Is author's name part of the 'marketing package'?

[Nik]

Cover, blurb, first pages or few paragraphs are all important to make a reader curious and want to read a book. The title is super significant. Some try to associate with trendy words like 'grey' or 'girl(s)' -:)
What about author's name: Is it part of the package? Should one assume a pen name bearing this in mind? Would an 'unusual' author's name be a factor?

[[deleted user]]

I would say from experience and from looking at others' books that the name of the author becomes important only when he/she is well known and popular. If you are a newbie/wanabe, then concentrate on the cover and the title if you want to attract readers attention.

[Justin]

In part yes, it depends on which way your going. If your promoting and marketing just for your book then no, if your promoting and marketing for full effect and overall presence then the authors name should be a considered factor.

[Ian]

The value of the author's name is probably directly proportional; to how many people recognise it. Thus "Stephen King" will see a huge number of books. If you are thinking that is because King writes good books, then consider that Sarah Palin sold a lot of books.

Unfortunately, as yet my name does not sell a lot of books. :-(

Sand yes, i am not alone there :-(

[Tara Woods Turner]

There are a handful of authors whose books I will automatically buy just because their name is on the cover. Their skill and talent has given their name alone marketability.

[Groovy]

I agree with Michel. If you're popular then your name will sell a lot of books, because readers know when they see your name, the book will be good.

But if you're new, then it's your story that will sell the book, not your name.

[Steven]

I decide on book purchases via blurbs and a "peek inside," an occasional recommendation by a friend, or just the topic (especially non-fiction). I'll recognize "famous authors," but their books run the same gauntlet--and I ignore their endorsements of unknown authors, a thinly veiled and incestuous tactic to entice readers.
Nik brings up another point, though: Books with titles purposely chosen to be similar to other more famous titles start out with one strike against them. I work hard to come up with my own titles. They might not work well (Full Medical, my first book, was confused with a political treatise on the healthcare crisis), but they're all mine, chosen carefully to reflect at least some of the novel's content.
r/Steve

[Nik]

Yeah, for best-selling authors the name is their brand. However, any name spurs associations.
These are excerpts from a review of one of my books, I procured through one of the popular sites:

"..... First off, between downloading the ebook and starting to read, I attempted to do some research regarding the author, Nik Krasno, to get a feel for his writing style to understand what I was getting myself into.

...... Considering the author was born in Kiev, I expected to find some grammatical and syntax errors. ..."

So I guess at least with some readers a name may result in prejudice -:)

[Steven]

Nik,
At least you have a name that's not common. There are so many Steven Moores out there that we seem like a clone army whose members should have serial numbers. (That's an argument for a pen name, of course--one of my biggest errors!)
Even non-best-selling authors have to worry about establishing their name--name recognition and book(s) recognition are both important. I can't say I have either, but they're goals.
Kiev? I took a year of Russian and we got to the point where we could read some of the Zhivago poems. One line there seems to describe the book business for authors: zhuzen prosheet--ne polyah peratee (yeah, bad transliteration--my apologies). I think Zhivago (Pasternak) stole it from a Russian folklore saying. [If I remember correctly, Kiev figures in my sci-fi thriller Muddlin' Through (among many other places Mary Jo Melendez visits)--bummer that I can't remember for sure at this moment.]
r/Steve
PS. I filled out your survey.

[Nik]

Steven wrote: "There are so many Steven Moores out there that we seem like a clone army whose members should have serial numbers. ..."

You got a point. Sincerely, hope for you it's not that bad -:)

Steven wrote: "PS. I filled out your survey. ..."

Thanks, Steven!

[Tara Woods Turner]

Nik wrote: "Yeah, for best-selling authors the name is their brand. However, any name spurs associations.
These are excerpts from a review of one of my books, I procured through one of the popular sites:

"......"

This is a crappy way to go about a review, imo.

[[deleted user]]

Another unilingual member of the Grammar Police, I suppose?

[Steven]

Michel,
I'm still trying to teach MS Word the difference between it's and its. Its auto-correction seems to think it's just the opposite of what's correct--been that way for years!
Can see GP sleuthing around in an erudite thesis or essay, but there's a fuzzy line between bad editing and an author's voice in fiction. When I read or review, I have to be careful. I certainly don't go in with preconceived notions.
One book I'm currently reading is The Pope of Physics. There are editing errors, and this is traditionally published.
r/Steve

[J.J.]

It's no coincidence the more famous an author is, the larger their name is and the smaller the book title is on the cover.

[J.J.]

Steven wrote: "Michel,
I'm still trying to teach MS Word the difference between it's and its. Its auto-correction seems to think it's just the opposite of what's correct--been that way for years!
..."

Yesterday my copy wanted me to change "businessman" to "businessperson." The PC police are now officially controlling my grammar/spell check.

[Tara Woods Turner]

J.J. wrote: "Steven wrote: "Michel,
I'm still trying to teach MS Word the difference between it's and its. Its auto-correction seems to think it's just the opposite of what's correct--been that way for years!
...."

Lol wow.

[Nik]

J.J. wrote: "Yesterday my copy wanted me to change "businessman" to "businessperson." The PC police are now officially controlling my grammar/spell check...."

-:)

[Steven]

J.J. and Nik,
I'm a bit more careful with PC in my blog posts, but I don't worry about it too much in my fiction, especially in dialog. I'll say "flight attendant" in my normal speech but "businessman" is a gender-neutral for me, on par with "mankind" and "human beings," unless I'm speaking about a particular businesswoman. Stripping female endings to make words gender neutral, moreover, is just as sexist to me because in so many professions women have fought the old boys' club for so long they should be recognized for making inroads. Just sayin'....
I do my own copy editing and content editing before I even send an MS to a beta-reader. Their primary job is to catch logical errors (the getaway car changes from red to blue in mid chase, for example), but they also come up with more copy editing errors (like software bugs, there's always another one). If I could afford a copy editor, I'd always have the last say, and I'd never let an editor do content editing--my experience is that they want to turn my story into their own.
OK, I'm an opinionated SOB. :-)
r/Steve

[Nik]

Are you going with your own or a pen name?

[Ian]

Nik wrote: "Are you going with your own or a pen name?"

Me, my own name. I doubt it helps sell, but at lest it is my name.

[J.J.]

Pen name these days.

[Graeme]

I was seriously considering using the name 'Dirk Staker," as a pseudonym for my vampire hunter novels...

[Nik]

Graeme wrote: "I was seriously considering using the name 'Dirk Staker," as a pseudonym for my vampire hunter novels..."

And why not in the end?

[Graeme]

I'm joking. :-).

'Dirk Staker,' is the name of a vampire hunter, I'm kinda toying with for a satirical set of stories that sends up the whole concept.