For Writers & Authors

Writing resources, the business side of writing, and writer and author branding.

Q & A:
Should I have a book or author photo as my profile picture?

Q: My profile photo on Facebook and Instagram is my book cover. Should I keep it that way, or have a picture of myself? —Brian

Andrea:

Make it a personal photo for sure! People want to connect with a human being, they like books because books are about people. 😛 So upload a nice author brand photo of yourself as your profile pic.

It’s safe to assume that most people are in a hurry and are distracted. Make it as easy as possible for them to find what you want them to find. BTW, I suggest making your cover photo your book, along with one or two positive review quotes/blurbs, and then your profile should be your personal photo.

Remember, you’re building a career–one that won’t just be based on one singular book.

You can find more tips for building your author brand on social media in my article on The Write Life.

 

Do you have a burning question about branding your writing or creativity? The business or psychological side to pursuing your dream of supporting yourself with your creative work? Please email it to me. It just might get selected to be featured on this blog.

 

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Decision Fatigue is Robbing Your Creativity: What to do About it.

Decision Fatigue Can Rob Your Creativity

Have you heard of capsule wardrobes? Or entrepreneurs who eat the same exact thing for breakfast every day? There’s a reason they’re doing this. And I’ve totally been resisting it. But I think it’s time to change that.

Did you know that adults in the U.S. are estimated to make 35,000 decisions per day? Holy shit. No wonder I sometimes feel like an incoherent blob the end of a hard day.

Research shows that we have only so many good decisions in us, on any given day. This phenomenon is called decision fatigue.

decision fatigue robs your creativity

Any given day we choose what to eat, wear, buy, believe, how to work, where to go, and the list goes on. As the day wears on our willpower and ability to make quality decisions deteriorates.

And yeah, it’s totally worse if you have kids, a disability, others to care for, a household to run, deal with discrimination, have health issues, etc. (more factors=more decisions)

This is where tools like the capsule wardrobe (ugh) come in.

Leaders and entrepreneurs like President Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Nicole Richie have adopted capsule wardrobes because it reduces the need for another creative decision in the morning. The theory is that the less good decision-making “credits” you use up the more reserves you’ll have left for important choices throughout the day. Have one navy suit, two ties and two white shirts? Boom, you know what to wear, with little to no consideration needed.

Now I’m not proposing you throw out 90% of your clothes. A capsule wardrobe, or eating the same thing for breakfast everyday isn’t going to change your whole life. But imagine the results for your creativity, or personal brand, if you consistently did this kind of thing with a bunch of daily tasks and removed the need to make some of the more arbitrary decisions. Now that may make a big difference.

To be clear: I do not currently utilize a capsule wardrobe or eat the same thing every day (though most days my breakfast is an RX Bar). I actually like to joke that because of my years of being a sometimes broke single mom, that I’ve had an involuntary capsule wardrobe for the past ten years. 😉

Seriously though, as I continue to tweak my lifestyle to fit my dreams, I want to cut the waste and optimize my life and career the way I really want it to be. I don’t want to squander precious time on things that don’t matter to me.

These are times when events are often outside of our control–inevitable roadblocks, bumps, potholes on the road. Pandemic, anyone? These may require more decisions that can potentially rob us of our ability to accelerate as fast as we’d like down toward our dream life. Sometimes they even run the risk of knocking us off the road completely.

Paring down decisions can be one way to help you keep momentum when you’re starting to feel overwhelmed. Simplifying can help you hold on to your creativity and ability to make better decisions on a daily basis.

What to Do About It

So, below are some ways to reduce decision-making in your daily life. Obviously, not all of these things will work for everyone. For instance, I would get bored of eating the same thing everyday, while someone else might love it. Customize with your own needs in mind.

As a creative multi-passionate person I also have huge resistance toward- what I like to call -“a boring old routine.” But I’ve also found that a balance of routine and free time really helps my focus and progress on my projects. So here we go:

