Michael Jordan was amazing- the best basketball player ever. And certainly the most naturally talented. What was his brand? Smack down superiority. Consistent championship-winning ability. Natural talent that couldn’t be stopped.

I’m originally from Kentucky where basketball is king

but this image pretty well sums up my basketball ability.

A basketball player is NOT who I am- as a person or as a brand. When it comes to defining my own brand I don’t want to be like Mike- or anybody else. I want- in fact I MUST- be ME and only me.

But why is authenticity so important? Why can’t I photoshop a few pictures and portray myself on my website as the sportiest kid’s writer on the block? Why can’t I recolor everything pink and say I’m the next Meg Cabot or Cecily von Ziegesar? They have successful recognizable brands. They’re really successful. Or even better why can’t I just think up my own very commercial brand and say that’s who I am?

“An inauthentic brand is not sustainable,” says Joelle Ziemian, vice president of the international marketing firm Lipman Hearne. “Your brand must be authentic because over and over you are going to have to bring it to life. The second you try to fake it everybody knows and you lose credibility.”

Lately the big buzz in the world of branding is both Barack and Michelle Obama’s success at defining and communicating their brands. William Arruda, author of Career Distinction: Stand Out By Building Your Brand recently said “Obama is ‘perhaps the best example of personal branding we have today.’ Effective branding is ‘based in authenticity, and the thing that makes [Obama] so successful and so confident is that he is being who he is.’ “

Obama has won over many supporters in part because they believe he is the person they see- smart, perhaps a bit nerdy, ethical, trustworthy, forceful and practical. We regard him as an authentic leader so we are willing to follow.

All right. I know I’m not Michael Jordan, Meg Cabot, or Barak Obama (big surprises there) and I know it’s no good faking it.

SO WHO AM I?

Some writers say they are afraid of branding because they’re afraid of being pigeonholed.
I believe that’s a cover up for their real fear. A brand that doesn’t pigeonhole you- that in fact frees you to be everything you are and everything you dream of being- is based on the authentic you.

But who is that authentic you?
This is the question that terrifies most writers. We’re used to coming up with personality traits and defining our characters by their actions, but sometimes we hide behind those imaginary characters. We’re scared to take a long hard look at ourselves.

Start looking, honey. 

I promised you a branding worksheet today so let’s get started.

I’m taking a fantastic class at MediaBistro, Brand Yourself, taught by Laurie Sheer. Some of these questions I’ve derived, in part, from work we’re doing in class. Most are questions I’ve come to from reading dozens of branding articles and speaking to a variety of media experts, agents and editors. Again I’m not a branding professional- I’m a children’s writer. But I think this checklist can send you on your way to knowing your own personal brand.

1) Describe your five most significant qualities?

Fine. I’m sometimes lazy. I procrastinate. I spend too much time on the web and I eat way too much pasta. Oh and apparently I can’t count. What kind of brand is that?

Stop right there. The other thing I see almost every day in writers is massive insecurity and a violent desire to be way too hard on themselves. Give yourself a break. What are your good qualities? If you truly have none- well that’s a symptom of something way more serious than needing to define your brand.

Start again. For today focus on positives- although don’t turn a blind eye to negatives. Be honest and specific. Your answers don’t have to have anything to do with your writing or books, although they may.

1)    Describe your five most significant qualities. (things like efficient, well organized, nosey, quiet… )
2)    What are five things you are an expert at? (for example model trains, nursing, cactus growing, cats, punctuation) (um have you noticed I’m making these lists up? Okay. Nosey is true. But punctuation clearly defies understanding in my world. Spelling too. Cactus? yeck!)
3)    What are five other things you enjoy a lot? (lemonade, snow skiing, a well balanced checkbook…)

Stop here. Do these things relate to each other in any way? Write a paragraph about consistencies and inconsistencies.

Start again.
4)    In a short paragraph describe yourself as you see yourself.
5)    In a short paragraph describe yourself as you believe others see you.
6)    Take a deep breath. Contact four or five friends or colleagues and ask them to describe you or to list five qualities/attributes you possess.

Stop again and think. See any themes? Any surprises? Do others see you as you want to be seen? Are there changes you want or need to make on either side of the equation- either as far as living up to people’s perceptions or changing their expectations? How does this analysis make you feel? Happy? Satisfied? Despondent? Ready to ditch a couple alleged “friends”?

