Branding, and some other thoughts.

By the way, I do mean “creating a brand” not “permanently marking with a hot iron”, although there are certain similarities. Writers, particularly those with multiple books and any kind of following, are brands. Some of them seem to be created almost accidentally, some are kind of organic, and some of them are carefully created.

My public persona, by the way, is little different from my private one. Maybe a little more “turned-up”, probably neater, but essentially the same. So yes, I really am a modestly dressed liberal Christian who thinks diversity is very much a part of God’s plan. And yes, there are some very, very strange things in my head that just pop out and demand to be presented upon the page. I am also mellow about reviews, love reader interaction, and am probably occasionally a little too friendly for some readers, although I do try to be very careful about boundaries because I know everyone is different. Anyway, I’m strange, but what you see is what you get, and most people who know me well aren’t that surprised by what I write. Those who don’t know me well are often a little taken aback because I look too wholesome to write about sex, but that’s a somewhat separate issue.

This isn’t always so. One of the funny things about authors is that there is often a disconnect between the person and the product on the page. Some really unpleasant people seem to have wonderful things in their heads. I have no earthly idea why it works that way sometimes.

However, I do think that authors should be mindful of their brands, as well as respectful of their readers. There may be those who deliberately cultivate a reputation for abrasiveness or outrageousness, or some other variant of what is generally considered bad behavior, but in the end, a reader is a consumer, and they can take their business elsewhere.