  • Plan the week’s meals ahead, buy everything and meal prep on Sunday (or whatever day starts off your week).
  • Eat the same thing for breakfast, lunch or dinner everyday. I prefer only to do this for breafast, but you know, do you. 😉
  • Simplify to a capsule wardrobe
  • Set a clear work schedule (especially if you work from home) and stick to it as much as possible
  • Set a clear creative project schedule. Treat your creative project as important as work, or exercise–or whatever you naturally have an easier time prioritizing.
  • Embrace (or try for a month) a morning routine–time for yourself in the morning where you do the same thing every day: get your coffee, write your morning pages, take a shower, eat your avocado toast, do yoga, etc. whatever works for you.
  • Set your clothes out the night before.
  • Batch time/decision wasters: check email 1-3 times a day at set times (instead of incessantly all day), check the snail mail once or twice a week, do laundry only on certain days, etc.
  • Outsource mundane tasks (if you can) like cleaning, laundry, design, bookkeeping, errands, etc.
  • Use IF/THEN pairing decisions: “If it’s 5pm, I quit working for the day; if I have a glass of wine, I have a glass of water.”
  • Prioritize big or important decisions or tasks for the beginning of the day. Keep your To-Do list short and execute like a bawse!
  • Ask yourself if there’s a simpler way. Sometimes we get too wrapped up in options or “best case” choices. I’ve literally deliberated over types of milk in the grocery store for 10 minutes, before. It’s ridiculous. So more often lately, I’m trying to remind myself–what’s the simplest solution here? The least stressful?
  • Remember that done is better than perfect. Sometimes you just need to finish something. You could even possibly come back later when you’re fresh. I often use this approach with clients who are on a deadline, sometimes it’s more important to get something right. Other times, it’s best to finish a simpler version of something and then add bells and whistles in phase two.
  • Stick to one task at a time until it’s finished. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been working and save a big graphic file on my computer, that might take 30 seconds (max) to save, and I feel the urge to go check on some other project “while I’m waiting.” 30-frickin-minutes later, I realize I’ve actually wasted more time by switching tasks.
  • Meditate, do yoga, or something mindful each morning (or any time you’re feeling overwhelmed) to start your day and strengthen your good ole prefrontal cortex (aka the good decision factory).

When it comes to your writing career, here are some additional ways to help get your best decisions made before you begin to burn out later in the day.

  • Set aside time to put together (or revisit) your branding and marketing strategy once or twice per year. Knowing what you want to achieve, by when, with measurable tasks can then be then broken down and used as checklists, rather than having to remind yourself repeatedly what to do next, or decide on what the next promotion will be.
  • Take time to go deep FIRST and get a solid understanding of what you really want, what you want to be known for and what steps you may need to get there. I’ve found that a great deal of decision fatigue develops when you’re not solid on what you really want to build. When that happens your subconscious desires (some of which can be self-sabotaging) take over.
  • Do the research and brainstorming it takes to really get to know your Ideal Readers. Once you understand them on a deeper level, marketing, branding, pricing, etc. decisions will become a lot easier. Plus you won’t be tempted as much by the latest “miracle” marketing bullshit.
  • Keep a Creative Ideas folder on your computer or phone (or good old hard copy). Use software to organize all these files and ideas, using the likes of Google Drive, Notion, Evernote, or equivalent software. This way, when you get great ideas (that you can’t necessarily act on right now or you’ll distract yourself) you know they’ll be in a safe place, waiting for when you have more time. I have both a physical folder and digital for this. Plus I also use Notion.
  • Reduce or distill your larger 6 month/year goals down into monthly, weekly, daily goals. Smaller chunks, when written out, will help you just follow the list rather than feeling like you need to decide what’s next.
  • Plan out your week, every week in advance–schedule in specific time for tasks so you can just follow along (for the most part) during your work week.
  • Organize your creativity and/or business supplies in a way that works for your brain, makes things easy to find, and helps you stay in the flow.

It’s important to separate our processes from our decisions and I hope that a few of these tips will help you clear your head and make more progress on the things you care most about.

If you find yourself avoiding working on your author brand or marketing efforts, here’s a piece about shifting your mindset.

Q & A:
Should I establish a brand for my book or myself?

brand your book or yourself

Q: I have a book out and one forthcoming. How do I establish a brand? Should I brand my book or myself personally? Do I link the two books through titles? —Lee

Andrea: Generally speaking you want to establish your brand for you as the author, not only for your book(s). But before you tell your agent or and publisher that, let me explain what I mean.

Your books are tools to build your brand–they are also a integral part of your brand. They are huge, but they are not everything. They are sub-brands of your overall personal brand. Think of it like Johnson & Johnson. We all know that name, but we also know their sub-brands: Neutrogena, Aveeno, and Lubriderm, to name a few.

To bring this analogy closer to home when thinking about whether to brand your book or yourself personally, think about some of your favorite authors. Sure, they are known for the books they’ve written, but they are also known for who they are/their writing style/stories/approach/voice, etc.

The successful authors have established a “name brand” for themselves that transcends their books and retains their readers’ loyalty, even if their subsequent books may be different than their first.

There are a variety of ways to begin establishing your author brand, here are just a few ideas to get your creativity flowing:

  • writing and publishing the books (duh! 😉 
  • a professional-looking website
  • local and online events (and readings)
  • engage in activities with your potential readers: create a profile (or updatee it) on your two favorite (or least hated) social networks
  • write shorter form pieces and pitch/submit for publication online
  • write blog posts
  • do public speaking engagements
  • look for like-minded allies and consider cross-promoting
  • treat your email list like your friends, make sure you stick to a consistent emailing schedule that works with your life and provide valuable information and resources
  • get out there in your community and get to know other writers, readers, etc. you never know what can happen once you put yourself out there more consistently

A few things to consider though, before you jump into any of the above ideas:

  • Take some time to figure out what you want to be known for–what your personal brand is all about. This will help you stay on track and “on brand” when selecting events to participate in, promotional activities to engage in, and content to create and/or share.
  • Your online presence should be YOU. While people might love a book, they friend or follow actual humans. So your profile pic should be you, but your banner or cover images (on social) can be all about your book.

