OLD POST ALERT! This is an older post and although you might find some useful tips, any technical or publishing information is likely to be out of date. Please click on Start Here on the menu bar above to find links to my most useful articles, videos and podcast. Thanks and happy writing! – Joanna Penn
Here's an outline of my two brands and how they contribute to my business, as well as my recommendations if you're thinking about these issues. I get a lot of questions about this topic so I thought I would address it head on 🙂
What is a brand anyway?
Whether you like it or not, you have a brand as soon as you publish a book, or you start tweeting, or blogging or anything.
It's how people perceive you.
It's the words and images that are associated with you and your books.
It's the emotions and feelings you trigger in the person who notices you or something you put into the world.
Therefore, it's important to control the perception of your brand.
You can do that by making sure everything you put out there in the world represents what you want people to see.
TheCreativePenn.com – and me as Joanna Penn
This site is aimed at writers, authors, and creative entrepreneurs. I am always upbeat and I want to be a positive force for good, so I will only share what resonates with that energy.
Of course, I have down days like everyone else, but I don't (often) share them here.
It makes income through the sale of online courses, non-fiction books, professional speaking, affiliate income, and podcast sponsorship.
I blog here regularly and continue to do the podcast, YouTube channel and everything else to drive traffic here because this is a business and it pays my bills. I love you guys 🙂 but this site was always intended to be a business.
The color scheme is red and white, the tone and website style is positive, upbeat, helpful, and smiley. That is a part of who I really am, but it is only one aspect.
JFPenn.com – and me as J.F.Penn
J.F.Penn is my fiction name and JFPenn.com is targeted at fans of my fiction, or people who might like to try my type of writing. The tag line is ‘Thrillers on the edge' because I find myself writing on the edge of thriller, mystery, crime and horror, as well as a healthy dose of literary and cultural references.
The tone and website style is dark, my picture is dark and brooding and the color scheme is black, greys and white. This resonates because my fiction is dark and twisty, and my themes are religion, psychology, the supernatural, violence and death, as well as global travel and fascinating locations. The tone is quite different to TheCreativePenn. It's also me, but only one aspect.
Income on JFPenn.com is purely from my fiction book sales, which continue to grow as a percentage of my overall income. I expect it to surpass the income from TheCreativePenn.com as I have more books available. The site itself is mainly marketed through the books themselves, and interviews I do on book blogs as JFPenn as well as podcasts and click-throughs from this site.
Why do I have two brands?
I started TheCreativePenn.com as a way to share my self-publishing learning curve, way back in 2008 when there was no international Kindle, there was no KDP or print on demand.
I made some mistakes around printing too much inventory without knowing anything about marketing, and I was really keen to share my story so others could avoid that pain.
I also saw my future as a non-fiction author and speaker, empowering people with live events and online training. A bit like a British, introverted Tony Robbins!
(a) I didn't ever expect to write fiction when I started this site in Dec 2008.
It truly didn't enter my consciousness, until this interview with Tom Evans in June 2009 about writer's blocks when we uncovered my own blocks around writing. That discussion identified the blocks and I moved forward, starting NaNoWriMo in Nov 2009. You can read the whole journey of writing my first novel here.
But essentially, the goal for this site never had anything to do with fiction!
I had originally set my path towards becoming a full-time blogger/entrepreneur, and that didn't change until 2011 when I realized being a fiction author was a possible future for me, and now it is my primary goal.
If you are writing fiction, and you want to start a blog, then for goodness' sake, start a blog (or a podcast) that attracts your target audience!
Don't do what I am doing — unless, like me, you have a goal for your writing-related site that relates to income or marketing. Or of course, you can write what you want if you just write for the fun of it (which is absolutely valid, but you probably won't put in the kind of hours I do if it's just for fun!)
But in terms of learning from my ‘mistakes,' I had to start from scratch with JFPenn.com when I changed direction, because such a small percentage of this audience are interested in my fiction.
