Special Guest Blogger…BRENDA NOVAK!
We are so excited to have the fabulous Brenda Novak in the jungle today!
Tireless, enthusiastic and incredibly talented, Brenda is a great writer who has been a fabulous friend to all the Plotmonkeys.
Brenda is the national bestselling author of 25 novels, which have been honored with numerous awards. From heartwarming to heart-stopping, her books are always a delight.
Summer 2008 will see the release of her next three romantic suspense stories—TRUST ME, STOP ME, and WATCH ME, coming from Mira Books. Visit her Web site at www.brendanovak.com to learn more about her and her work, or to enter her “That’s What Friends are For Contest,” where you could win a Caribbean Cruise for Two.
And don’t forget to check out Brenda’s fabulous AUCTION to fund Diabetes Research. Carly and Leslie both have special prizes up for auction and there are tons of other fabulous items to bid on.
Now, to talk a little about Author Branding…please welcome BRENDA NOVAK!
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There’s a buzzword in the industry that makes almost any author sit up and take notice: branding. Everyone’s talking about it; everyone wants to be effective at it. But…what is it, exactly? And how important is it that we learn to market in this way?
An author brand is like any other kind of brand—Coke, Pepsi, Kellogg’s, Andersen Doors. The most familiar brands evoke immediate recognition and association with particular products or even a level of quality in a certain product. Basically, branding translates into a sort of shorthand. I see a Nora book, I automatically know what kind of experience I can expect by reading it, so I pick it up without having to think twice or do any research. Branding is having a reputation and a loyal following and helps with all those impulse buys that are so critical in the book business.
Branding is important because it enables the author’s name in and of itself to become a marketable commodity. James Patterson is now using his brand to sell stories co-authored by other people. He’s even expanding his brand to include many different types of stories. Now that he’s so strongly associated with a good story, he can do that.
How did he build such a strong brand? By writing consistently great stories. That always has to be first. But there’s more to it than that. Branding is an on-going process and doesn’t generally happen overnight. It’s most difficult in the start-up phase. As well known as they are, Coke and Pepsi are still out there, advertising and building name recognition. It’s like pushing a ball uphill. If you stop pushing, it rolls right back to the bottom—something else encroaches and takes the attention of those you’re hoping to reach.
Specifically, an author brands herself by developing something that is consistent and unique in her writing. I do that by making sure every book I create delivers a deeply emotional, evocative story. How is my brand different from other authors who write in the same genre? My books are known for their deep characterization in a genre that is often more plot-driven (as you drift toward the suspense side). Once you know what you want your brand to be, you establish it through your writing style and “voice,” as well as your promotional efforts, until it becomes recognizable to others.
Some tools an author can use to build her brand are:
Paid Advertising
An interesting and constantly updated Web site
Strategic Contests
Blogs and chats (See? I’m building my brand right here
Newsletters
Charity/Volunteer work
Networking
Joint-promotion with other authors and businesses
Speaking
Writing articles
Press releases/media attention
Author response to fan letters/e-mails
Mailers to booksellers/fans
Samplers
Your brand is your promise to your readers. When my readers buy my books they want to be able to count on a certain type of read. Therefore, I make sure I deliver that kind of read. Everything I do professionally is geared around building my brand and my career, so my Web site reflects that brand, my promotional materials reflect it, my charity auction reflects it, and my workshops/blogs reflect it.
Think about how solicitors make you feel. Because we are approached by so many who are trying to sell us something, the melee is deafening. We learn to filter and filter quickly, which means, in order to be effective in today’s marketplace, we have to be creative marketers. So my question to you is: How can you reach people who are already tired of the signals that are constantly bombarding them via the telephone, TV, computer, etc? How can you set yourself apart?
Throw out some ideas, and I’ll be happy to contribute. J
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PS: One more thing!
Carly hasn’t heard from last weekend’s winner:
The winner of Carly’s Jungle Madness is:
# 123, Leslie Thompson
Leslie, please email carly at: carlyphillips @ mac. com (no spaces) with your snail mail and email address to receive your prize!
Hi Brenda! I’m so glad you’re hanging out in the jungle today. When I saw your picture with your beautiful face, I just starting smiling.
And yes, you are definitely “tireless, enthusiastic and a great writer”. You amaze me with all you do especially your diabetes auction. I don’t know how you do it all and still have the energy to walk around.
For those who haven’t checked out her auction, click the link above. There are some fabulous items up for auction–even more this year–and the money goes to such a great cause.
And if you haven’t ever read Brenda’s books RUN to the bookstore. You’ll be so glad you did.
Thank you so much for being here today and talking about branding. It’s vitally important and a necessary marketing tool if you’re a writer trying to get the word out about your books.
I do have a question about branding…you write thrilling suspense but also Superromance. How does writing two different kinds of books–although Superromance does allow suspense in the stories–effect how you approach branding?
Take care and hope to see you at national,
Cher
Comment by Cher — May 17, 2008 @ 8:47 am
Welcome, Brenda!
We’re honored to have you here!!!!!
Comment by Carly — May 17, 2008 @ 8:48 am
Hi Brenda, what a special treat.. i agree, we all love your books, and i sure have been visiting your auction every day again this year.. what a wonderful thing you do..