Also, regarding that last part of the question. No, you don’t need to link your two books through their titles, unless there is some other reason to do so, for instance if they are in a series or something like that. Branding-wise, your name is link enough though.

Do you have a burning question about branding your writing or creativity? The business or psychological side to pursuing your dream of supporting yourself with your creative work? Please email it to me. It just might get selected to be featured on this blog.

 

Q & A: I write in multiple genres and topics, how do I build an audience?

write different genres how to build audience

Q: I, like several of the other writers here, write multiple genres and on multiple topics. Consciousness, mindfulness, dance and somatics in nonfiction largely; also poetry (several books) and fiction. I’ve a Facebook presence, tweet, blog. How do I build audience further? Seems my brand is broad.  —Cheryl

Andrea: This is a question that so many writers have. To be honest some of us not only write on many subjects and in several genres but are also into other things like design, or other creative ventures. This is one of the beauties of being human, we’re not just one thing.

1. Identify the central theme, or through-line. I find that when we seem to have a varied brand like this it’s helpful to pull out the central themes–just like you would a story.

It sounds like your readers are interested in living conscious lives. At first glance, that seems to be your overarching theme–or core brand.

Your varied writings are extensions of this core brand. They are both the content and the different approaches to your central brand of conscious living.

2. What makes your approach different?

The next step is to think about how you approach it uniquely. What makes you different than others doing similar things? Maybe it’s your approach or your knowledge of dance and mindfulness? Your background?

 

Cheryl: Yes and yes. You’ve zeroed in on it. I call my blog InBod. All my work looks at the way we embody ourselves and make ourselves more conscious.

Andrea: See, you’re on the right track!

3. So your next step might be to identify like-minded brands who have bigger audiences than yours and explore ways to collaborate so you can start building a larger following with the right kind of people.

Either that, or you can also learn from the way they do things in order to get ideas on how to build your audience.

 

Cheryl: I’m stumbling on grasping “like-minded brands.” Do you have examples?

 

Andrea: Okay, sure, so I would start with making a list of the kinds of things do you read, watch, and engage with on the subject. That’s where I would go, mindful living magazines, other bloggers, local events, mindfulness organizations. Start taking a more mindful look at how they engage with their audience but also, if possible, the steps they took to get where they are today. You may be surprised what you find. There’s no reason to reinvent the wheel when you can learn from similar brands who’ve gone before you.

This is the first post of a new series on my blog. If you’d like to be notified when the next one goes up, sign up for my weekly e-mail list below.

Image: Photo by Hannah Olinger on Unsplash

3 Creative Ways to Build Your Audience

build your audience for your creative work

You’ve created something amazing—an important book, a stirring song, a cool website, an amazing new service—and now it’s time to build your audience. These days there are more ways to get in front of more eyeballs than ever before. The sky is the limit!

Except of course, that maybe you’ve tried some things and you’re not getting the results you expected.

If I’m honest, there’s always this part of me that wishes against all reality that one of my creations will go viral. I mean, we all do right?

Okay, maybe I’m the only one, but even if you just want to get enough attention to build your business, or change someone’s perspective, or share encouragement, it’s usually going to take some effort. And time.

While there’s no magic approach, I’d like to share three ways that you can get out there and reach your ideal customers, readers, or patrons, more effectively.

Create a Quiz

This is something I’ve been having some fun obsessing over lately: creating online quizzes. We all know how irresistible and addictive online quizzes can be, but did you know they can be a great tool for building your email list? It’s true. And it’s not just Buzzfeed that’s in the game. Smaller brands and larger (like Home Depot and Eventbrite) use quizzes to not only get new subscribers, but better serve them as well. Let me explain.

I confess I haven’t created a ton of quizzes yet, but so far I’m really impressed with not only the options you can provide folks (including an option to NOT have to sign up for your email list). I personally like that you can tailor resource recommendations based on a quiz-taker’s results or answers.  And after all, if someone is nice enough to try out your quiz you want to provide as much value to them as possible. So for instance, you could recommend certain blog posts, downloads, or even products based on what their results were.

The company I use to create quizzes (and totally recommend) is called Interact. Full disclosure, I’m a partner member and an affiliate, but I am because I believe in the fricken product! Not only does their quiz-creation software have a ton of amazing features but they are truly committed to continuing to improve their software and service. They want to be the best quiz creation software out there. And I think they’re doing a helluva job. Check them out.

Here are a few quick ideas of ways you could use a quiz, as an author:

  • Nonfiction: Pick a juicy question based on the subject matter of your book. For instance, “How efficient are you with time?” (for a book like Time Management from the Inside Out), or “Are you a master negotiator?” (for a book like Getting to Yes)
  • Mystery Novel: “How many of these mystery novels can you name?”
  • Novel: “What Kind of Warrior Are You?” or “Which Character are You?”
  • Cookbook: “Which of these ingredients provide the most nutrients?” or “How many of these Food Network stars can you name?”
  • Biography: “How well do you know Jackie Kennedy?”

