- I've spent the night in a castle in Scotland
- I've ridden in a romantic gondola in Venice
- I've walked my legs off in the Acropolis in Athens
#2 is the lie - I've never been to Italy! As a teen we had the privilege to travel with my dad on business to Scotland and spent the night in many strange and wonderful places, like a castle, and yes, I've seen Loch Ness (no monster, though). And before I got married, I fulfilled one of my bucket list destinations by going to Greece with my then fiance. It was actually a better experience than our honeymoon in Hawaii! Hopefully someday I will experience the pleasures of Italy!
Now, on with our regularly scheduled programming...
Welcome Blog Friends!
This month's IWSG post is about Branding.
When you hear McDonald's, you might think golden arches; Coke is red and a white swish or the contoured bottle; Disney might be Mickey Mouse; and Stephen King could bring to mind fantastic, creepy horror. Do you see where I'm going here? If we authors want to sell books, we need to brand ourselves.
Last month, I talked about a signing gone bad. Well, I have another one coming up and a conference, too. I want to get some exposure, so I need to try something that will help me talk to a bunch of strangers. I'm going to transform myself into a character! Tara Tyler, Author will be a persona. I'm even going to wear a costume. Nothing like Comicon, but definitely different. Something futuristic to go with my Pop Travel - future spy action thriller. I'm very excited about it. And I'm hoping the people there will remember me and the presentation of my brand.
Then in a few months, when my MG Fantasy comes out, I hope to do a brand for that series too. I've already got some fun ideas... I consider my brand "adventure seeker" - no matter the genre, it's got to be a thrilling ride! I'll see how it all goes and report back, and post pics of my alter-ego.
So what is your brand? What associations can you make for people to connect with you? Writing is the fun and easy part - what will you do when you get published? Are you ready to meet people?
And now for some news!
Our fearless IWSG founder, Alex J. Cavannaugh has not just one, but TWO big announcements!
First, CassaFire is on super sale for only .99! But only for a week! (Feb 4-10) Get yours now, since CassaStorm will be out this Fall!My favorite review quote/blurb for CassaFire:
“Top Gun meets Battlestar Galactica”
Second, Alex is about to have 2000 followers! Make it so! And he's hosting a giveaway. More fun for us! The Epic 2000 Followers Giveaway!!
Hold on! There's more!Kyra Lennon is doing a revival of the WIP the Movie Blogfest!
I remember doing this with Pop Travel - it's so fun to pick actors for our characters and theme music! Glad she brought it back.
I also wanted to share Peggy Eddleman's new cover for the second book in her Sky Jumper series:
Hope knows the most dangerous thing about living in White Rock is it’s so close to the deadly Bomb’s Breath—the invisible, fifteen-foot-thick band of compressed air that’s hovered over the earth since the Green Bombs of World War III. The citizens of White Rock live in fear of the Bomb’s Breath. Only Hope has figured out a way to go through it—and lived to tell the tale.
But when a massive tremor rips across the earth, the Bomb’s Breath begins to lower over White Rock. It’s up to Hope and her friends Brock and Aaren to make the dangerous journey far from home across the bandit-ridden Forbidden Flats to the wilds of the Rocky Mountains and obtain the one thing that may be able to stop it—before the Bomb’s Breath sinks too far and destroys them all. This time, Hope can’t fail.
Good luck, Tara! I think it's great that you're trying something new and different for your next book signings. :)
ReplyDeleteBranding is so important to any writer. Wormholes are such a part of my branding, as is science meets the supernatural.
ReplyDeleteAnd god luck with all your upcoming events!
I'm awful at all that, so wish I had more of a flare for some things. Love your ideas! :)
ReplyDeleteshahwharton.com
Good luck Tara with all these awesome ideas :)
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your signing—I'll be interested to hear how it goes. I have absolutely no brand and no flair, so I'll be taking copious notes.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm psyched the Kyra's bringing back the movie blogfest. So much fun!
Great idea about going in costume... That will definitely make you stand out!
ReplyDeleteALL the best, Tara!
Congrats to Peggy... What a great cover!
ALL the best to Alex, too! That;s an awesome deal for his book!
Adventure seeker. I like it!!!
