Protecting Your Author Brand
And what this means
One of the key jobs of a publicist, is to protect her client's image and "brand".
As you might have seen if you've been following me, I spent my "traditional" publicity career working with very famous entertainment, publishing and lifestyle brands and with very famous people.
A lot of the time my job was to be proactive in getting my clients and their work talked about by the right people at the right time. (Including in magazines, on the TV, on the radio, etc.)
But sometimes my job was to make sure my clients were NOT talked about, especially by the wrong people, at the wrong time and particularly, in the wrong context. (Ask me to tell you about when I was employed for a whole summer on a movie shoot to make sure that no one printed anything negative or embarrassing about Jude Law, who was starring in the movie.)
What does any of this have to do with you as an Author?
Part of the reason I was drawn to offer help to indie, self pub and small press authors, was because I realised they were very much missing a vital element in their author careers. That was someone who is looking out for their interests. Someone who could see, with a professional eye, where the author was (often without their knowledge or awareness) being placed in vulnerable positions.
When you are advocating for yourself and you are in charge of your own brand, image AND financial interests, particularly if you are navigating a publishing world that currently feels impenetrable, this is hugely challenging.
Being able to navigate all of the pathways that are now open to authors who self publish, or who agree to work with the many different types of publishers that are now operating, as well as making sure that your work and image is being represented in the way that aligns with your vision and your ambition for yourself as an author, is tricky to say the least.
Sometimes "opportunities" present themselves to authors, like when a "TV producer" or "movie exec" comes knocking, claiming to be on the lookout for the next big thing and they'd love to secure you a deal - only to find that this is completely bogus and the person at the other end of the emails is not to be trusted.
I know how hard it can be, when you're trying to put yourself out there as an author, working on marketing your books, sometimes desperately looking for any which way that you can get a break - to spot the real, exciting opportunities from those that are going to leave you wondering why you trusted that person.
When you meet someone who says they will look after everything for you and ensure the success of your book so that you can become a "real" author, I urge you to always read the small print and make sure you fully understand what it is you're being offered.
And if you're not sure whether an opportunity is right for you, or whether you'll be able to confidently trust the management of how you are represented as an author and how your books are presented to the world, definitely always get a second opinion. And I'm here to help if you need it.
As an author who wants to spend more time doing what you love - writing your books - do you wish you knew that your marketing efforts are going to work, before you’ve gone to the trouble of putting energy and time into it?
If you have a new book coming out this year, would you like to know that you’ll be able to rapidly reach your ideal readers, before you even hit your publication date?
I invite you to join us in my new
Author Brand Community membership
Where you will get the real time, live support, learning and implementation needed to bring your books to more readers, make more sales and become known in your genre.
You can join now for just £30 or $40 for your first month - ask me (comment here or drop me a message) for the discount code
Find all the details about the ABC here: https://www.buildyourauthorbrand.com/the-author-brand-community