Author brands sell books

cj Sez: If you saw a new book and the author was Stephen King, you’d expect to read a work of horror/psychological fiction from this prolific storyteller. How about if the author was Dame Agatha Christie? You’d expect something 180 degrees from King’s genre: cozy crime mysteries.

  What you’ve just done is recognized these two authors’ unique brands.

  If I said, “Murder on the Orient Express,” you’d automatically think cozy mystery written by Agatha Christie.  If I said, “She’s been nominated for the Agatha Award,” you’d know I meant Agatha Christie and you’d know what kind of story is being considered for the award.

  Stephen King + Misery (Or Cujo or Carrie or The Shining, et al.) = Stephen King Brand: horror/psychological fiction.

  When readers recognize your name, they’ve recognized your brand.

  Building your author brand needs to be one of the first things you do, even if you are yet to be published. Start with a Facebook page. It’s free. 

  Set up a blog site, and make sure the theme, style and author voice of the two are consistent. Use similar colors and fonts in signage, swag, banners for book signings, and business cards. You want your readers to identify you and your name by your ideas and concepts.

  Now you can develop a brand summary by defining who “you” are or what your books are about.

  Although I write in multiple genres, my “writer’s voice” and pacing are pretty much the same. 

  To reinforce my author image, I wear my squash blossom necklace to every writerly event I attend (some social events as well). 

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  Tomorrow’s full moon (Monday, Nov. 27 at 4:16 a.m. EST) is known as the Beaver Moon. According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, which lists monthly full moon names from Native American, Colonial American and European folklore, the Beaver Moon's name refers to the time of the year in which beavers take shelter in their lodges to prepare for winter, and also the time in which beaver fur traps would be historically set up in North America.

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Writer Tips (cj sez: Good stuff.)

  Benjamin Franklin once wrote to the Royal Society of London: “I have already made this paper too long, for which I must crave pardon, not having now time to make it shorter.”  Jane Friedman’s guest post by author Amy L. Bernstein is a keeper. 

 https://janefriedman.com/writing-short-book-description/

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  Author/editor/professor Brenda Copeland has a guest post on Career Authors site identifying POV and goes into wonderful examples of close third person POV. Extremely illustrative. I’m keeping a copy of this teaching moment for future reference. 

https://careerauthors.com/third-person-close-pov/

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  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you and yours.

cj

Now some words from my sponsors:

  Books are always great suggestions for gifts. They don't need water, they're not fattening; and they're easy to wrap. And Christmas is THE gift-giving holiday of the year. 

  I have stories in several anthologies with Christmas as the theme. Here are two to put on your shopping list:

FINALLY HOME brings you eight Christmas stories all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them. From funny, to sad, to romantic, there’s something here to tug at everyone’s heart strings. My short story, "Puppy Love," is included.

     Buy Button::  

Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes

  This anthology has 70 stories written by adults recounting their extraordinary childhood Christmas memories. 

  My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how six-year-old me reconnected with my Swedish father after a major upheaval in our lives.

  The anthology is free on Kindle.  Buy Now   

  My novels THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of romance. The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  Little note: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  If she happens to be sold out, shoot me an email. I have a small stash (with a discounted price plus shipping).

➜ Follow me on . . .  

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Avoid Clichés Like the Plague? Or are they useful?

cj Sez:  I was reviewing some notes I have and the following paragraphs jumped out at me for today’s blog. I think we can agree that novels need a theme, a premise on which to hang the action and plot points. An overall theme continues as a thread through the novel. It lets a writer connect the dots of subplots to the main plot.

  Caveat:  A cliché is, by definition, a trite and overused expression, a figure of speech that has become tiresome.

  One way to get a handle on finding your theme/premise might be to describe your novel in one sentence, as with a cliché.

  The neat thing is, once you’ve discovered that one true sentence for your novel, you can polish it into a marketing blurb.

   Consider this theme/premise/cliché for a romance story: “Love will find a way.” Then every time you put an obstacle in a character’s path on the way to happily ever after, that obstacle can be overcome with some kind of act of love . . . even self-love (conceit, egotism) is fair game. 

   In the premise/cliché, “All’s fair in love and war,” the character is free to do whatever s/he can in order to capture the heart of a lover. 

   For a love story, that beautiful, angst-filled drama which doesn’t always end happily ever after, a perfect cliché might be, “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” 

   Or this tired, old saw for a YA or memoir: “A coming of age story.” That keeps the threads of the story tied to some agonizing affliction and growth of young people over a longer time span.

 

   Find your cliché and tape it to your desk. It’ll keep you focused on the theme of your story, despite all those wonderful obstacles you throw in the path of the protagonist.

  NOTE: Several writer coaches/experts advise against the use of any clichés in the story’s narrative. That said, I think there are ways to use them—for example, you might have one particular character who loves to rattle off clichés.

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Writerly info:

  On Jane Friedman’s blog: “One Well-Chosen Detail: Write Juicy Descriptions Without Overwhelming Your Reader,” by author and writing coach April Dávila. 

https://janefriedman.com/one-well-chosen-detail-write-juicy-descriptions-without-overwhelming-your-reader/

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  Did you know that the first “general day of thanksgiving and prayer” was established by Presidential Proclamation in 1789?

And since we won’t be together on the holiday . . .

§§

  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you and yours.

cj

Now some words from my sponsors:

  Books are always great suggestions for gifts, and Christmas is THE gift-giving holiday of the year. I have stories in several anthologies with Christmas as the theme. Here are two to put on your shopping list:

  FINALLY HOME brings you eight Christmas stories all about our four-legged friends and the special people who rescue them.