ReplyDeleteI think your branding idea is awesome! Good luck. ☺
ReplyDeleteI'm still struggling with branding. I love your idea. Hope it goes great!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear the castle one is not a lie. That sounds so awesome! Would definitely be interested to see how it turns out with the signing/conference. Good luck and have fun!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your branding! I'm still not sure about my brand, since I write all across the board.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think branding is really smart. Except, you have to be careful about who you brand yourself as. Be sure that you like who you pick for yourself because you'll have to be that person. Too happy, and you could be exhausted. Too futuristic, and by the end of the day, you'll be ready for a good old fashioned gin and tonic at the bar.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's really smart to go with the costume idea. It can really help get you in the mood.
I know I'd be branded as a serious intellectual who was born in the wrong era, but with a nice sense of humor beneath the literary, intellectual veneer.
ReplyDeleteThat's a cool idea! Someone needs to get pictures of you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for mentioning CassaFire's sale and the Epic 2000!
That's exciting - that whole idea of dressing up for a part as "author." I like that idea.
ReplyDeleteIt kind of reminds me of dressing up for substitute teaching - I even had some shoes I considered my substitute teacher shoes - scary, pointy things. I only wore them the first few times I subbed at a school. I tried to look "uber-professional" on those days, and then . . .once, I got used to a school and the environment, I switched to slacks and nice loafers. It sounds really geeky now that I look back at it, but I never got harassed wearing those shoes or my "dress suit."
As for branding...I'm a work in progress. When I figure it out, I'll let the world know. =)
ReplyDeleteI'm ready. I think . I find my branding changing slightly here and there, but I'm always me. We'll see how that turns out.
ReplyDeleteMy books will be my brand. I'm sure I'll think of something...or just that. I think I picked #3 so I got it wrong. Or maybe I'm recalling a dream? Ok, Graham out.
ReplyDelete---Greetings from a February IWSG Cohost.
I'll be interested to hear how your branding experiment goes. I have a book signing this weekend. I was thinking about how I would dress. My daughter always says I don't look like a writer but that I look like a mom. LOL. Is that good or bad?
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have a brand, but I think one may be coming soon. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh yes! We're gonna need pictures of Tara Tyler the Character!! What a fun idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea to brand yourself and make it memorable! I hope you'll have an awesome turnout. (can't wait to see pics)
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I have a brand yet - maybe skulls and butterflies - lol. :)
Peggy's book sounds awesome and I'm going to get Alex's book this week!
I dedicated something to you on the HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY post. I hope you like it:
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have to figure out what I want to do about branding soon too, so much work! Ah well lol
ReplyDeleteBest of luck, this sounds like fun: Tara Tyler the character lol I bet you'll do just fine :D
My brand is the Lazy S Writer. ;)
ReplyDeleteI think the costume idea is fabulous, and will draw people to you and remember you. That's the way to do it!
Good luck, Tara!
M.L. Swift, Writer
Wow, so much going on here today, I hardly know what to comment on. How about this - we want to see pictures of that costume from your next signing. And we won't take 'no' for an answer.
ReplyDeleteBranding is important to think about! Let us know how it goes Tara Tyler The Character ;)
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good point about branding. It is important for authors to brand themselves. It helps them stand apart.
ReplyDeleteI've been worrying a lot about branding recently, so it's good to hear your point of view. Congrats to Alex for the sale and to Peggy for the cover -- which rocks!
ReplyDeleteI love your costume idea - hope it goes well.
ReplyDeleteA costume? What an awesome idea. I don't know that I will do it, but I did ask my hubs if he would agree to wear a thong...he said no. Dang. Here I thought I had an angle I could run with!
ReplyDeleteLove these ideas! I'm in PR for my day job, so we do quite a bit with branding that I'm hoping I can eventually apply to my own stuff. :)
ReplyDeleteI struggle with the branding concept as my blogs name is so stupid. It will make sense if I ever finish and publish my book, but for now, it just doesn't work, but is too deeply engrained to change. As for the truths, I don't remember which I guessed, but have been on a gondola, and it really isn't very romantic, too commercial now.
ReplyDeleteI'm normally quite shy, but I love meeting writers at conferences. I tend to come out of my shell at those things :)
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Italy either. I'm dying to go!
ReplyDeleteI like Peggy's new cover.
Alex is all over the place! I hope he's selling lots of books.
Hi, Tara. Stopping by pre A to Z Challenge. Nice blog. I'm a new follower.
ReplyDeleteSusanne
From the Market to the Plate
Volunteer for the 2014 A to Z Challenge (Stormy Sidekick)
Branding is such a great topic. I love your branding theme. I'm always trying to strengthen mine, which is imagination, but I can definitely improve. :) Good topic!
ReplyDelete