tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post4044030957479148596..comments2023-12-31T20:43:08.499-05:00Comments on THE STILETTO GANG: Building a BrandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-9373165090395046482011-04-25T13:01:40.536-04:002011-04-25T13:01:40.536-04:00Oooh, I just realized I called her "Lee Drumm...Oooh, I just realized I called her "Lee Drummond"--I mean, Ree. Shows how well her branding worked on me. Oy. I am officially a dork.Susan McBridehttp://SusanMcBride.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-73298091277843465422011-04-25T12:11:30.544-04:002011-04-25T12:11:30.544-04:00Susan brings up to correct and good points.
1. I...Susan brings up to correct and good points.<br /><br />1. If you don't write well, fiction or not, even if you get a deluge of buyers, you'll also generate a deluge of buyers/readers remorse! That ain't good for the old career.<br /><br />2. I'd agree this whole multi-media branding and marketing gig is different and fair to say easier for non-fiction writing. Non-fiction is just on the face of it easier to convey, describe, put tags on, etc. All that makes for easier pitching of the sale.<br /><br />Something else just occurred to me: I think the older the reader sometimes the more likely they are to want non-fiction or at least to split their buying and reading because they are tired of being let down by fiction and/or want to spend time learning new things over just escaping. Don't get me wrong, lots of people over, say, 35, still love fiction, but they also are the bigger demographic for non-fiction.<br /><br />Does this maybe link the audience for things like good telivision and radio non-fiction/talk/journalism tends to be the older demo, too? When I was a kid, I didn't listen to a lot of talk radio or watch political discussion television programs, but I do now . . .Vicky Politonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-25196936210413894522011-04-25T11:23:00.418-04:002011-04-25T11:23:00.418-04:00I do think "branding" works better for n...I do think "branding" works better for nonfiction authors whose platform is exactly what they're writing about. A lot of successful bloggers who write about food, fashion, tips for moms, etc., have already built a great platform that the publishers are happy to use in marketing their books. It's a wee bit different for writers of fiction, unless you're a legal eagle with a thriller series featuring a legal eagle (you know what I mean). The most important thing--and I think it sometimes gets lost in all this, "We must market ourselves!" feeding frenzy--is that we must write good books that people want to read. Preferably, lots of people. But we need to take the time to craft those stories. And spending too much time on the business side and too little on the writing side isn't always a good thing. Just my two cents' worth again (and I know my feelings now are different than 12 years ago when I was starting out), but there you are.Susan McBridehttp://SusanMcBride.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-15527221741604443632011-04-25T11:05:03.874-04:002011-04-25T11:05:03.874-04:00Good post and comments. I think branding often is ...Good post and comments. I think branding often is another word for your marketing. For instance if you were a psychiatrist writing mysteries with a psychiatrist as a heroine, you would build on that with your marketing and it would also be your brand.<br /><br />For me, I mostly just do what I can in the promoting line and hope people realize that Marilyn Meredith and F. M. Meredith are the same person writing two different series.<br /><br />MarilynMarilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-6137038648565555712011-04-25T10:36:09.469-04:002011-04-25T10:36:09.469-04:00Oh, you're right, Marian. Publishing is a bus...Oh, you're right, Marian. Publishing is a business and the business model no doubt says that it's going to be better to publish something that maybe (and I agree it's a "maybe", not always a definitely!) has less depth and is not as inventive in the writing, but does have a good pre-loaded buyer base. I suppose you can't blame them for this, misdirection and conflation of labels aside.Vicky Politonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-26904613560771674692011-04-25T10:04:31.541-04:002011-04-25T10:04:31.541-04:00Thanks Susan and Vicky. Food (pardon the pun) for ...Thanks Susan and Vicky. Food (pardon the pun) for thought.<br /><br />I might add that I think that publishers often confuse someone with good verbal and written communication skills and writers -- and that they would prefer to buy the former if she has already built a platform where the books will sell. <br /><br />Marian (who's going back to writing today!)The Stiletto Ganghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01667670723330755598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-19491512548488598952011-04-25T09:47:39.983-04:002011-04-25T09:47:39.983-04:00First off, I also check the Pioneer Woman site reg...First off, I also check the Pioneer Woman site regularly, but only for recipes because that happens to be the only piece of what she offers on the site that meets with my interests. I did notice even within that limitation that the photos on the site show evidence that while she indeed works hard at her business (and that's my other point, it is a business), she does benefit form lots of resources to accomplish that.