Of course, it does get a little more challenging with memoir and some other genres, but you just might come up with a great idea based on the subject matter, niche, or genre of your book.

Here are a couple examples of writers who use quizzes: Stephanie Bwabwa and Angela J. Ford.

And here’s an example of one of my new quizzes: 

build your audience with quizzes

Do an Informative Webinar with a Fellow Creative

Toward the end of last year I created a fun and information-packed webinar series with some amazing writers, editors, and entrepreneurs, called The Business of Writing series. It was a great way to build up our mutual email lists, share knowledge, help people, and get to know each other better.

Build your audience

Screenshot of one of the webinars in the series

When you partner up with a colleague to do a webinar (or online workshop) you are both able to cross-promote and build your audiences while also providing high-quality content to your audiences.

I use and recommend Webinarjam, though it can be expensive up front if you’re just starting out. There are many webinar software platforms out there so take a look around before deciding. I know some of my colleagues also like Crowdcast and GoTo Webinar, which bill monthly.

Whatever you choose, keep the presentation, graphics, and process as simple as possible. My biggest mistake when putting together the aforementioned webinar series was spending WAAAAY too much time making beautiful graphics and slides. I mean, I know people liked them, but it ate up too much of my time. Though next time, I’ve now got some pretty great graphics that I may be able to repurpose. So there’s that.

That’s the thing, whatever you try, try it a few times because chances are it won’t be EPIC the first few times. But you’ll learn how to improve things as you go along.

Also note that you can provide free webinars, free webinars where you sell something at the end (no shame in that), or even paid webinar workshops. Every creative or writer is different, so consider what works with your creative work.

Let Them Try Before They Buy

I’m not necessarily saying you should give people your book or paintings or classes for free. In fact, a lot of times it can actually undermine your value.  I’m a big believer in valuing creative work! But, sometimes you can still give them something to offer a taste of what you provide.

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

  • A free worksheet from your online course
  • A free mini coaching session or consultation
  • A free trial size of your product
  • A free weekly quality tips email
  • A free chapter of your book
  • A free reading guide with your book
  • A free bookmark

You get the idea. Give what you can to give them an impression of the value and art that you’re offering, but be sure to follow that up with an offer for them to actually buy your service, product, course, or book. In other words, on your free worksheet you could have a link back to your course with a call-to-action; maybe your free coaching session includes a coupon for 10% off their first twelve weeks; or your trial product has a coupon attached; or the chapter of your book provides a link at the end to buy the whole book; or maybe people have to sign up for your email list in order to get the reading guide for your book; or maybe someone has to leave a Goodreads review (positive or not) to get a free bookmark. These are just spitballs to get your creative ideas flowing.

I hope these three suggestions to promote your oh-so-wonderful creative work have given you some ideas on what you might try next. I realize that you might have questions about some of these ways to build your audience, because honestly each of these could be an entire post unto themselves. If you do, please feel free to leave a question in the comments below, or even email me. I’m happy to help as best I can.

Most of all, I hope your work gets the audience it so richly deserves. Keep on plugging, my friends.

The Most Important Element of Your Writing Style & How to Find It

Finding Your Voice in Writing

Sounding Like “You”

“This is good Mom, but it doesn’t sound like you,” my son told me one afternoon, after reading an essay draft I had just shared with him.

“Yeah.” My daughter nodded from her spot on the couch.

I gulped down the wedge of insecurity moving up from my throat, so could actually stomach what my teenagers were telling me. At the time, I was about half way through my program at UCLA Writers’ Program, but I hadn’t been able to place what was “off” with my essay.

I knew they were right. And it stung, I had worked for days on that essay. Finding my voice had felt like trying to hold tight to one of those watersnake squishy toys from the nineties.

Find your voice--as hard as holding on to a watersnake

Writing for your reader is important for many reasons—to connect, in keep attention, to avoid rambling on about something only you are interested in. But I believe it’s equally important to balance that with being connected with who you are at your core.

Understanding what lights you up—or puts a fire in your belly—can crack open the slippery shell, giving you access to that gooey center that is YOUR VOICE—the thing that will set your work apart.

Finding My Voice in Fiction

A few months after my kids read my essay a short story came to me, like a gift from the universe. It was something I’d been wanting to write for a while. I was so fascinated by the subject matter: the California frontier in the mid 1800’s. Though I had very little experience dabbling in fiction, I finally took a stab at it.

I pounded out this story in pure joy and felt pretty good about it, even in its drafty (I can use that version of draft, right?) state.

Again, I eagerly shared it with my kids.

“Mom, this is you! And this is so awesome, I wish there was more.”

I was floored and elated all at once. Somehow I’d found my voice in fiction. How could this be?
All along I’d been writing creative nonfiction about my own damn life and yet it wasn’t coming through as “me.”

