tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post3094762902691653206..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: Who do you think you are? by Anne RooneyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-11021193841107968202014-05-10T12:04:11.715+01:002014-05-10T12:04:11.715+01:00Pseudonyms, people, pseudonyms!
Brands are essent...Pseudonyms, people, pseudonyms!<br /><br />Brands are essentially chains. The only difference is who put them on you. Are they manacles fitted by someone else who kept the key, or gold ones you bought yourself and can take off whenever you like?Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-63064475917988220992014-05-10T02:44:18.506+01:002014-05-10T02:44:18.506+01:00I'm thinking of Paul Jennings, an Aussie write...I'm thinking of Paul Jennings, an Aussie writer whose "brand" is utterly silly, hilarious short fiction for younger readers. One day, he decided to try his hand at a YA thriller. Poor man. I read it. I enjoyed it - and so would teenage readers if anyone else's name had been on the cover. <br /><br />On the otherr hand, if another name had been on the cover, he wouldn't have had the built-in audience to buy it, even if they didn't like it.<br /><br />You can't win, sometimes.Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-4496266767428289512014-05-09T14:37:09.595+01:002014-05-09T14:37:09.595+01:00It's a horrible word and it's meaning is e...It's a horrible word and it's meaning is equally insidious. I've had a lot of experience of that word over the last couple of years, and have come to the conclusion that it's pretty important to understand the word and what it implies, and brand yourself accordingly. My brand isn't necessairly a reflection of my personality, but of the main body of my work. Publishers seem to want this, some require it.<br />Stepping out of the brand is obviously done far more easily once you're established/well-known...<br />Great post, Stroppy! Thank you. Shame I'll miss your talk tomorrow.Savita Kalhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07977368691995933130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-20942737825981948012014-05-09T13:09:17.697+01:002014-05-09T13:09:17.697+01:00For companies, 'brand' is effectively the ...For companies, 'brand' is effectively the same as 'personality', so for authors (who are people) their brand probably is literally their personality. So I'm not sure you could stray outside it if you tried.<br /><br />I think the only danger is if you write something that is in conflict with your publisher's brand (such as a racy YA romance for an imprint that only deals with middle-grade fiction). But that's all too obvious.<br /><br />Barbara Vine is still recognisably Ruth Rendell, despite being a conscious effort to be a new author 'brand'. I'm not saying you could guess they were the same person if you didn't know - but the revelation is not a shocking surprise. You think, 'Oh yes, that figures.'Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-23864276128032662202014-05-09T11:20:28.175+01:002014-05-09T11:20:28.175+01:00Well, perhaps I was being lazy giving genre as an ...Well, perhaps I was being lazy giving genre as an example - I didn't mean it should be that narrow. But brand is more than just 'quality'. It is to do with characteristics and expectations. That might include voice or genre or any number of things, but has to be something distinctive and individual and then the same issues about stepping outside brand exist.<br />Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-39893748191577095762014-05-09T09:07:32.233+01:002014-05-09T09:07:32.233+01:00Interesting thoughts - does your 'author brand...Interesting thoughts - does your 'author brand' mean you shouldn't step outside your genre?<br /><br />I don't think so. Brand shouldn't be confused with genre. Brand should be simply a guarantee of quality. For instance you can pick up any book by Anne Fine and know you'll be in safe hands, whether it's an easy reader for younger children, or an adult novel.<br /><br />And of course writers can have sub-brands by varying their name, for example. Lee Weatherly versus L. A. Weatherly, for instance, or Iain Banks versus Iain M. Banks. So you know you can trust the quality, while expecting slightly different kinds of books from each sub-brand.Nick Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08191176209084540085noreply@blogger.com