The All-Important Author Brand
I'm taking this online course on promotion and author branding which has been very good and informative, and makes me think about all those things about my writing which I never think about. Like, for instance, what is my theme? What is my overarching message that transcends each and every story that I write? Well, when you have written a historical romance, one Duets, six Temptations, and two chick-lit books, an overarching message is difficult to discern without several glasses of wine.
So, in the pursuit of artistic meaning, I sat down with my wine (in the tradition of so many great writers before me), and pondered. I drank and pondered, and drank and pondered. And I think I figured it out. My message: ta-da! is that there is a hero within us all. And I was so proud of myself for figuring this out. I analyzed each story that I had written and it seemed to fit them all. With my voice trembling in excitement (not really, but it sounds good), I told my husband my news, and was just about to jot off an email to the online class. However, then I got sidetracked reading The Spooky Art by Norman Mailer, the Pulitzer Prize winning, Norman Mailer. He pontificates SO much more eloquently than I ever could conceive of pontificating. In fact, I was so enthralled by said pontifications that I poured another glass of wine, so that I could truly comprehend the powerfulness of his pontifications. And then I came to this one passage, and was stopped cold: "Tolstoy teaches us that compassion is of value and enriches our life only when compassion is severe." Oh…My…God. That is Tolstoy's brand. Draconian Compassion. And here I was so proud of my trite little, "hero within us all." HA! Mine doesn't even begin to compare.
In desperation, I pondered some more (albeit while imbibing even more freely). And I came up with a few that were loftier than my original:
Pleasure Without Pain is Impossible. Nah. Doesn't play well in the romance community. A Plot Without A Big Misunderstanding Can Never Be a Plot. Nah, but I was getting closer, I felt it! I kept working (and drinking), and came up with a whole list of possibilities:
Love Conquers All…Except When You're Courtney
Men Love Spunky Women
An Ex is never truly an Ex Unless she is wicked, spiteful, and has skanky sex with inappropriate men and possibly animals, too
No, somewhere along the way, I had begin to lose sight of what I really believed in. I was getting nowhere… So I put down the Spooky Art, (handily, it can serve as a coaster for my wine glass) and decided that my original brand was correct. There is a hero within us all. It's not Draconian Compassion, but hey, I can live with that.
So, in the pursuit of artistic meaning, I sat down with my wine (in the tradition of so many great writers before me), and pondered. I drank and pondered, and drank and pondered. And I think I figured it out. My message: ta-da! is that there is a hero within us all. And I was so proud of myself for figuring this out. I analyzed each story that I had written and it seemed to fit them all. With my voice trembling in excitement (not really, but it sounds good), I told my husband my news, and was just about to jot off an email to the online class. However, then I got sidetracked reading The Spooky Art by Norman Mailer, the Pulitzer Prize winning, Norman Mailer. He pontificates SO much more eloquently than I ever could conceive of pontificating. In fact, I was so enthralled by said pontifications that I poured another glass of wine, so that I could truly comprehend the powerfulness of his pontifications. And then I came to this one passage, and was stopped cold: "Tolstoy teaches us that compassion is of value and enriches our life only when compassion is severe." Oh…My…God. That is Tolstoy's brand. Draconian Compassion. And here I was so proud of my trite little, "hero within us all." HA! Mine doesn't even begin to compare.
In desperation, I pondered some more (albeit while imbibing even more freely). And I came up with a few that were loftier than my original:
Pleasure Without Pain is Impossible. Nah. Doesn't play well in the romance community. A Plot Without A Big Misunderstanding Can Never Be a Plot. Nah, but I was getting closer, I felt it! I kept working (and drinking), and came up with a whole list of possibilities:
Love Conquers All…Except When You're Courtney
Men Love Spunky Women
An Ex is never truly an Ex Unless she is wicked, spiteful, and has skanky sex with inappropriate men and possibly animals, too
No, somewhere along the way, I had begin to lose sight of what I really believed in. I was getting nowhere… So I put down the Spooky Art, (handily, it can serve as a coaster for my wine glass) and decided that my original brand was correct. There is a hero within us all. It's not Draconian Compassion, but hey, I can live with that.
posted by Kathleen at 8:02 PM
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