Branded Books

I'd like to introduce you all to Josie Brown who will be providing a regular column on a topic if not close to your heart, close to the issue of success in this biz. Branding. Josie, like me, hails from a career in advertising, but is now a terrific novelist. Like me, she thought getting published meant she'd be getting away from thinking about advertising and marketing. Yeah. Right. I hope you enjoy her columns and pick up her novels.  —MJR

Wednesday + Josie Brown = Hype Hell

An Author by Any Other Name Will Sell More Sweetly (Hopefully)…

I just got the news this weekend that a distant relative has decided to have a sex change operation.

No, I never saw it coming. And nope, it doesn’t bother me in the least that he—or I should now say she—has chosen to change her physical appearance so completely in order to complement the woman lurking inside him/her all these many years. It takes guts to go through that process, and I’ll be the first to congratulate her for any shape-shifting she feels is necessary in order to feel as whole as she can, emotionally …

Which takes me to the topic of pen names, which, for an author, is the simplest way to take on a different professional personality, body, mind and soul—and still stay in his or her own skin (not to mention pajamas).

How much consideration should authors give the issue of their names when shaping their brands? A lot. 

And yet, not many of us do.

Conversely, in that little corner of the marketing universe known as Brand Land, a tremendous amount of thought is given to a product’s names. In fact, there are companies (Lexicon, Landor Associates, and let’s not forget that provocatively monikered A Hundred Monkees) that specialize in creating names for everything: from shampoo and pharmaceuticals, to sleeping pills and cat food. In the game of the name, no matter what the product may be, many variables must first be assessed: who is the key target market? What secondary markets must also be wooed? And what words or phrases catch their attention, pique their interest, and make them pull cash out of their wallets?

So, yeah, the name you use in promoting your brand is VERY important.

For non-fiction authors, keeping their real names is the best choice because, in most cases, what they are writing about is their expertise. If their name is already established in that field, it will draw readers to their book. Conversely, the book will showcase their knowledge of their chosen profession, and be a wonderful introduction to new audiences and potential customers. A classic example of this is David Ogilvy, marketer extraordinaire whose name was synonymous with the field of advertising. Lee Iacocca is another icon whose bestselling autobiography made his the face of the automotive industry. And of course, Dale Carnegie invented the self-help workshop industry, and Donald Trump’s 1989 book, The Art of the Deal, catapulted him to fame (infamy?) that went beyond New York’s commercial real estate market. 

As for fiction authors, I know many who have never contemplated using their real names. Most of these folk are by their nature shy, and prefer the cover that their nom de plumes afford them. (If you fall into this category, skip over to the end of this article, where I’ve posted THE GAME OF THE NAME. There you can take part in my little online focus group by voting on the pen name you feel sounds best for our “mystery author,” based on his latest WIP.)

Then there are the novelists who wouldn’t think of writing under anything but their given  names, their rationale being, “Hey, this is my claim to fame! I want the world to know that this great work of art is mine...”

If you are a fiction author who feels this way, you have some substantive reasons to contemplate using a pseudonym, the first being whether or not that name aptly embodies your “voice”—the style and cadence of you’ve established in your writing—which is the essence of your brand. With that in mind, can you honestly say that your name fits your voice? Don’t be ashamed if you feel that this isn’t the case—particularly if you were named in honor of some long dead Victorian aunt, or your parents are former hippies and the name they gave you memorializes one of their more vivid psychedelic experiences.

That said, if you’re writing courtroom thrillers, but your name is, say, Bambi Hart, do yourself a favor: change the name.

Or leap over to chick lit.

Some fiction authors want the freedom to develop different voices, perhaps in different genres. This too is reason enough to consider using a pen name, for at least one of those voices. For example, if you are straddling the worlds of literary and commercial fiction, you may want to create a persona for your Sci Fi offerings, and leave your real name for your lit books.

Still not convinced? Then maybe it’s time to think about if from a different perspective: that of your bank account. If you are a midlister trying to make a break from that pack, your agent should have already given you this reason dropping your current name: Booksellers already have you pegged by your sales record, and will buy your next book accordingly.

Did I just hear someone say “Ouch”?

Yeah, I know: it hurts like heck. You put out a great book, so it’s not your fault that your pub house’s sales team didn’t know how to pitch it, or the Wal-Mart buyer ran across too many f-bombs/sex scenes/whatever. In football, all the fans look at is your win/loss record. In the book industry, they look at your sales figures. We live with our realities. In the publishing industry, this is one.

Which brings me to THE GAME OF THE NAME, where you play focus group for a faux author brand:

Which pen name best works for a supposedly female author of a dark albeit humorous contemporary thriller whose heroine is quick with a gun?

Primary target market: Women who read Janet Evanovich
Secondary target market: Women who love thrillers.
Tertiary target markets: Women who read; and men who read thrillers.

Here are your choices: a) Raven Ellis b) Janna Grimshaw c) Summer Brownlee

If you want to play, email your answers to JosieBrownAuthor@yahoo.com, where I’ll be tallying the results…

Josie Brown left the advertising industry to become a crusading investigative reporter. Sadly, in our voyeuristic culture vulture society, there is an insatiable demand (and better pay) for celebrity journalists, which is how Josie came to rub elbows (not to mention egos) with the rich and famous. She still writes about celebrity, sex and scandal, only now as fiction (which, she insists, is just as strange as what she knows to be fact). Her novel, TRUE HOLLYWOOD LIES, is on bookshelves now. Her next book, IMPOSSIBLY TONGUE-TIED, will be out in December. You can read her books and her blog at http://www.josiebrown.com.

Comments

[Lorra Laven]

Very thought-provoking post. I'll be interested in seeing the final tally on your little survey.

[Karin]

Josie, fancy meeting you over here. My brand is 'hot cops' I write as Karin Tabke, my real name, but my agent is shopping a historical, methinks I may be in the market for a nom de plume. I really want the separation. Not sure though if it's the right move.

[T]

Wonderful post, Josie, thank you. I've been thinking quite a bit about this issue.

One more thing for writers to consider: Is there an available domain name for the pen name you choose?

[Josie Brown, author, TRUE HOLLYWOOD LIES]

MJ, LOL! Of course, you'll be the first to know the tally...

T, excellent point about the domain name--since that is ALWAYS an author's first and foremost marketing tool!

[Trish Ryan]

Interesting post! I just had this coversation with a friend hoping to publish in two different genres - although I wonder if you wouldn't become a bit dizzy, trying to keep track of the different personas, web sites, etc? Seems like a fun challenge, though!

[Jill]

Josie, thrilled to see you here with such an amazing post. Lot of thought needs to go into every aspect of the writing life. Never thought of the voice matching name thing before. Thanks.

[Josie Brown, author, TRUE HOLLYWOOD LIES]

Hi, Trish, and Jill. You're right: it's almost a full-time job, just doing all the pre- and post-writing promotion/marketilng/positioning that we authors have to do today (as MJ points out in Thursday's post) just to keep our readers thinking about our books--and our characters--long after they've read them. Of course, the first step is to get them to read our books in the first place, and that is why every aspect of our books (even the names we write them under) has to be thoughtfully considered. No more throwing darts at telephone books...