Get Your Brand on On
The latest issue of WOW! Women on Writing is all about self-promotion and features an interesting interview with children’s writer Shelli Johannes-Wells. Shelli tells us all about branding, the difference between book brands and author brands, and ways to use the internet to promote your brand.
I like her advice to new writers on getting started with a personal brand, especially this bit:
Think about yourself as a writer. What kind of writer do you want to be? Who is your audience? What do you write? What qualities connect your writing?
She suggests that new writers start by creating a platform for their brand, using a website as a starting point, and stresses that you don’t need to be published to do that:
And if you are not published yet, think about how you want to market yourself to agents and editors. How do you want to get your name out to your peers and within the industry? You can do that before you get published. I did.
One particularly interesting bit is her critique of the interviewer’s website. Among her suggestions, Shelli advises writers to NOT use their photo on the front page of their websites, which I’m not sure that I agree with (I have mine on the front page of monicashaw.com). But she has a point:
I don’t think an author should show her picture on the front page unless she is well known (like Meg Cabot). It automatically gives readers some impression of you before they read your writing. You want the reader to focus on the writing, not you as a person. Again, you can put your picture on the About Me page.
I guess it comes down to personal preference. My personal opinion is that a photo that looks professionally done may actually do more for your cred than a generic photo of a pen or a typewriter.
In any case, her critique may help you start thinking about your personal brand and how your website can help with that. What impression are you giving editors? What’s your style?