Authors always want to know how to get their books to stand out.
Today we have Anna Stone, a sapphic author both TB & Miranda are happy to call a friend, with a guest post to discuss author branding. Get your pen ready to take notes, because Anna smashes it when it comes to branding and being a bestselling author.
Take it away, Anna!
Author Branding Basics
I’m Anna Stone, author of sizzling sapphic romance. Today I’m going to talk about author branding and how you can use it to reach more readers.
What Is an Author Brand?
So, what is branding and why is it important for authors? Branding isn’t just for companies and products. It isn’t just about logos and visual design either. As an author, your brand is your distinctive, memorable identity as a writer. It’s what makes your books unique and keeps readers coming back for more. Defining your author brand enables you to clearly communicate what your books have to offer, helping you connect with the right audience.
Finding Your Author Brand
How do you figure out what your author brand is? First, you need to work out what draws readers to your books. Here are some questions to consider.
What do all your books have in common?
What themes and experiences are at the core of your stories? Are your books heartfelt romances? Suspenseful mysteries? Nostalgic coming of age tales?
What do readers say about your books?
Do they describe your characters as relatable or well developed? Do they praise the humor? Do they use terms like “steamy,” or “slow burn,” or “sweet?” Read your reviews and reader comments on social media to find out.
What three adjectives would you use to describe your books?
You can ask your readers the same question for an outside perspective.
This will give you a good idea of the core elements of your books that readers love. You can then use this information to define your author brand. Combining all the above, try to summarize your brand in a single sentence. It doesn’t have to flow well or read like a tagline (more about that later), but it should be concise and informative.
Here are some examples.
- Sweet, low angst romance where women from all walks of life find their happily ever after.
- Fast-paced, action-packed sci-fi with strong female protagonists and heroines with hearts of gold.
- Suspenseful erotic romance with high angst, high heat, and even higher stakes.
- Hilarious, heartwarming rom-coms with quirky, loveable characters.
Write across multiple genres or in genres that aren’t clearly defined? No problem. Simply find the common themes and elements in all your books and focus on those.
Applying Your Author Brand
Now that you’ve identified your author brand and condensed it into a single sentence, what do you do with it? There are a number of ways you can apply your branding to your writing and marketing. Here are some ideas.
Come up with an author tagline
Put your creativity to use and come up with something short, sweet, and catchy. Sizzling slow burn romance. Out of this world sci-fi. Sweet and spicy happily ever afters. Alliteration, assonance, and other stylistic devices are effective here.
Apply your branding to the visual design of your books
Ensure your book covers reflect your brand. Write erotic romances? Choose elegant fonts and deep, rich colors that evoke the sensuality of your story. Rom-coms? Try bright colors and playful fonts. Action packed science fiction? Bold, futuristic designs will reflect the content of your books. You can do the same with the design of your author logo, your website, and any graphics you share on social media.
Apply your branding to your marketing copy
This includes your blurbs. Spicy books should have blurbs that evoke the heat level of the story. Rom-com blurbs should be written with the same humor found within the book. Your newsletter and posts about the book on social media can also be written in a tone that reflects your brand.
These are just a few suggestions. The possibilities are endless! By defining and utilizing your author brand, you can make it easier for readers to find your books and reach not only a wider audience, but the right audience.
Anna Stone is the author of lesbian romance bestsellers Being Hers, Tangled Vows, and more. A lifelong lover of books, she grew up dreaming of becoming a writer, but promptly forgot about the idea when she reached adulthood. Then in 2018, she took the plunge and wrote her debut novel, Being Hers. The success of the book led her to pursue a career in writing.
Now Anna spends her days writing sizzling sapphic romances about strong, complex, passionate women who love women. In every one of her books, you’ll find off-the-charts heat and a guaranteed happily ever after.
Anna lives in Australia with her girlfriend and their cat. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found with a coffee in one hand and a book in the other, surrounded by houseplants.
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