Turns out I needed to change it up.

It took me a while longer to translate that “self” into nonfiction. And honestly, writing for YOU, on my blog, online, and weekly emails, has helped me grab onto my voice in a more authentic way. There’s something about writing to teach that helps you get past yourself so you can find your voice. If that makes any sense. 😉

How You Might Find Your Voice

If you struggle sometimes with feeling like something is a little off in your work—but you’re not sure what—explore new options. Try to write about something you’re fascinated with, or dabble in a new genre (or your own invented genre). Maybe even write about something that really gets your goat.

Start writing about something you’re very knowledgeable in, with the intent of being yourself while helping others.

Ultimately, we live in a world of billions of perspectives (almost 8 Billion people, as a matter of fact) and sometimes exploring other experiences can help us figure out where the margins of our own thinking are.

Chances are the subject matter you write about, the themes, the tips, the methods—they are likely not absolutely NEW.

What sets what you’re doing apart is your voice. Your unique way of looking at the world, the way in which you combine ideas, words, and perspective is important. Because guess what? No one else has your exact perspective and voice. But it’s up to you to find it, embrace it, and share it.

Explore new ways to find your voice. Then go change some minds with your art. There’s no doubt in my mind that you can.

Computer photo cred: rawpixel.com on Unsplash
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Why Branding is So Important for Writers and Creatives

One of the most common questions I get from writers and creatives is, “how can branding help me?” There are so many ways, but for brevity’s sake let’s just look at these few. But first, remember that great personal branding is all about knowing yourself so you can go kick ass at whatever it is you love!

If you’re unsure of exactly what the hell a brand is, you’re not alone. Read this post first to get the quick definition (& how it’s different than platform, or marketing).

If you DO know what a brand really is, read on.

Clarity = Powa! (aka Power)

Branding makes your life easier. Imagine you have a clear vision of where you want to go, what makes you strong, what values you hold dear, and clarity as to just who you are.

Suddenly making decisions like whether to take that job, or make that video, or write that book become easier. I’m not saying it’s magic, but it does give you more powa to make decisions.

Unlike what you may have thought before, your brand doesn’t pigeon-hole you, it frees you to be your most authentic self while pursuing the goals you truly care about.

Email Newsletters, ads, sales funnels, etc. are pointless without mindset.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the sheer quantity and pace of marketing? Really, who has time to do all of the things that everyone says you should do to promote yourself? We have to pick and choose what we’ll try and how we’ll market ourselves–but those are just actions, to do list items. If we want to succeed we have to change our mindset.

I’ve been working in branding and marketing for many years, but it wasn’t until recently that I realized just how key mindset is.

When you’re down in the trenches promoting yourself or your work it doesn’t always feel refreshing or inspiring. It’s easy to lose sight of why you’re doing it in the first place. That’s where branding shines. If you’ve created a cohesive brand and branding strategy, it’s easier to go back and remind yourself of your WHY (why you’re doing all this anyway).

But there’s one more thing.

Brand strategy also takes you in depth into who your ideal market is and once you have a more intuitive and structured insight to who the people are who love your work (what they desire, and where they are) all of your efforts become more effective as well.

Marketing without first taking the time to figure out your brand strategy is like throwing darts into a lake, hoping to catch a fish.

Achievement isn’t as satisfying if you don’t know who you really are and what you really want.

We’ve all seen it before, people at the pinnacle of their careers who end up having a mental breakdown, or worse. And instinctively we know that many times this is do to overwhelm at a life that was reeling from fame and fortune. I’m no celebrity or billionaire, but I’m willing to bet self knowledge and mental healthcare could have prevented these tragic reactions to “success.”

When you are no longer in a low-key existential crisis all the time, you suddenly have the strength and clarity to do the things you never imagined you could.

Like creating the kind of art you feel born to create, for instance. Good brand development helps empowers you to do this.

You have a brand, whether you want one or not.

Think about the ridiculously successful writers and creatives you know of–they all have a personal brand, or what some might call a personal philosophy.

You understand quickly who they are and what they’re all about. You then use that knowledge to decide whether or not they are for you. Your audience deserves the same.

Regardless of whether you’re consciously creating a brand strategy, or just doing your random thang, people are watching. They are deciding whether or not you and your work fit into their lives. If you want to be successful you must make it easy to understand just what you’re all about.

What drives you? What do you want to do in this life of yours? How do you want to be perceived?

Chances are, you will not achieve the kind of success you want, unless you get super clear about who you truly are and what you offer the world.

The Secret Sauce is you.

When I set out to become a legit writer I was very confused about how to brand myself. After all I wrote in different genres and my day job was in marketing, design, and branding for business. For months I struggled with just what I wanted to do.

Then one day I attended a local TedX talk on personal branding. The speaker said something that  shifted everything for me. Paraphrased it was this:

When it comes to personal branding, what you do for a living doesn’t matter as much as who you are.

Let that sink in for a moment.

