by Diane Holmes, Marketing-Zone: Marketing Yourself and Your Book, founder of Pitch University.

How I found a Can-do-ologist

Okay, so I was over at Bliss Habits, minding my own business, and wham-o.  I just accidentally stumbled across (the word is procrastination, people) an amazingly cool event that is Happening. Right. Now.

The World’s Biggest Summit is a totally free conference that features 100+ teachers speaking on topics of… Health, Wealth, Spirituality, Creativity, Business.

With people like SARK, Julia Cameron, and Danielle LaPorte, we’re talking Writing and Creativity heaven, people!

As I scanned all the graphics at the very bottom (the sponsors, ‘cause I was procrastinating, as previously noted), my eye stopped on one simple graphic: Marissa Bracke: Can-do-ologist.

I was struck by the simplicity and power of making up your own marketing language that captures who you are and what you do.   Heck, I was even jealous.

One extraordinary, made-up word.

Instant understanding.

Ordinary Words Used to Create Extraordinary Meaning

Nike did it.  And they didn’t even have to invent a new word. They just put 3 simple words together and then showed  us in images and story the sheer magnificence of a human who embraces the Just Do It motto. (Nike case study here.)

If you watch the USA network, you know that what they do is showcase stories about well-written, interesting characters.  Their Characters Wanted campaign has turned into a film project and a nonprofit effort (Characters Unite) to “use your differences to make a difference.”

Both of these examples show you how companies created a new language with existing words. Continue reading Can-do-ologist: Creating Your Own Marketing Language →

by Diane Holmes, Marketing-Zone: Marketing Yourself and Your Book, founder of Pitch University.

Have you notice that no matter how much people talk about author branding, it’s all fine until you try to create your own author brand.  Then a thick fog descends. 

Seriously, I think there are even monsters out there.

There’s a chasm between understanding all the goodness of having an Author Brand, or doing the Brand Building Techniques, and finding the brand that works for you.  That IS you.

Chasm.

So how about this:  What if your brand is simply what you do better than anyone else? 

Your skills.

Your ideas.

Your unique way of thinking.

What Are You The Best At?

Are you the writer who combines Zombies with Teen Girls for Global Peace?

Can you tell a story backwards so that the mystery unfolds in reverse?

Do you write more historically accurate scenes of The Black Death than anyone else?

What is it that sets you apart, that makes you think, “I have to write this because no one else can say it this way?”

What about your work is so original you know this aspect has never been done before?  This type of character hasn’t been explored?  This element will surprise your readers?

Why is your writing keenly important to you? To others?

Now we’re getting to the good stuff.

1.  Seriously consider what you’re accomplishing on a broader scale by being the author of this story, this article, this book.

2.  Every author I know is writing in a way that can be described as a mission:  a mission of story telling, a mission of technique, a mission of information, a mission of some grand passion.

3.  Writers make choices about characters, plots, and subjects because of a deep interest.

All of these things (deep interest, mission, keen importance), these are signs of you wanting to Be the Best.

Identify those things and call them your brand.

After all, your readers certainly will.

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This is the 11th in a series on Author Branding.
Previous articles include:
1. Author Branding vs. an Army of Writers
2. The Author’s Branding Manifesto
3. The Gleam in Your Author Brand (Brand Building Technique #1)
4. Storytelling Your Author Brand (Brand Building Technique #2)
5. Yes, Your Book Is Part of Your Brand (part 1) (Brand Building Technique #3)
6. Yes, Your Book Is Part of Your Brand (part 2) (Brand Building Technique #4)
7. Your Author Brand: What Do You Want People To Say Behind Your Back? (Brand Building Technique #5)
8.Author Branding: “The Brand Your Brand Could Smell Like.”
9. Your Power as a Writer = Your Author Brand (with Donald Maass)
10. “Writer’s Passion” As Brand (with Christopher Vogler)

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Diane writes two columns for Freelance-Zone: Fiction-Zone: Leaps in Fiction Mastery and Marketing-Zone:Marketing-Zone: Marketing Yourself and Your Book.

She’s the Founder and Chief Alchemist of Pitch University

by Diane Holmes, Marketing-Zone: Marketing Yourself and Your Book, founder of Pitch University.

