That is the question.
Before I start off, I want to state that this blog post is my opinion, just some food for thought, so to speak.
There is always a lot of talk about branding. You’ll hear a lot of editors, agents, etc. that tell you to brand yourself, and you’ll hear just as many tell you not to. And what do I mean by branding? Genre branding. Promoting yourself as a paranormal, historical, sci-fi, contemporary, etc. author. And only that genre.
Personally, I’m not big on branding. I think of it as pigeonholing yourself. What happens if you have branded yourself as a historical romance author and the muse suddenly hits you with an idea for an awesome paranormal vampire book? A book with the potential to rival Anne Rice or Sherrilyn Kenyon. If you’ve branded yourself as a historical writer, you won’t get the people who don’t enjoy historical but enjoy paranormals reading your books. Plus, you’ll have to take up a whole new plan of promoting. You’re going to have to promote the heck out of that paranormal book, way more than you would have to for your historicals, to get those people who normally would read your stories to buy it.
And you get some who have different pen names for different genres that they like to write, which is usually not a good idea, unless you are phenomenally famous, like Nora Roberts, and everyone knows that your pen name of J.D. Robb is really you. Or Ann Rice with her erotic books, wrote as Anne Rampling and A.N. Roquelaure. But if you’re not an already big time author, you’re going to have to double promote. And we all know promotion is time consuming as it is. Can you imagine doubling or even tripling it? Wow. And I’m sure you all know that you can’t sell books without promotion. Promoting the book after you’ve written it is just as important as writing it and getting is published (just my little editorial reminder, of course).
There are going to be many people who prefer to brand, and that’s okay, that’s your choice for your career. It really works for some people. But I’d hate to see someone unable to get a really great book of the ground because they’ve pigeon-holed themselves as one thing, and their “new” book is something completely different.
Something else to think about, if you’re really stuck on a paranormal or sci-fi idea but you “only write historicals or westerns”, are you going to ditch that idea or try an force it out to fit into your branded genre? Or even giving up on that great idea entirely. Forcing your writing is not going to make a great story.
I’ve had some of my authors ask me about genre branding, and I’ve told them not to. Why not brand yourself as an author who follows whatever path the muse takes them down? I think I like that idea. =)
So good to hear this! I’m one of those who writes all over the map from historical to contemporary, fantasy to paranormal, plus all heat levels from sweet to really steamy. I can’t settle on one formula or genre, but go where my imagination leads. I do believe it’s harder to nurture a “following” of readers when they never know quite what to expect from you. Some will only read shapeshifters, Regencies, male/male or whatever. But I hope my author voice is what draws my readers to perhaps try one of my books outside of their usual favorite genre.
Many authors do find it difficult to pigeonhole their muse. But that’s what pen names are for, isn’t it? Of course, you’ll have to promote that pen name too. But eventually people will probably catch on. Like J.D. Robb and Nora Roberts. People know its the same person, but still have an expection because of which name is on the cover.
As a reader, I’m drawn to an author by his/her voice, rather than a brand. Initially, I pick a new-to-me author by genre (I like shapeshifters, fantasy, futuristic and the sweeter end of contemporary) but if I like their voice I’ll then go and check out their other books, even if they’re in genres I don’t normally pay much attention to.
Unless an author is mega-famous I’d rather they didn’t use different pen names—it just makes it difficult to remember who’s who and I might end up missing out on books I’d enjoy.
One area that I’ve seen authors be successful regarding branding is erotic romance authors. Regardless of sub genre, very few erotic romance authors will jump to sweet stories or inspirational stories where sex is not encouraged on the page. In that case a second pen name would probably be welcomed or required.
But I think a great many erotic romance authors have created a “sexy” brand with seductive imagery and colors and from there they are free to write whatever subgenre they like. And I think that works well. At least I hope it does. That’s what I’ve tried to do so when I write contemporary my paranormal readers don’t get too confused.
When I started reading romance, I loved all the different genres. One day I’d read a contemporary and with the next book I’d be charging through outer space or fighting in a Medieval war.
When I started writing, I followed my reading pattern and tried out all the genres to learn which ones I enjoyed writing most. Simple. I enjoyed them all and continued writing that way.
I remember people telling me I couldn’t do this, that I’d have to choose. For me it’s like choosing between white chocolate and dark chocolate. I like both and prefer to take all chocolate. I think each writer has to learn what works for them. I definitely think it’s tougher to follow the muse when you’re with one of the bigger publishers. They tend to be bigger on branding.
Very timely post for me – I really appreciate your views here. I’m working on an M/M series, but I have a very exciting paranormal concept all outlined and ready to work on when I get the chance. I’ll admit to having had worries that no one will be interested in the paranormal because they view me as an M/M writer.
Elle Parker
http://elleparkerbooks.blogspot.com/
As a reader and a writer, I criss-cross genres all over the place. I love a buffet.
However, as a blogging book reviewer, I’ve seen the benefits of branding. Especially at first, it helps if an author puts out the same kind of stories for a few years while she becomes known. Personally, when I switch to a new kind of story, I would stay in that kind for a few years before I switch to a new one.
Give the readers a chance to get to know you and then also to keep up. That’s my opinion.
The heroine of my last story decided my muse was more trouble than she was worth and chucked her into a flaming tarpit. I haven’t missed her.