You may resist the idea that as an author you are a brand. It sounds so commercial, so corporate, so corny. But remember publishing is a business, and people buy books based on what they think about an author. Your brand becomes your reputation. “A brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room,” Jeff Bezos is credited with saying. How you present your books to the public and represent yourself as an author IS your brand. Even if you aren’t intentionally creating a brand, you’re still leaving people who currently follow you and your prospective readers with an impression of who you are. It’s in your best interest to become more intentional about branding yourself as an author. From your dust jacket to your social media efforts, your brand represents you and your book. Your brand helps you cultivate name recognition, but more importantly, it communicates to audiences whether or not you are trustworthy. It’s one thing to write from the perspective of an unreliable narrator in a work of fiction and an entirely different thing to be an unreliable author. Good strategy for the former, lethal for the latter. For more than a decade it’s been important to include an author head shot in your book proposal. The image you present of yourself is important to aquisitions editors because it’s important to readers. Your photo will be used in all publicity and marketing materials. If you’re the author of a children’s book, and…
You can enter to win a free copy of Margot Bloomstein’s new book, Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap, by leaving a comment on this blog post. Tell us what brand you trust and why. You’ll then be entered into a random drawing to be held on Saturday, May 8, 2021. One lucky winner will be sent a free… [Read More]
You may resist the idea that as an author you are a brand. It sounds so commercial, so corporate, so corny. But remember publishing is a business, and people buy books based on what they think about an author. Your brand becomes your reputation. “A brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room,” Jeff Bezos is credited with saying…. [Read More]
Page Two Books released Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap by Margot Bloomstein on March 2. The Silver Unicorn Bookstore hosted her Tuesday launch event with an interview by Lylah Alphonse of the Boston Globe. On Thursday, Magers & Quinn in Minneapolis hosted graphic designer Carolyn Porter, author of Marcel’s Letters: A Font and the Search for One Man’s Fate, and she interviewed Margot. After… [Read More]
Jeannine Ouellette’s new memoir, The Part That Burns, has garnered critical acclaim since its release on February 1. Joyce Carol Oates called it “simply beautiful. Precisely imagined, poetically structured, compelling, and vivid.” Last week Ouellette joined Jo Ann Beard, Katherine Angel, Dantiel Moniz and Michele Filgate for a panel discussion on “Desire” for the Red Ink Series, sponsored by Books Are Magic bookstore in Brooklyn… [Read More]
Margot Bloomstein launched new book, Trustworthy: How the Smartest Brands Beat Cynicism and Bridge the Trust Gap (Page Two), last week and there’s never been such a timely title for our troubled times. Cynicism has grown to gargantuan proportions in the past few years and too many people believe you can’t trust anyone or anything anymore. Brands — retail companies like Old Navy, tech firms… [Read More]