How you move about the world, your values, your desires, your professionalism, the way you do things is most important. Whether you change careers or genres it doesn’t matter if you’ve build a solid brand based on WHO you are.

This is what helps personal brands like Elizabeth Gilbert or Shonda Rhimes skip from genre or format without losing their fan base. People want to engage with other people. Sure they may be initially attracted to your writing or art, or songs, or whatever you’re making, but they will STAY because WHO you are comes through and resonates with them.

Invest in self-knowledge

This is why I do what I do. See, I believe we have the opportunity to make the world a better place and we all have our parts to play. Writers and creatives are needed more than ever. And yet writers and creatives tend to doubt themselves more than most. Our culture has placed more value on money than beauty, but I know we can have both. I refuse to follow the starving artist philosophy.

It’s the arts that makes us human, settles us, informs us, ignites us, and helps us remember that there is more to life than mere survival.

I’m on a mission to help creative people step into their authentic selves, even if that self is a work-in-progress–spoiler: we are all works-in-progress–and gain the clarity they need to live the life and do the work they feel pulled to do.

Branding is not platform, or marketing. Here’s the real definition.

Branding (or author branding) is a term that gets thrown around a lot lately. Everyone’s talking about it, but few actually know what it means. If you’re one of those who’s scratching your head at this jargon, don’t worry even big companies sometimes get the definition wrong, or incomplete.

I want to change that for you right now. I’ve dedicated a large portion of my career to branding and as far as I know, I was the first to create a system specifically for author branding. The reason I am so passionate about it is because I believe it is the most essential component of a lasting writing career–or really any career.

Branding not as gross (or convoluted) as you might think.

Contrary to how many people use this term, I want you to know that it does not constitute becoming a sellout or a fake. You do not need to become a Kardashian. You do not need butt implants, botox, or a boob job to have a brand.

And once you understand exactly what author branding truly is (and the power it holds)  it actually frees you up to be more authentically yourself while  worrying less about your career and public image. Odd, right? Maybe that goes against everything you’ve seen so far. That’s good.

First, let’s break down the concept of what a personal brand or “brand” is.

For it’s most basic definition I’ll quote Jane Friedman:

“Brand is about how you and your work are perceived. In a word. Brand is expectation.”

Jane is right, but I’d like to expand on that so you understand how it works on a different level.

Now, if that’s a brand, what is brandING?

the definition of branding

[Image Description: Branding: Is simply the self-knowledge, strategy, planning, and actions that go into crafting your personal brand and displaying it to the world.]

Now that you have the basics, let’s clarify one of the areas that is most confused:

How Branding is different than marketing or platform

 

 

I hope that this post helped clarify what a brand and branding is and how it is different than marketing and author platform. If you’d like to learn a bit more about why branding is important, and how to utilize it to build your writer brand, author platform and ultimately the writing or creative career you really want, check out the sister post to this one, called Why Branding is So Important for Writers and Creatives.

 

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Inspiration is for Freakin’ Amateurs

“Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.” -Chuck Close

I realize this is a funny thing to say given that my work is largely infused with inspiration/motivation, but you’ll see what I’m really getting at. As writers and/or artists, we know that 90% of the battle is just putting your damn butt in the chair to write, or picking up the paintbrush (or pencil), or whatever implement you use to create. Yet all too often we expect this flash of inspiration to hit us like a gift from the gods.

Sure sometimes that happens, but more often than not it’s a slow build.

For me, creative writing, especially nonfiction about my life, is often an arduous process. There’s the occasional moment where the clouds part and the Universe says, “here you go, honey,” as they hand me a nugget of flow.

But usually, it pretty much goes like this:

 

As a kid I was a good student. I hated disappointing anyone almost as much as I hated being anything less than perfect. For the most part I got straight A’s. I was highly disappointed in myself if I didn’t.

Classmates would often remark that I was “so smart” or how they wished they could get A’s like I did. Frankly, this kind of pissed me off. Sure, on the surface this was a compliment, but underneath was the assumption that I just had some special gift that they didn’t. Bear with me, I know I sound like a bragging asshole right now.

I spent hours studying, doing drills, and practicing to earn those grades. In fact, in fourth grade when I got my first D ever (ironically, in spelling), Dad and I worked every night for months to bring that up to an A.

I was lucky that my parents definitely passed down their genetic propensity for traditional intelligence (make no mistake there are many different types of intelligence), but after that, it was up to me to get the grades even in subjects that felt like my brain was being torn apart. I’m looking at you math and conceptual physics!

In seventh grade this girl Mary and I competed for the best grades, we were often neck-in-neck for who had the best percentage A. This was when I realized there were smarter, harder working kids than me. She wanted it more and maybe she was smarter than me, too. I backed down a bit from my quest for perfection and sometimes settled for B’s or C’s (conceptual physics, you bitch). If I couldn’t be THE best, I’d get by with my reasonable best.