Because I’ll be attending Story Masters Conference (Houston, TX, Nov. 3 – 6, 2011), I decided to interview the three keynote masters of story craft, including Christopher Vogler, founder of StoryTech consulting.

Chris is extremely well-known for his book, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, now in its 3^rd edition. And he’s worked on many well-known movies for DreamWorks, the Disney studio, Fox2000, Warner Bros, and others in their story departments.

Psst.  You can get a free chapter from his latest book, Memo from the Story Department: Secrets of Structure and Character in the post I wrote over at Pitch University: The Story Master’s Journey by Christopher Vogler (free bonus chapter!)

Everything I just told you is part of Chris’ brand.

Out of his genuine passion for the mythic roots of storytelling, he brought the power of Joseph Campbell’s Hero With a Thousand Faces to fiction writers of today.

• He has a passion for Myth.
• He knows where stories go wrong. 
• He knows how to fix them. 
• He knows how to teach this to other writers. 

This is his brand.

Simply put, he’s the person who (a) accesses mythic story archetypes and (b) transforms stories so that they (c) reach audiences in a powerful way.

What I love about using Chris as an example in this Author Branding series is that you can really see that his brand is all about him as a person, his passion, his expertise.  It’s not a marketing ploy.  It’s not a clever tagline that a marketer developed with a test audience.

And it doesn’t even matter if you’re a Hollywood exec or a writer at a conference.  You’re interested in him for the same reason.

The guy can make stories dance. 

Not with tricks.  But with mythic power. There’s nothing artificial here.  Chris followed his Bliss (to quote Joseph Campbell).  And his bliss became his brand.

One Step Further

So, I asked Christ for a couple of examples of authors who he thought did a good job of author branding.

I worked with an enterprising author named Michael Thompkins who drew on his background as a psychologist working with the Palm Springs Police Department to create a book series he branded as “The Shooting Shrink” series.

I learned a lot from prolific novelist Susan Wiggs who has created a warm, fuzzy world of communicating freely with her readers and offering them frequent glimpses of her life, travels, and working environment.

— Christopher Vogler,

What did Michael Thompkins do? He used his passion for psychology to brand himself and his books.  He didn’t create something artificial.  He actually likes psychology.

Here, the link if very overt.  Thompkins is an expert in his field, and his character is an expert in the same field.

But few writers have this luxury.  (Or else there’d be a lot of books where the protagonist is, herself, a writer.)

But look at how Susan Wiggs created a link between her author brand and her books.  She interacts with her readers from the same set of values (warm relationships, close ties, small town feel, family & friends) that her books celebrate. 

These are the same themes she explores in all her stories, and it’s what her readers like best in every book she writes, no matter what the protagonist’s occupation.

I would call this Susan’s passionate approach to life.  And it has become her author brand.

Michael and Susan, also, followed their bliss.

And I want this to become your True North when searching for your Author Brand.  It’s authentic.  It’s you.  And it’s born of your own internal passion.

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”

Joseph Campbell

Welcome… to being you.

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This is the 10th in a series on Author Branding.
Previous articles include:
1. Author Branding vs. an Army of Writers
2. The Author’s Branding Manifesto
3. The Gleam in Your Author Brand (Brand Building Technique #1)
4. Storytelling Your Author Brand (Brand Building Technique #2)
5. Yes, Your Book Is Part of Your Brand (part 1) (Brand Building Technique #3)
6. Yes, Your Book Is Part of Your Brand (part 2) (Brand Building Technique #4)
7. Your Author Brand: What Do You Want People To Say Behind Your Back? (Brand Building Technique #5)
8.Author Branding: “The Brand Your Brand Could Smell Like.”
9. Your Power as a Writer = Your Author Brand (with Donald Maass)

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Diane writes two columns for Freelance-Zone: Fiction-Zone: Leaps in Fiction Mastery and Marketing-Zone:Marketing-Zone: Marketing Yourself and Your Book.

She’s the Founder and Chief Alchemist of Pitch University – “Learn to pitch your book from the AGENTS and EDITORS who make their living at it. Learn. Pitch. Sell.”