Start again

7)    What themes or areas do you tend to explore in your writing?
8)    What kinds of books would you like to write in the future? What audience?
9)    Describe three of your ideal readers/ consumers (might be a parent or librarian but that’s up to you), with the kinds of detail you’d give characters in your books. Don’t necessarily limit yourself to books you’ve already written or sold.

Great.  Gathering this data should take a while. It should be a real exploration- a mixture of off the top of your head reactions and soul searching. Tomorrow we’ll look at a few familiar authors and see how their brands convey the promise. And we’ll start taking all that information you’ve developed to shake it, bake it and reveal your brand.

NOW IN THE CENTER RING …..

So now I’m climbing up on the hire wire… My assignment for branding class this week is to ask friends and colleagues to describe me. Some people who read this blog know me personally. Some know me from my posts here or from the work I do with Vermont College.
Tollbooth readers- help me with my homework! List a few words that describe me in the comments.

~TLB

Anywhere you find a cluster of children’s writers you’ll hear rumbles. Publishing is changing. They want more from us. It’s not enough to write a book and sell it to an editor. Now they don’t just want us to market the book– They expect us to market OURSELVES.

Who do they think I am? A product? A brand?

Are you afraid of being branded? If so, you’re not alone.  In the New York Times article Putting Yourself Out There On A Shelf To Buy, journalist Alina Tugend says “I HEAR the word “brand,” as in “learn how to brand yourself,” and my heart sinks. I became a journalist rather than a salesperson because I do not like selling anything — including myself.”
Get a grip Alina! Since when did a newspaper columnist not project a public image? Last I heard the point was to sell newspapers- admittedly a confounding goal these days!  But even if I do find her attitude a little frustrating reading her take and her struggles with branding is both informative and enlightening. Take a look. You might see a bit of yourself there. Some of her successes may resonate.

This week I’m here to tell you (and Alina) YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AFRAID. Really. Truly. It’s not hard. It doesn’t hurt. And saying “that’s not in my job description” doesn’t cut it anymore. As author’s we are the owners and entrepreneurs of our own (small or large) businesses. We have to be willing to do everything from write the darn book to change the ink in the printer to present ourselves to our readers, our publishers, and the world.

But wait–
In fact, you already have a brand, whether you know it or not. Jeff Bezos, Amazon impresario and branding genius has reportedly said something like “your brand is what people say about you when you leave the room.”

Joelle Ziemian, vice-president of marketing firm Lipman Hearne (and a fantastic children’s writer herself) explains what a brand is and what it isn’t-
“When most people think of a brand they think of a product or service: the Sunkist orange or the Hyatt hotel. That is the wrong definition. A brand is not a logo or a color palette, but rather a PROMISE that is the basis of your relationship with your audience. In the case of Sunkist or Hyatt, that promise is quality delivered consistently.”

The idea of author branding doesn’t appeal to everyone. Some writers are appalled at its commercial flavor. “What I’m creating is ART. Was Picasso a ‘brand’?”   Uh. Yes, he was. He still is.

Look at branding from this light- do you want your readers to (figuratively) notice when you leave a room? Or are you content to be anonymous? Do you want to deliver on the promise you’ve made when they rush to the store for your next book? Or do you want to be so scattered no one knows (or cares) what Jane Doe, author, writes?

This week in the Tollbooth we’re confronting many authors’ greatest fear- WHAT IS MY BRAND? Does your brand pigeonhole you into one type of work? Or can it free you to create all the books you dream of writing? How do you begin to understand your own personal and unique brand?

I’m not marketing guru but I’ve taken classes, read up, and done lots of fieldwork and I’m wrestling with these issues myself. I’ll share tips I’ve gathered on how to discover and cultivate an author’s brand. I’ll interview Joelle for more details on the professional’s take on branding. And talk to children’s authors Shawn Stout and Julie Berry, two emerging writers who’ve seized on the value of branding from the get go.

Sooooo let’s get going for a full and furious week about a topic that makes lots of us go hmmmmm.

Your first assignment- What do you think people say about you when you leave the room? Are you making or breaking any promises?

~TLB