If I was starting again today and aiming to make 100% of my money from fiction, I would continue blogging (or podcasting) as I do at JFPenn.com and BooksAndTravel.page about my research, videos about the books and interviews with other authors in the genre. I would rarely talk about the writing process, and I would never talk about publishing or marketing.
(b) Different target audience
The target market for TheCreativePenn.com and my non-fiction books is very different from the people who want to read my fiction and check out JFPenn.com. Yes, some will cross over, but as above, I have found it is very few. Maybe 5%.
To attract a specific market, you need to focus on specific topics, and give people a specific impression when they arrive at your site. You also need to build separate email lists for the different audiences.
You can separate your audience for your books through a different author name, as you can have separate author pages on Amazon, Kobo, Apple, and the other book retailers so readers only see the books associated with that name.
I started out with Joanna Penn for all my books, but differentiating the target market soon became important, as did …
(c) The gender issue with my type of fiction
After Pentecost and then Prophecy, some of my readers came from this site and knew me as the smiley, happy person, I received feedback that my writing was ‘masculine,' and that my gender was causing people to double-take at the kick-ass action-adventure vibe of my fiction.
A lot of writers use initials to get over the initial gender bias, and so I decided to move to J.F.Penn in order to prevent people judging the books before they'd even read a sentence. I've written a much longer article on the gender bias issue here.
When is it a good idea to use multiple brands?
If you can avoid multiple brands, then it's advisable to try and stick with one. It's very hard to be active with more than one brand, for example, I gave up trying to tweet under two handles, so I use @thecreativepenn for everything.
I have a separate podcast as JF (Jo Frances) Penn at BooksAndTravel.page, and I also record some of my short stories.
I have a separate Facebook page, but I'm not terribly active there. I have Pinterest boards for JF Penn and not for TheCreativePenn, and I am on Instagram as @jfpennauthor.
I have two sets of business cards, two email addresses, two different official photos (one smiling, one brooding!)
It's complicated!
But I'm glad I separated my brands as I need to keep my two audiences separate. My writing is quite different and aimed at a different group of people, and that's the main reason you might want separate brands.
You can use multiple author names and still only have one website, of course, but if you write children's fiction AND erotica, then you'll definitely want two sites. But if you write thrillers and romance, you could probably get away with one brand.
Questions to ask yourself around brand
- Who are my target audience for these types of books, or this type of site?
- Where do I want to be in 5 years time? Can this brand grow with me?
- Can I get away with just being one brand? (as this is much easier and I highly advise you do this unless you definitely need to keep your audiences apart)
- How do I want people to perceive me?
- How can I communicate that in what I create in the world?
Do you have any questions about author brands, or what I have done with mine? Do you have more than one author brand? Please do leave questions and comments below.
Nothing like the wisdom of experience to make your point. That is, that making two points at once isn’t the best place to be in.
“Brand” is a word we’ve always heard, and I see it more and more among blogs now, and I think I’m starting to see why. The numbers themselves make it vital: with so many other authors and businesses a click away from us now, “thriller author” just doesn’t have the power to leave an impression, and often it’s the only chance we get. “Thrillers on the edge” delivers–especially if everything else about that brand reinforces it.
Well, I was rethinking my blog’s color scheme anyway…
Thanks Ken – I’m glad you like ‘Thrillers on the edge’ – it was my 3rd tagline 🙂 All the best with your branding.
Joanna,
This is a very thoughtful and helpful piece. I really appreciate your Creative Penn Blog, but you’re right, I am a memoirist, so I don’t really look at your other blog. Valid point.
Keep up the great work!
Lenny
Hi Lenny, and I certainly don’t EXPECT people from this site to care about my fiction! After all, this is for writers in all arenas, and only a few will like my fiction. I hope you continue to enjoy this site 🙂
Joanna,
Your timing couldn’t be better for me, as I have been struggling with this issue for some time and just e-mailed a brand-savvy friend today for advice.