<br /><br />And then there's the matter of mis-branding: Ree Drummond is not primarily a writer. She does have what we used to call good verbal and written communications skills, but that isn't what a writer is. This false equivalency of what she does--and again, she does lots of things really well--and what a writer does is off. So, while I do understand that even people who are primarily writers can also be huge "successes" at branding (which, let's face it, is the soft-sell term for "selling a lot"), being a writer is still a different job and it doesn't require being able to sell yourself that well. You bet being "good in a room" can help you plenty as a writer, but lots of writers are NOT good in a room and they get help from people who are as they climb up the sales figures ladder. Branding and selling big and well does require being able to work well with someone who is great at selling. Ree Drummond is one of those cases where her primary talent is that she knows how to make the sale.Vicky Politonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-58732045400056034832011-04-25T09:45:23.390-04:002011-04-25T09:45:23.390-04:00You're right, Marian, it's such an individ...You're right, Marian, it's such an individual thing, and it depends where you are in your career as well (and what you're trying to achieve). At this point, I'd rather put more time into my writing than into promotion (but then, I spent LOADS of time promoting early on, which I hope built a strong enough foundation). Every person has to weigh what works for him- or herself. But in order for the work not to suffer, sometimes you have to say (or your agents have to intervene and say), "Focus on the writing." So that's what I'm trying hard to do. Write more, freak out over promotion less. ;-)Susan McBridehttp://SusanMcBride.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-26077336629234176352011-04-25T08:49:54.459-04:002011-04-25T08:49:54.459-04:00Thanks Maria, Sarita, and Susan for your thoughts ...Thanks Maria, Sarita, and Susan for your thoughts on the topic.<br /><br />I think one of the issues I struggle with is how to balance the creative and the practical side of the writing business -- and it most definitely is a business as well as a creative endeavor. We all have to spend a huge amount of our time and energy promoting our "products" -- and that effort definitely takes time away from our original intent -- which was to tell stories. I suspect that Ree Drummond struggles with that too. And we should all have the problem of "the brand got sooooo big" -- but actually it could be a dilemma when you spend more time protecting the "brand" and less time investing in writing. Lots to think about for sure.<br /><br />MarianThe Stiletto Ganghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01667670723330755598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-85718066831808397932011-04-25T08:43:33.714-04:002011-04-25T08:43:33.714-04:00You know, I admire her immensely and anyone else w...You know, I admire her immensely and anyone else who achieves such success, because I know all the hard work involved. But the one thought that pops into my mind while reading this: I don't want to be a brand...I just want to write books! The Lee Drummonds of the world show that words can be powerful--and profitable--and I appreciate that. Now I'll slink back into my little cave with my keyboard and get back to writing. ;-)Susan McBridehttp://SusanMcBride.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-3804125462232617392011-04-25T08:42:38.429-04:002011-04-25T08:42:38.429-04:00Great post. I have followed Pioneer Woman for ages...Great post. I have followed Pioneer Woman for ages. Smart lady!Sarita Leonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09236262575377618259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-61545455045919774582011-04-25T07:34:36.342-04:002011-04-25T07:34:36.342-04:00woops, meant success, but I guess access could wor...woops, meant success, but I guess access could work as well ;)Maria Geracihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02296473703226019932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1025201337316610324.post-31277250801485626612011-04-25T07:34:15.836-04:002011-04-25T07:34:15.836-04:00Great post, Evelyn. I've been a huge fan of Pi...Great post, Evelyn. I've been a huge fan of Pioneer Woman for several years now and have followed her progress with both awe, respect (and a little envy!). I really don't know how she does it all! Branding is one of the biggest (and hardest) things an author can do to achieve access.Maria Geracihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02296473703226019932noreply@blogger.com