The thing is, I never applied this drive to physical activity as a kid. When it came to sports of most kinds, I was riddled with self-doubt and self-pity. If I couldn’t hit the ball, run fast enough, or catch often enough I just gave up. I needed to be at the top, and if I couldn’t I bowed out. It didn’t occur to me that hard work might just get me to “decent” eventually. I understood how to apply hardwork to school, but not as much to other things.

~

Fast forward twenty-some years to when I started out at UCLA X Writers Program. I entered thinking I was a pretty good writer who just needed to learn some tools in order to write better. From my first class, I realized I was an amateur. I was not even close to the top tier. Again, I wanted to be THE best. 

I secretly dreamed of being the next Joan Didion, or Mary Karr, until I realized I would likely not only would have to work for decades, but also was not born with their level of talent either.

Something had shifted. After a brief mourning period around not being born a golden child, I was able to better fight the urge to be perfect. I cared so much about becoming a better writer. Writing was something I’d wanted to learn since high school, and now I was finally doing it. I wanted to learn as much as possible, and push myself to my best, but not THE best. 

The initial momentum of my dream to become a writer propelled me, but it was the revisiting of it that got me through the hundreds of edits and thousands of hours of writing. I still feel as if I have a long way to go, but now just being on the path is enough to keep me going.

~

I liken creative work to walking. When you’re doing the work, you often feel as if you’re just staring at your feet as they step over the earth. You’re not sure where things are going, or even where you’ve been. There’s beauty in that presence, but if you don’t look up occasionally you’ll likely fall off a cliff or wander into a bad neighborhood.

On the other hand, if all you do is look up and around and your surroundings, looking for inspiration or motivation, you’ll never effectively see the path that leads you to your goals. And we all know the path is always a winding one.

I think then that our best bet is to do both. Observe what’s happening in our world, look forward toward our goals, our ultimate vision, as we call it in my personal branding course.  But we must also remember to look down at our feet, be in the moment, so we don’t stumble over that rock, or we can step over that brook, or clear out those branches that have fallen to block our path.

The rewards are all around us and even within the work of our path. But it’s that combination of steps, moving forward–the daily work–that leads us closer to our dreams, while that looking up that reminds us why we’re here.  

The more we do the work, the more inspiration follows. We don’t have to be the best, but when we are relentless in the pursuit of our calling, dream, or purpose, our most inspired work bursts forth.

How to Get Readers to Actually Remember You

Being a professional writer is only half about writing that book, or screenplay (or whatever your big project is). The other half is actually getting someone to read your work.

When I first started writing, a friend and I went to a day-long seminar about how to market yourself as a writer. It was a clusterf#$k of information. We were totally intimidated and overwhelmed because all we wanted to do was write well and have said writing get in front of some eyeballs.

We were not ready for the glut of work it actually takes to sell your writing.

Writing and marketing (and branding) are two vastly different skill-sets which require different mindsets.

That’s why I’m going to go ahead and be a jerk here and say the thing that most writer marketing people won’t: if you’re just starting out and you are still just trying to figure out the HOW to write your work effectively, skip this post and go check out some of my other ones like Mind the Gap or Writing Peace. You’ll likely find these much more enjoyable.

I’m not trying to be a curmudgeon here, it’s just a waste of your precious energy to think about marketing stuff until you’re ready. And if you think about marketing too early in the game, your writing may never pass the shitty first drafts phase.

On the other hand, if all you do is think about writing, but not the promotion of it, you’ll likely end up with some beautiful writing that only a handful of people actually read. (Which hey, if that’s what you want, no worries.)

If you’re a writer who’s truly ready to think about marketing–maybe you’ve had a few things published (or are ready to), or maybe you’re even widely published and you just procured an agent, or a book deal, or you’re getting ready to publish a book yourself, or heck if you’ve even published a few books but haven’t built the readership you’re looking for–this post is for you.

Let’s get to the meat of things.

Once upon a time, you could be a nobody and have some good writing, or even just a great idea for a book and get a book deal. This would garner you a suite of promotional support from your publisher. Support in the form of money, paid book tours, marketing, etc.

Those days, for the most part are gone. You’ve likely heard this before.
You’ve probably even heard that you need to publish micro versions of your work as widely as possible and have a platform, in order to get a good book deal and/or appear to build an audience. This is also true.

But let’s talk about the thing that no one seems to be addressing–and that’s the big ol’ WHY.

Why do we think we need 5k followers on Twitter? Why are we plucking segments from our books, or offshoot subject matter and working to get it published? To get a book deal? To build an audience? Will these things actually give us what we want?

Wait, do we even know what we truly want?

Which brings me to this: We’re caring about the WRONG THINGS. That shit really doesn’t matter. I recently saw the badass Nicole Walters speak and here’s a shot of one of her slides. It’s a little blurry (my bad), but it says this:

#TruthMoment: You Care About the Wrong Things

and then under that are three words are crossed out: Traffic, Followers, Subscribers

[to be clear she’s not saying you shouldn’t care about your followers or subscribers–rather you shouldn’t care about the number of them]

I’m going to tell you something you likely already know, deep down. But that hardly anyone is saying.

