snobbish but we are talking about branding. A free email account can say a lot
about the seriousness of a business or an author. A professional website could encourage
someone to do business with you or not.
I was using a freelancer
who was a professional videographer and he resided in Europe. I wanted him to
create a video for me and after hiring him, he said, “I looked you up and from
the looks of your website, you seem to be a pretty good author but then I saw
the prices of your books and then I thought, maybe not.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure
what to say because it was a compliment, until it wasn’t. He was an outsider
giving his personal opinion about my brand. My website impressed him; which was
great. My prices, not so much. I forget what I told him, but I do know, I started
to change some of my prices. Dare, I say, indie authors, prices can also be a
part of your branding.
Social Media: There were
two unique opportunities that I applied for; one was for the submission of my
book for publication and the other was for a contest. One wanted to friend me
on Facebook and the other wanted my twitter handle. I’ve conducted enough
interviews to know that they wanted to know more about who I was as a person as
well as how I represented myself. I could hire someone to write an excellent
synopsis, get the greatest editor money could find but if I conducted my online
business, which is my how I post, respond and what I engage in on social media;
that could make or break a deal.
As an author, I try to be
careful about how I represent myself to my readers, other authors and anyone
because you never know what in this industry where you'll be and what you'll
need. I always remain who I am, which is also essential to my brand. Branding
isn't about being fake or putting on a display; many times it's about time and
place.
The overall goal maybe to
sell books but in many ways, we are selling ourselves. Readers buy books by
great storytellers, people they know or have been highly recommended. As a
reader first, if I see messiness coming from an author, I steer clear. As an
author, I do not engage because it's a fruitless activity that will benefit me
none and sends the wrong type of message I would like my readers and potentials
to get from me. Plus, I work in a school and have to deal with drama five days
a week.
Branding yourself as a
gifted author, that is professional, and a hard worker requires spending money.
Logos, covers and anything that comes from your business, enterprise, publisher
should not look like it was created by an amateur. Honest feedback is necessary
and being open to hearing the truth about something is important. One of my
favorite things to purchase is best-selling covers. You know, those covers that
just make you stop. Yes, those. If they make you stop, the goal is to make the
reader stop. I always run it past my PA to make sure it's not just me. If she
gives me the thumbs up, I usually purchase them.
Logos, swag, and
promotional items can be purchased with minimal cost, thanks to organizations
like freelancer.com, fiverr.com or upwork.com. These are sites that I've used
heavily to create promotional images, videos, bookmarks, t-shirt designs and
much more. For some, you can set the price or select a service provider. Either
way, the cost remain low and affordable for the author trying to professionally
brand themselves, even if it's on social media alone.
How you represent yourself
matters and it counts.
The last thing we all want
is to be discounted because of poor branding or misrepresentations of our work.
Create the brand you want, remain consistent and open for feedback. ♥
Xyla Turner was born and raised in Brooklyn,
New York. She has always been a writer, even as a teenager, she wrote short
stories and essays that won awards and nation-wide competitions. Xyla is an
avid reader of romance novels and a sucker for sassy females and dominant
males. She is a lifelong learner, High School Vice-Principal and a pretty good
Auntie. Outside of reading, Xyla likes to spend time with her family and
friends, experiment with dangerous adventures and travel. She writes different
genres, but her favorite is romance. Visit her at xylaturner.com.
READ ROMANCE!
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