  From funny, to sad, to romantic, there’s something here to tug at everyone’s heart strings. My short story, Puppy Love, is included. Buy Button::    

Christmas Through a Child’s Eyes

  This anthology has 70 stories written by adults recounting their extraordinary childhood Christmas memories. 

  My story, written under my maiden name of Marilyn Olsein, is titled “Dancing with Daddy,” and relates how six-year-old me reconnected with my Swedish father after a major upheaval in our lives.

The anthology is free on Kindle.  Buy Now   

  My novels THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of romance.

 The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  Little note: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  If she happens to be sold out, shoot me an email. I have a small stash (with a discounted price plus shipping).

 
➜ Follow me on . . .  
➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page
➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor
➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson
➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

 

Word Warriors

cj Sez:  Hey, all you word warriors: You still have more than half a month to reach your NaNoWriMo goal of 50,000 words. Keep up the good work…you got this!

  As for my story: After years (true) of pecking away at it every time I think of a different direction, I’m re-editing, again, a story that will probably end at about 70 words. Obviously, I am not a candidate for the NaNoWriMo challenge, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that all you writing warriors will carry through to the finish!

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Writerly info

  Stephen King has published 65 novels/novellas, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five nonfiction books, as well as more than 200 short stories. All told, he has sold more than 400 million books, and many of them have been adapted into feature films, miniseries, and television series. Even some comic books. How does he do it? He has strategies for creating a story that people love to read. One of those is to write the truth.

“Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want. Anything at all... as long as you tell the truth... Write what you like, then imbue it with life and make it unique by blending in your own personal knowledge of life, friendship, relationships, sex, and work...What you know makes you unique in some other way. Be brave.”

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You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. — Jack London

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   On Jane Friedman’s blog: “A Writer’s Guide to Fair Use and Permissions” . . .     https://www.janefriedman.com/sample-permission-letter/

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Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you.

cj

Now a note from my sponsors:

  My novels THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of romance. (Perfect diversions for a quick weekend getaway.) The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and a RITA Award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you any book(s) by any author of your choice.

  Little note: The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my books. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  If she happens to be sold out, shoot me an email. I have a small stash (with a discounted price plus shipping).

➜ Follow me on . . .  

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6

It's fall, y'all. Did you remember?

cj Sez: Did you remember to turn your clock back an hour? 

  By the by, the answer to why there is a time change twice a year? According to a dot com news article: “The U.S. first implemented daylight saving during World War I as a way to conserve fuel with the Standard Time Act of 1918, also known as the Calder Act.”

  In recent years, people have questioned the need to continue to observe the act. In response, there are sages among the D.C. electorate who decided they needed to save the sunshine. The Sunshine Protection Act that would have eliminated “Fall Back” and “Spring Forward” was approved by the U.S. Senate in 2022, but it never made it past the House of Representatives. The national bill is waiting in the wings, however. 

  According to the Farmers’ Almanac, at least 33 state legislatures have attempted to keep daylight saving time year-round. Currently only Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii do not observe daylight saving time.

Tip:

  The correct term is daylight “saving” (not savings) time. The AP Style Guide says it’s properly all lower case, as does the “writers’ bible”—the Chicago Manual of Style. Initials, however, are all caps: DST.

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  The idea of turning back time can be especially appealing when thinking about aging:

  Not me. I want people to know “why” I look this way. I've traveled a long way and a lot of the roads were not paved. Points to remember:

   You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

   Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

  I'm grateful for each day that I’m lucky enough to grow older. I can testify that eventually we reach a point when we stop lying about our age and start bragging about it.

  Here’s a wonderful tongue-in-cheek essay on the younger generation’s perception of "seenagers" (a senior who doesn’t act her/his age). My personal goal is to be one of those. 

  https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/2023/11/seniors-ageism-and-cozy-mysteries-by.html?spref=fb 

 

  I actually experienced an episode of that perception when I took my granddaughter to lunch last week. The waitress came back with my credit card and the receipt for the tab I had paid, handed it to her, and spent a few minutes suggesting she enter a contest after logging onto the restaurant’s website. I was using Mac and PC computers for reports and graphic presentations before either of them were born. I give Maggie Rose credit . . . she started laughing before I did.

  I believe the following prayer will help keep the peace…if I can remember it in time: 

Lord, keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.  Amen

§§

  This weekend, Saturday, November 11, the U.S. respectfully observes Veterans Day, a day set aside to honor all the veterans whose heroism made and keep this country free.

  “When first celebrated as Armistice Day, the day marked the end of World War I, formally recognized on the ‘11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month’ in 1918. The U.S. continues to honor the original connection to WWI, and Veterans Day is celebrated on the same day every year—November 11—regardless of which day of the week it falls.”  (Source: https://www.military.com/veterans-day )

  Canada honors its veterans on November 11 by celebrating their heroism with “Remembrance Day.”  

§§

  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you.

cj

Now a note from my sponsors:

  My novels THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of romance. (Perfect diversions for a quick weekend getaway.) The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. 

  Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and a RITA Award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you any book(s) by any author of your choice.

  Little note: The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  If she happens to be sold out, shoot me an email. I have a small stash (with a discounted price plus shipping).

➜ Follow me on . . .  

➜ Amazon:    Amazon Central Author Page

➜ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/CjPettersonAuthor

➜ BookBub:   https://www.bookbub.com/authors/cj-petterson

➜ Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3fcN3h6