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I'm very grateful to
Elizabeth for inviting me as her guest today. She said that her readers are
interested in writing tips and suggested that I write about “writers as a
brand.”
I'm happy to do this because this happens to be my field of expertise:
Besides being a multi-published author by Avalon Books and now being an
indie-author, I'm also working as a Global Marketing Manager for an
international brand, so building a brand is something I deal with every day.
But what exactly do they mean when they say you should “build a brand”?
Superficially looking, a
brand is a name for a certain range of products. When you look deeper, you'll
realize that a brand is more than that. It's an imprint on your mind. An
established brand has certain values linked to it, and these values will pop up
in the mind of the consumer when they see it.
Think Coca Cola. You
will not think of your sofa and a rug over your knees when you see it. Coca
Cola is the brand to go out and have fun, and they have carefully groomed that
image over centuries. Now imagine that a new marketing manager would come to
them and would say “Hey, guys, we can tap into new target groups by positioning
this brand for the home as well.” As a consequence, they start an advertising
campaign focusing on the home, when you're on your own, just that lovely Coke
and you.
A risky strategy, to say
the least, because the consumer will be irritated. The values that Coca Cola
was standing for - like fun, being on the go, being with friends – are now
suddenly being diluted.
Now this is the same for
authors. For example, I'm positioning myself as an author who writes books with
touches of humor and mischief. It doesn't matter if they're romances or
mysteries - as long as they make me chuckle, count me in. I've published over
ten books and short stories, and the readers who know my name will know that
they can rely on a happy end, on a chuckle, and that they can give these novels
to their teenage daughters without a qualm. That's what my name is standing
for.
Now imagine that I
suddenly get this crazy urge to write a noir, dystopian novel that ends with
the world falling apart or a really hot erotic romance. Should I write this
under the name of Beate Boeker? Most definitely not! I would shock my readers
and would confuse them. I'm not saying I can't write this; I just have to
choose a different brand – in this case a pseudonym – to make sure that my
readers get a clear message. Of course, you can make cross-references and can
tell your established readers about your different names, in case they are open
to reading widely across all genres and like your style, no matter the content,
but you have to keep your marketing well apart.
Everything I post on
Facebook or anywhere else has to fit to the tone of my novel. Of course, I'm
not always feeling breezy and happy and in an Italian-sort-of-mood, but when
I'm building my brand, I have to make sure I'm consistent (and if I need to
rave, I do it offline with my friends!).
Also, a brand has to be
easily recognizable. Ideally, this means that your covers speak the same
language. They don't all have to look alike, but they have to convey the same
feelings. I admit that I haven't realized this perfectly for all my novels so
far, however, for my cozy mystery series, I have decided to take one theme –
the typical Italian shutters – and to use them in different color
constellations. This makes it easy to recognize the theme.
Below is an excerpt of
the first novel in my cozy mystery Delayed Death. It's one of my favorite
scenes, where the heroine, Carlina, gets to know the investigating officer
Garini a little bit better, and I think it's a typical example of my voice or
brand – a bit of romance all wrapped around the mystery and a bit of humor, set
in Italy. I'm looking forward to discussing what you think about this topic.
"Where did you find your
grandfather?"
Carlina throat tightened. The
preliminaries were over. Now came the hard part. "Grandpa sat at the
kitchen table." Her voice cracked.
"Go on."
She felt as if he was pushing her bit by
bit forward, until she would drop off a cliff. "My cousin . . . Emma threw
a fit."
His eyebrows twitched. "Why?"
"Emma was the bride! His death
destroyed her wedding."
Commissario Garini looked as if he had no
clue what she was talking about.
Do you have no
imagination at all? "Can
you picture the bride coming up to church and saying that her grandfather just
died?" Carlina closed her eyes. It was easier to speak without looking at
the man made of steel next to her. "Everybody bursting into tears, the
wedding canceled, no dancing, no party, the flowers wilting, the ceremony
postponed, the honeymoon annulled . . ." She shook her head so hard, she
felt the edge of the shelf beneath her hair.
"I like the wilting flowers,"
he said. "Nice touch."
Beate Boeker is a traditionally published author since 2008 and now offers many full-length novels and short stories online. Several were shortlisted for the Golden Quill Contest, the National Readers' Choice Award, and the 'Best Indie Books of 2012' contest.
She is a marketing manager by day with a degree in International Business Administration, and her daily experience in marketing continuously provides her with a wide range of fodder for her novels, be it hilarious or cynical.
While 'Boeker' means 'books' in a German dialect, her first name Beate can be translated as ‘Happy’ . . . and with a name that reads ‘Happy Books’, what else could she do but write novels with a happy end?
Find Beate on:
Facebook – Beate Boeker Author
https://www.facebook.com/
Facebook – Beate Boeker Author
https://www.facebook.com/
Twitter - @BeateBoeker
Homepage - www.happybooks.de
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