It’s come to my attention that I may need to start thinking about news letters. Well, if I’m to have a news letter I need to have a brand. I need to have a platform, and it should all be cohesive, which is the last thing I am. I’m organized chaos, for sure. Often chasing the wind.
I’ve been reading articles on author branding and platform for years and I still don’t get it. Well, sort of but not really. It’s not like I’m Coke or Pepsi, although I do drink enough of both to keep them in business. For the longest time my little tag line, my brand, was Unlocking History through Romance. It fit because that is what I hope to do and I have a fascination with antique keys. I even have the perfect graphics for a great website, I just lack the know-how.
I’ve written stories set along the borders of Scotland. Bewitching the Highlander finaled in several contests, including Smoky Mountain Romance Writer’s The Lauries, Tampa Area Romance Author’s The Tara and Celtic Romance Writers’ Golden Claddagh.
Once I realized there was very little market for ‘new’ Highland authors, well, I continued to work on other stories, but then I was inspired to write a Western set in Kansas. Before I was even close to being finished I was told Westerns were dead. After burying my head in a pillow for all of five seconds I got up and finished the story. Love at Twenty Paces finaled in Heartland Romance Authors’ Show Me the Spark and semi-finaled in American Christian Fiction Writers’ The Genesis.
While I was int the process of revising the western I was also inspired to write a Biblical romance, Yours for Eternity. Another niche genre that I was told was dead. It went onto final and win Heartland Romance Authors’ Show Me the Spark.
As many of you know, I sold the Biblical to Emily Rodmell at Love Inspired Historicals through one of Seekerville’s query/pitch contests, and only a few days before I received a full request from the final judge through Show Me the Spark.
So, you see, Unlocking History through Romance fits. No matter what era I choose to write. However, if you look at the top of this page, right beneath my name, what do you see? Weaving a Threefold Strand. It comes from Ecclesiastes 4:12, which again fits what I write and it expands across the romance genres if I wanted to pick up romantic suspense, which I love, love, love to read. Problem is I don’t have any cool graphics that I can work into a website. At least not yet anyway.
All this talk about branding comes about because I’ve been stepping out of my nice safe, little box and blogging with other writers. Most of these writers have their brands. They know what they’re about. I’m getting there. It’s kind of hard when I enjoy writing in different eras of history. I’ve always been an indecisive person. I think it’d be hard to choose if I was forced to. I guess when it comes down to it, I’m an historical author, unlocking history through romance while weaving a threefold strand. Eeek, what a mouthful.
All right, enough on branding. It’s obvious I haven’t gotten it quite figured out. What about my platform? Again, being the indecisive person that I am this is a rather difficult concept for me to grasp. I mean, if I had all the resources available at my fingertips I’d help everyone and anyone I could. My heart cries out for Israel. My heart cries out for the homeless. My heart cries out for troubled youth. My heart cries out for single mothers, especially teen moms. My list could go on and on and on.
I also think it’s important to highlight uncommon, good behavior. Like the professional basketball who paid for the funeral of a toddler killed by a gang shooting. I love that this man is showing the love of Jesus. As sad as it is, it’s a needed ministry. Think of the blessing his actions are to the family.
So, all this long, drawn out post just to say, I’m going to sit on it for awhile. Pray about it, think about it and so forth. I know God will reveal to me what it is He wants me to focus on when the time is right.
In the meantime, I am going to try something. A few months ago I put a blogging schedule on my sidebar and then removed it. I’m going to add it back in. Starting tomorrow, every Monday, as long as all goes well, I will be blogging about some aspect of my ancestry. Wednesdays will have something to do with the writing, Thursdays some sort of research tidbits, and Fridays, when I have them, posts on the uncommon. In between, I’ll randomly post book reviews, random thoughts on Bible verses etc. and heads up when I’m blogging elsewhere.
If I can keep it up for 30 days, surely it’ll become a habit, right?
4 responses to “Discombobulated-Branding & Platform”
It sounds like you already know what to do. You have to choose. You can’t save everyone. I know. 🙂 Learned the hard way. Where is your heart? Which of your novels, if you had to choose one to keep, and burn the others with no hope of redeeming them, would you keep? I would take it, run with it, and set your brand around it. Then when you’re famed in the writing world, you can get the others published at your leisure…just my 2 cents 🙂 Could your three-fold strand be history, romance, and compassion for the less fortunate?
You’ve given me quite a bit to think about, Jennifer. I’m not sure which stories I could burn. I guess I worked long and hard on the western and don’t want to see it die just yet. Not to mention it is still out on submission. I guess if nothing comes out of those submissions I’ll know that it’s time to put it away for awhile. The thing with the Biblicals is that I never know if there will be continued interest.
As for the platform, oh goodness, I don’t think I could give one up. 🙂
Oh, I so relate. I’m Perceiver on the Myers-Briggs. More Questions than Answers!!!
Most definitely, Connie.