Comment by Jolene — May 17, 2008 @ 10:34 am
Brenda thanks so much for hanging out here in the jungle with us today! We are really excited to have you.
I think you’ve done a great job of branding yourself…Carly is another terrific example of author branding.
Me…I’m still trying to decide who I’m going to be when I grow up.
Comment by Leslie Kelly — May 17, 2008 @ 1:48 pm
I have read most of your books—you are an auto buy for me. I’m looking forward to the new series.
Comment by Estella — May 17, 2008 @ 3:10 pm
Hi. Brenda,
It’s so good to see you here today! Your success as a writer is phenomenal ! Your branding/
marketing is outstanding: I see your name or face and I “know” you! I know I will not be
disappointed in your books! Congratulations on the success of your auction! I just left the
site. I was checking my watch list, this is my third year of participating in the auction.
Pat Cochran
Comment by Pat Cochran — May 17, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
Welcome to the jungle Ms. Novak…it is good of you to take some time to come and hang with us…very interesting topic, branding is very important…like you, when I pick up a Nora book, I know what kind of story I am getting…as is the case with the other plotmonkey authors…you mentioned James Patterson…I would say that within the past two or three years, his brand has morphed into something other than Alex Cross…I love the new James’ work too…I am not a witer per se so I have no idea what my brand would be…hopefully I will learn that really quickly when I do start to write full-length novels…gotta go, but I will try to check in later…
Peace and love,
Paula R.
Comment by Paula Robinson — May 17, 2008 @ 7:48 pm
I’m so sorry I missed you today Brenda. Just got back into town and near a computer. I enjoyed what you said on branding and am very excited about your auction. I have several items on my watch list right now. Thanks for all you do to help such a great cause.
Comment by Liza — May 17, 2008 @ 11:45 pm
Hi everyone–
Thanks so much for having me. What a nice intro you gave me. :-)
Cher, great to see you here, too. You’ve always been such a great support for the auction and my work.
Your question about branding…. Actually, writing two different kinds of stories creates a real challenge. Because I think it’s less effective to send out more than one signal at a time, I’ve focused on the romantic suspense. I’m hoping that my readers will love these books enough to go back and see what else I’ve written, which will lead them to the Supers. This has allowed me to build my web site with only one “feel” instead of watering it down by trying to mix the two. I basically asked myself where I thought my promotion efforts could make the most difference and decided to put all my effort and energy toward that.
Great question–and I’m not sure I’ve made the right decision, but I have felt as if my efforts have made more of a difference in this arena.
Brenda
Comment by BrendaNovak — May 18, 2008 @ 4:48 am
Hi Carly–
I’m so happy to be here. Thanks for inviting me.
And Jolene–You’re one of my favorite auction shoppers. Thanks so much for all your participation. We’re coming up on $160,000 today. Amazing, isn’t it?
Brenda
Comment by BrendaNovak — May 18, 2008 @ 4:50 am
Leslie,
That’s the toughest question of all: deciding what you want your brand to be. Once you establish that, it’s not so hard to think of ways to promote it (but you’re not giving yourself enough credit–you’re doing a great job already).
Brenda
Comment by BrendaNovak — May 18, 2008 @ 4:52 am
Estella–
There is no word an author loves more than the word “autobuy.” LOL That means you have come to trust an author’s name–what a great compliment.
I’m having a bit of trouble posting here (I’m in Germany on vacation right now) so I hope this Internet connection holds up….
Brenda
Comment by BrendaNovak — May 18, 2008 @ 4:55 am
Pat, you are another auction stalwart. It’s funny, I feel like you guys are part of my family. I see your name come up in the auction and recognize it from past years and get excited to see you return.
The whole self-promotion thing is a topic we could talk about forever. What works, what doesn’t. I’ve put a lot of effort into promotion (well, what I can do considering I have such a big family and such tight deadlines). Sometimes I see results and am glad I did. Other times I wonder if it’s all a waste of time. I really believe it’s a partnership and most effective when the publisher is doing its part, too. There are a few exceptions, of course, but I don’t think an author can make a huge impact all on her own. She definitely needs all the visibility she can get via her publisher (and that coveted co-op space in front of bookstores).
Brenda
Comment by BrendaNovak — May 18, 2008 @ 4:59 am
Paula–You’re not the only one who has told me that they like the new James Patterson stuff. That he’s been able to branch out and do so many new things and still maintain such a market share is amazing.
Branding is basically shorthand, you know? It’s getting to a point where folks recognize and trust your name without having to give them any extra information.
Comment by BrendaNovak — May 18, 2008 @ 5:02 am
Hi Liza–
Thanks for joining in. I think I might’ve screwed up because of the time difference here. LOL I was sleeping when you guys were posting. The jet lag has nearly killed me. Continental screwed up and made me miss my connecting flight in Newark, so they had to reroute me through Manchester, England. It took me over 24 hours to get to Frankfurt.
I’m almost afraid to try and head home at the end of this…. LOL
Brenda
Comment by BrendaNovak — May 18, 2008 @ 5:05 am
Comment by Lori Barnes — May 18, 2008 @ 11:11 am