The author brand
People love talking about brands. Did anyone else think that Orange made an unintelligible move, renaming themselves ‘EE’? It means nothing to those of us who aren’t in on the secret that this means ‘everything, everywhere’. Orange was one of those really cool brands in its heyday. Was it really a good idea to throw the name away?
In every downturn, publishers also tend to obsess about their imprint logo and brand values. They agonise about whether they need to spend more money on promoting themselves. In the end, though, it always comes down to one bald fact: it barely matters if you have a black swan, an oak tree, or a dodo on a book’s cover. You should be spending every available cent building your authors. They’re the only brand that counts, and many people don’t realise that authors need to be brand-managed with as much care and attention as Coca Cola.
But what if you’re an author, established in one genre but wanting to switch horses? Oh dear, oh dear. Every publisher’s nightmare.
JK Rowling made the bold move into adult fiction, but many authors try in vain to find a publisher to take them on in a new guise. It may not simply be a case of building your brand from scratch: your original author brand, and the values it stands for, might actually damage performance of a new book.
Some authors choose a pseudonym and take their chances. Some may have to take a reduced advance for the new book, but if the venture feels creatively right then switching genres has got to be a good move.
Wanda Whiteley, former Publishing Director at HarperCollins, is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Manuscriptdoctor.co.uk, a literary consultancy
Unintelligible is right, especially as you can't recieve their signal where I live. But I suppose Everything Everywhere as long as you don't live on the outskirts of Cardiff doesn't have quite the same ring.
Incidently, I think Kevin Bacon was a really strong brand until a few months ago.
What a bad move by Orange to change to E E. I did not know what E E meant until you explained it. I will now do my best to forget what it means.
Publishers should not be concerned about their imprint logo or brand value. Basically, no-one (apart from them) gives a damn.
If you name a famous book there is good chance that many could name the author.
Ask the same people who the publisher is, and they will not have a clue.
But some brands are obvious like Orange for example.
I don't know many authors who have successfully switched Genres.
Eva Ibbotson is the best example I know.