Writers and Branding

Posted by Suzy Vitello Soulé on March 9th, 2011 at 07:44 AM | | Tweet

Whether by glorious language, carefully wrought craft, or painstaking attention to detail, in the end, we're all whores.

I ran across this great post on the Lit Coach blog the other day. It tackles that hallowed ground we writers are loath to embrace. Branding.

Believe me, it wasn’t that long ago that I was a purist. A nay-sayer in the world of commodifying literature. That a book would be not only judged by its cover, but treated like a new flavor of Cheerios was abhorrent. Then I got in tight with the devil and plunged into advertising.

What I slowly discovered, day in and out, wrangling with words and brands and the people on the other end, was seduction is seduction. Even whilst crafting a short story, a writer’s success is partly, no, mostly, dependent on wooing the person who will read it. Whether by glorious language, carefully wrought craft, or painstaking attention to detail, in the end, we’re all whores.

I’m going to be taking this concept—branding, promoting, finessing—to the next level, because as of yesterday, I am officially “represented.” (Queue the brass band.) Before my agent trots my book out to the harried and competitive world of publishing, the brand—the package of words, concept, platform, etc…—has to be rock solid, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes. Okay, Satan, maybe not whatever it takes, but close!