Know your Brand

CJ Lyons is a new Medical Thriller Writer to me, and there are some interesting articles on her website http://cjlyons.net/articles.shtml .


One in particular struck home - in 'Birth of a Book' she writes;


' You already know what kind of book you wrote and what kind of books you want to write. Now you need to consolidate that into a brand.


A brand is a subliminal promise to your readers—that any book written under this
author's name will promise this type of emotional experience.


For example.... every book I write has a theme central to my life: they're all about
making a difference, trying to change the world. For me, once I realized this fact, the tagline came easily: No One is Immune to Danger
Note that is an emotional concept, not a promise of specifics.'

This is a familiar concept to writers of Romantic Fiction, and most authors have a form of Tagline on their websites and promotional material.

But this article did make me consider one aspect which was new to me.


In ALL of the books I have ever written. Ever. Was there one common theme?

Was there one common element which was important to me and central to my life?

One common Tagline which has been there for the last 10 years and will see me through the next?

Well, working that one out should keep me busy for a while.

Second Item - I am thrilled to have been presented with a Blog award by both Liz Fenwick and Debs - thank you so much ladies. It makes me feel that this is not only a fine form of procrastination. http://www.lizfenwick.blogspot.com/,

http://debcarrs-daydreams.blogspot.com/.

What's Playing on my YouTube today? Power Wake-up Music. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1260qaj1Hc8&feature=PlayList&p=5505018970D42764&index=8&playnext=4&playnext_from=PL

Blast from the Past

Mills & Boon moves into greetings cards

According to the Bookseller, Mills & Boon, the romance publisher, has teamed up with greetings card producer The Greetings Factory to create a range of cards which will launch in February.

'The move is part of a range of non-book product and retro-style publishing lined up to celebrate its centenary ...year.
The cards use backlist titles from the 1920s onwards and feature quotes—possibly including "Lipstick and Lies: Barry dreamt that one day the world would accept him as Barbara" and "Dress To Kill: Phyllis and Audrey had killed before and they knew they would kill again!"

It is also working with puzzle maker Ravensburger on a collection of "adult" puzzles using retro jackets. The puzzles will be launched this December.

The centenary publishing programme will see a collection of 24 short stories (two each month) published with iconic '80s-style -covers.

The books, which will include Assignment: Seduction and Promised to the Sheikh, are priced at £1.49 and are by top Mills & Boon authors.

"We've got some great new photos featuring couples in a clinch, and we've got a mix of our best themes of the boss, the tycoon, the wedding and the sheikh," said retail marketing and sales director Clare Somerville.

All series romances will feature centenary logos on their covers, and M&B will release a 2-in-1 "collectable" centenary series title each month.

05.10.07 Alison Flood http://www.thebookseller.com/news/46159-mills--boon-moves-into-greeting-cards.html

It's all about the Brand

Danuta Keen has a very interesting and comprehenisve article on her blog today on the subject of Author Branding.

'If you want a lasting career as an author you need to become a brand. It’s a message on which book trade and advertising professionals are united.'

“The strongest driver for sales of books is word-of-mouth and publishers should be thinking of books as communities more than things that sit on bookshelves. Books can be living things.”

To me, surely this is something readers and authors of romance fiction, and particularly category romance already know and participate in? Bizarre that non-genre books and 'literary fiction' are only now making the connection and looking for readers.

Title? 'It's the Brand, Stupid'.

Worth saving for your quiet moments when you think about your CAREER and not just the amount of stubble on your hero's manly chin.

http://www.danutakean.com/blog/?p=283

What's playing on my YouTube right now? Final Fantasy animation. Bittersweet.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HcBSyB7zUU8&feature=PlayList&p=10960FB742FA50ED&index=0

Current Book Marketing

The WallStreet Journal ran this article this week:

'From Hardcover to Paper,How a Blockbuster Was Born'.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118972984449527200.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

'When Pearson PLC's Viking imprint published Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir "Eat, Pray, Love" early last year, it printed 30,000 copies -- only 5,000 more than the total U.S. hardcover sales of her previous release. "We had high hopes, but we didn't put it out in best-seller numbers," says Viking Publisher Paul Slovak.

The title -- a chatty recounting of the author's divorce, spiritual search and self-redemption as she traveled the world -- was the fourth for Ms. Gilbert, a former writer at GQ magazine. Although her work was well-reviewed, Ms. Gilbert was considered a mid-list author, talented but not a proven seller.
Then a strange thing happened: The paperback edition of "Eat, Pray, Love," published in January, quickly gained must-read status. Women everywhere, it seemed -- on trains, planes and exotic beaches -- were suddenly entranced, making it this summer's break-out publishing hit. The book has had a 32-week run on the New York Times paperback nonfiction best-seller list, where it currently occupies the No. 1 position. Paramount Pictures acquired the movie rights for actress Julia Roberts. The author says a sequel is already in the works.'

The article is a hard reflection of modern publishers in the US for stand alone books and how they are sold to booksellers and promoted. And it is tough reading for anyone not writing category romance.

It has been picked up by a number of authors, such as http://www.eriksherman.com/WriterBiz/2007/09/story-of-blockbuster.html?referer=sphere_related_content

Bottom line?

'most book authors don't have a snowball's chance in hell of mass market success. That means you have to find a different business model, and fast - one that doesn't rely on big publishers and traditional marketing, and one that doesn't leave you trying to eke out a living from a relatively tiny royalty'.

GULP.

What's playing on my YouTube right now? Norah Jones. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aBKcKQHZXks&feature=PlayList&p=4F1D642A6F9D7B46&index=15

Word of Mouth Marketing of Romance Novels

The Bookseller carried the following article yesterday:

'Penguin is one of the first publishers in the UK to use a new word-of-mouth marketing approach, buzz marketing, with help from agency BzzAgent.
To promote The Second Wife by Elizabeth Buchan, which is published on 2nd August, BzzAgent aims to generate anticipation through 1,000 of its "agents".They are ordinary people, encouraged to spread news about a title through book clubs, emails and online reviews, by carrying it around, discussing it at parties and blogging. They each receive a copy of the book and a "BzzGuide" that identifies key discussion points and potential readers. The campaign will run all summer, with feedback reported to Penguin in September.'

Interesting concept of formalising the viral marketing concepts prevalent in other creative areas. They also gave away 20, 000 copies of the first book to Ocado customers - their target demographic - hoping that Waitrose customers will buy the sequel.

'Word of Mouth' and 'Word of Mouse'.

What an excellent idea. Elizabeth must be delighted at having that amount of energy and ingenuity from the publishers behind her.

http://thebookseller.com/news/42724-ordinary-people-create-penguin-buzz.html

What’s playing my YouTube right now? Bach Double for lute played on the guitar. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qDXznf-sk-g&feature=PlayList&p=4F1D642A6F9D7B46&index=8