Just because you got published in the NY Times doesn’t mean you have a real audience. Just because you have a ton of Twitter followers will not guarantee that they’ll buy your book. Think about it. Even if hundreds of thousands of people read your work–which is amazing by the way, I am not knocking it at all and I want this too–when it comes down to it, will they remember you?

What percentage of those readers will actually remember your name in the future? And of those, what percentage will buy your book when it comes out? What percentage of your Twitter or Facebook followers will even see your book announcements in their feed?

Did you know that most Facebook users have about 1,500 news feed items backlogged every time they login?  Chances are your followers will only see about 1-2% of what you post.

Not to mention that you’re also competing with your friends’ cute puppy and kitty pictures, and political posts.

I don’t know about you, but I may read an essay, even an excellent one, then save it and share it around, but unless I already know the writer personally, I usually forget who the hell they are as time passes.

Here’s the thing that even many publishers haven’t fully caught on to yet: building your author/writer brand–and not just marketing for one book, will not only yield you more sales up front, but repeat customers in the long run.

I hear your gears turning and maybe you’re thinking, but Elizabeth Gilbert didn’t have to do that, Stephen King didn’t either.

Statistically, most of us will not have the kind of ginormous success that they have. And besides, they are not coming up right now in this vastly changed landscape. Even so, we can still be successful even if we’re not at JK Rowling status. But while there is much to learn from mega-writers, when it comes to how to market ourselves, chances are we’ll need to work harder and have a different approach.

The publishing industry has changed both a lot and not enough in the past couple decades. It has not caught up with the changes in our society, nor how people buy, nor what contributes to long-term viability.

I see that as an opportunity! It is an opportunity for a savvy writer like YOU to utilize skills from the entrepreneurial world to make bank despite the weird limbo that New York publishers are in.

Two things you can do today to build a bigger, better audience for the long run:

1. Think like an info-preneur and create a good content strategy.

Publishing work that is in line with your brand may sound like a no-brainer, but start thinking about what kind of brand kingdom you’re looking to build and make the dang blueprints to build it.

I know that’s easier said than done, heck I even struggle with this myself. But here’s an example of mismatched blueprints and construction, to illustrate my point:

Imagine you want to be known for your western mystery thrillers. Maybe that article you’re writing about the trend in bra membership sites isn’t a good match for your brand.

Maybe you’re thinking, but Andrea I have to make a living! I get it. As a single mama, more than most.

So let’s get real about what you need to do now to keep moving toward what you want, while also paying the bills. Maybe that means taking a different job, maybe that’s writing about bras for now, but having a plan for moving toward what you really want. You are the only one who can decide.

And then once you have decided, you can still create a content marketing strategy. Make a list of pieces you can write that build the brand you really want to build. Decide which will be posts on your blog, or email newsletter, and which will be pitched to publications. Then gets ta writin’.

The more volume of quality on-brand material you have, the better chance you have of getting in front of those eyeballs.

2. Enlist some easy, tangible ways to bring readers back to you.

Whenever possible on your posts or published pieces, include a link to your writer website (or at least the website spelled out if they won’t link to it). Don’t have a website? Get one! You need it! Even if it’s a one-pager, that’s okay.

But don’t stop there. The entire reason you want them to go to your website is to provide value and make contact. Have at least two ways to connect with you: an email list sign up, and an email address where they can contact you.

The goal here is to collect info. We know that social media is flooded, so while it’s great if they follow you on Instagram, it’s much better if they give you their email address. This allows you to keep in touch down the road, when you publish stories, or articles, or essays, or your book comes out.

And of course, you’re going to be a good steward and only send them good info, right? Don’t just drone on about how cool you and your book are. Provide some dang value!

You’ll also get a lot more people to sign up for your email list if you give them something in exchange for their email address. It could be the first chapter of your new book, a list of your favorite indie bookstores online, a quiz about your genre–you get the idea. Be creative, offer real value, and begin building an audience you can actually speak to.

You can do this.

I know it can be daunting to think about marketing yourself, or building your writer brand. I’ve totally been there. After that seminar I told you about, I wanted to lock myself in my room and never think about marketing myself again.

The good news is that you don’t need to have it all figured out. It’s just like writing the freakin’ book in the first place. Break it down into bite-sized pieces and do what you can do now.

Awareness with action is better than knowing ‘everything’ and being paralyzed.

Now, go get your email list sign up set up  if you don’t have one already (it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes), and just jot down ten quick ideas you could write about to build your brand. Then put them into your calendar so you actually pitch, write and post them.

And sign up for my email list below–see what I did there–to get first notice when my new Content Marketing course comes out! I’ll be walking you through each step to make a killer plan.

Want more help? Here are three ways I can help you now:

Enroll in my personal branding course, book a one-on-one branding consultation with me, or sign up for my email newsletter.

Feature image by Zack Sheppard from San Francisco, CA (Waiting for Harry Potter at Borders) via Wikimedia Commons