In 1991, an author wrote a mass-market romance novel called Handful of Heaven about a woman named Devon who hooks up with a Yukon mountain man whose savage kisses make her feel “feminine and alive.”
What a helpful article that was also a pleasure to read! Thanks for all of this helpful information and also kudos on finding your brand. Funny how the search for identity is an ever-evolving one, isn’t it? As a kid you think you’ll know who you are by 20 or 30 but I am finding that that’s both true and false the older I get. The core is the same but the edges and shape keep changing.
Thank you for this post. I think I understand my brand better now then ever (I mean my substack and my podcast are based on it). However, I don't think I'm finding my market here.
Thank you, my sister bought me the snoodie it for me after my viva voce. But I hate snoodies. They take uo half of the laundry and take a 100 yearsbto dry.
Also, I read Kristin Hannah back in the early years (Firefly Lane stood out to me when she first published it, and it seemed like a pivot),and then watched her transformation to the powerhouse she is now. It’s been fun to observe as a reader.
This is awesome. Love the rebrand (flamingoes!)and also love to see people “become” themselves. It’s tough to pin down sometimes, and seeing your example is helpful. Your brand is “character-driven” (as I’m sure your books are).
You're welcome! Also, check out the latest edition of my Substack for info on my luxury writers' retreat in the Canadian Rockies (next spring). Would love for you to come!
I've been thinking a lot about exactly this kind of stuff lately. I love the idea of communicating a "sensibility" rather than using genre as a signal. And halfway through this article I stopped and wrote my own version of the sentence. "All my main characters..."
I gotta tell ya Karin I'm not seeing a brand problem. All your books look like upmarket rom-coms to me, with the same audience. If your audience is the same, what is your concern?
What a helpful article that was also a pleasure to read! Thanks for all of this helpful information and also kudos on finding your brand. Funny how the search for identity is an ever-evolving one, isn’t it? As a kid you think you’ll know who you are by 20 or 30 but I am finding that that’s both true and false the older I get. The core is the same but the edges and shape keep changing.
So agree, Lindsey! It's a lifelong process. Thanks for your kind words.
Thank you for this post. I think I understand my brand better now then ever (I mean my substack and my podcast are based on it). However, I don't think I'm finding my market here.
Good luck finding it, Noor!
Great new author photo.
Thank you, my sister bought me the snoodie it for me after my viva voce. But I hate snoodies. They take uo half of the laundry and take a 100 yearsbto dry.
Also, I read Kristin Hannah back in the early years (Firefly Lane stood out to me when she first published it, and it seemed like a pivot),and then watched her transformation to the powerhouse she is now. It’s been fun to observe as a reader.
It's so inspiring, Shelley.
This is awesome. Love the rebrand (flamingoes!)and also love to see people “become” themselves. It’s tough to pin down sometimes, and seeing your example is helpful. Your brand is “character-driven” (as I’m sure your books are).
I adore flamingoes!
I do, too! The color, for sure. I’m a huge fan of pink. But they are so bendy and the standing on one leg thing is also cute.
Love your rebrand! Powerful and on point. Well done, and can't wait to read more of your work.
Thanks, Mary Lynn.
You're welcome! Also, check out the latest edition of my Substack for info on my luxury writers' retreat in the Canadian Rockies (next spring). Would love for you to come!
Made me laugh!
Thanks, Glenda
Thanks! This was helpful! All authors rebrand at one time or another in their careers. It's good to be intentional.
You're welcome, Leanna.
This was so authentic and fascinating to read! I love the way "in" you took to choosing a brand, and then figuring out how to show it off to readers.
Thanks, Michelle. It's taken me a while to figure it out.
I've been thinking a lot about exactly this kind of stuff lately. I love the idea of communicating a "sensibility" rather than using genre as a signal. And halfway through this article I stopped and wrote my own version of the sentence. "All my main characters..."
Thanks for the excellent food for thought!
I'm delighted it was helpful, Sara.
I gotta tell ya Karin I'm not seeing a brand problem. All your books look like upmarket rom-coms to me, with the same audience. If your audience is the same, what is your concern?
Not quite the same. But close.
I would further say that your brand is you write well. Fans will follow favorite authors into other genres, if that's the direction they take.
I love Rogue Magnolia! Great title for a novel, too. And your new portrait is perfect.
Thanks, Ada!
This Kristin Hannah trajectory is wild! I had no idea she had such a long career before the Nightingale. I wonder how she accomplished the rebranding.
I think a new editor really helped her, Naomi