Still watching the recordings from the conference and still learning a lot. I’ve especially enjoyed Sara Wigal’s session on creating your brand.

“Building Your Brand Before You Query” was an excellent session that provided concrete examples you can use to build your author brand. One of the suggestions was to include a “Brand Manifesto” on your website somewhere: “I write (genre conveyed) that introduces (audience segment) to (action step) to (core values communicated).” For example, “I write historical fiction that allows underrepresented women to envision an alternate history to that of dour textbooks, and thus begins to drown out colonialist narratives.

Let the following questions guide you as you search for your brand:

• What problem are you solving?
• What is the sexiest trait about your book or books?
• What would you never tell a book buyer about you on a first date?
• When potential customers say “no thanks,” what is generally the reason?
• What are the benefits and features to a reader of your book?
• What qualities do you want readers and the book industry to associate with you?
• What is your mission?

Other tips Sara suggested include:

• Brand as an AUTHOR, not a book, when it comes to social media, websites, etc. If you brand each book, you’ll never get finished and you risk your name getting lost in the shuffle.
• Author brand as a brand–your identity is separate. Your author self is a character you put on to deal with your public. Keep it separate from your personal (private) life.
• Use your author brand manifesto in your query letter.
• Allocate set time amounts to platform activities each week (or month). Treat your platform as one more job in the writing business and keep on top of it.