In Today’s Journal
* Branding and Rebranding
* Of Interest
Yeah, I know, it’s way late in the day. This post is primarily to pass along the items in Of Interest, at least one of which is time-sensitive.
Branding and Rebranding
In the increasingly overcrowded world of digital publishing, all the pundits agree that today it’s more important to build a reader base that’s loyal to You (Author Name) and Your Work regardless of genre.
Most pundits also agree that you need only 100 (not 1,000 and not a b’jillion) die-hard, dedicated readers who absolutely love your work to make a good living as a writer. The supposition is that those readers will spread the word through social media, etc.
For that reason, it’s only smart to brand your covers to your Author Name. That way you can build a following of readers who want YOUR work, regardless of genre.
At present, I have only one devoted reader that I know of.
But I’m sitting on at least a few million dollars worth of IP in my sagas and series alone, and I’d really like my heirs to be able to cash in.
So recently I thought about rebranding the covers of my novels—all of them—primarily with my heirs in mind.
I did a quick, unofficial survey of a group knowledgeable friends. The group consists of readers, writers, and cover designers.
After hearing back from most of them, I came away with the sense that rebranding Blackwell Ops is ludicrous and unnecessary. One respondent even wrote, in part, “Wouldn’t you be better off writing?” As I told him, “Yes, of course, but being a one-man show has its drawbacks.” (grin) I have a feeling most of you know what I mean.
Anyway, the Blackwell Ops covers are already well branded to the series itself, so I’ll leave at least most of those 53 novel covers alone.
On the other hand, the branding for my 22-volume Wes Crowley saga—mostly because I wrote it in fits and starts—is all over the stinkin’ place. Some of the covers are branded to the saga itself, some to Wes, and some simply to the titles of the novels themselves and the timeline.
So I’ll rebrand all of those to my author name first, then to the saga and the lead character.
Following that, I’ll probably touch up the branding on my SF Journey Home saga. The covers themselves scream the genre and the saga name. I’ll change the branding on that to my author name, then the saga.
Then I’ll get to work on the Stern Talbot PI mystery series. Again, it’s all over the place. I’ll brand that one to my author name, then the series title.
Once again I find myself envious of those of you who are writing your first novel or who have written only a few or even several. It isn’t easy to rebrand stuff when you have as much out there as I do.
So learn from my mistake: As you design your book covers (or have them designed), please do so with an eye toward branding them to your author name.
What does that mean?
- a good, genre-specific photo or illustration for the cover background
the color scheme in the photo or illustration should convey the tone of the book (for example, sharp black/red tones for thriller or action-adventure, soft yogurt tones for cozies, romances, etc.) - your author name at the top of the cover and as large as possible (so it can easily be read in the thumbnail version of your cover)
- a small author tag (“bestselling author of” or “award-winning author of” etc.) just below your author name
- the title of the book in the bottom half of the cover
- a small series or saga tag (if the novel’s part of a series or saga) below the title
Hope this helps.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
Writer Thinking of Quitting This is a great post. Has me thinking about rebranding my work, major series first.
Three Ways to Lose a Romance Reader All about reader expectations.
How to Use Stock Photos for Book Covers Without Getting Burned
Big Depositphotos sale on stock photos Only 49¢ per photo and credits never expire. A great deal.