My case is a bit tricky because I write in two quite different romance sub-genres. I am leaning toward having one brand, but I’m still working out how to make the brand broad enough to encompass both without watering it down so much that it stops being a brand.
I think if they are romance sub-genres they would probably work under one brand – or at least something with an initial difference but same website – as surely a similar, or more crossover market?
My suggestion is to have a “publisher” brand, if you’re going the Indie publishing route. Otherwise, do a sort of split name. Using Joanna as an example. 1) JF Penn, 2) Joanna F. Penn, for the two, just to make it easier. I have: a “rant;” a YA/Christian/”Romance(?);” and 3 cookbooks in process. I also have a long term, book about how to advertise more effectively,” and a “metric ton” of reference books on various subjects, coming in a few years. I’ll probably use a pen name for the ref. books, but all will have “FBN Group (also my twitter handle),” as the “publisher.”
That’s just my take on the subject.
This is something I am wrestling with. I started a philipparees.com site when I gathered I had to blog and create an on line home before my book Involution came out. Although I paid it creative attention it had no focus because unlike you I have nothing of immediate or obvious benefit to visitors. It still exists ( rather neglected but with a few followers who I tried to persuade across) but the book site involution-odyssey.com takes up all the time I have. Should I just abandon the first or try and amalgamate in some way? I would really be grateful for your take and advice?
My feeling around websites that are about just one book is that eventually they fade away as we ‘become’ other people over time – and we write more books. I think a name.com is always the best idea for the long term. I have JoannaPenn.com as well but it just points at JFPenn.com at the moment. But really, it’s up to you – there are no rules 🙂
I stumbled onto your blog because it was listed on the Positive Writer’s 25 best writing blogs post. I love this post and it is so timely because I am currently working on setting up two totally separate blog sites. One is a spiritual site and one is an author platform as I just finished my first children’s book. I currently have one domain name and plan to have a landing page where people can choose whichever site is applicable. I have played with the idea of having a completely separate domain name because writing as R.V. Bowman appeals to me for my children’s stories. Anyway, thanks for this post – lots of great insight! 🙂
A landing page with multiple choice is a great way to do this – I am thinking of having something similar sometime in the future with this site 🙂
This one landing page idea is intriguing! I also write for children and am strugglingto figure out how to manage my blogs/websites. Thanks for the idea!
Joanna, thank you so much for writing about this. I have a bit of an “identity crisis” too, and decided months ago to keep separate accounts for my separate endeavors. It is difficult to keep up with each, but is getting easier as time passes. I think that setting up the accounts as FB pages, twitter, and one on instagram, pinterest, etc, took the most time. I set up a calendar for myself to remember to keep active over a month’s time, and now it is becoming a regular pattern. It’s good to know that others have the same process because I had wondered at first if I’d made the right choice. It definitely was, and you just validated that!
I face this more acutely than I once did now that I prepare for my debut novel to launch.
My main focus is books, but I plan to write more about film and television that ties into getting more respect for a genre that’s constantly misunderstood, disrespected and seen as only WAY by too many! Not just my stuff, but others, too!
Crime Writers (Usually Women) got into it because of Nancy Drew. Yet the broken detectives and “Tough as Nails” lawyers or whatever they went on to write and charm the world with are far removed (At least thematically) from the girl they read under bed covers.
I got into being a novelist because of Desperaux and Lyle the Crocodile. I tend to circumvent a lot of conventions (One of the biggest being)
Right now, I try to stick to things more reader-centric, with an occasional update on my own book in progress (i.e. Books I’ve sold, a story I’m e-publishing, etc.)
I plan to stick with publishing under my name “Taurean J. Watkins” for the foreseeable future, but since my books are in the Children’s/YA landscape, I might write for adults under another name.
I too decided I need to separate my brand a little bit.
At some point I’m going to create a part of T.A.A. that’s specifically for authors as I want to connect with authors and help them through both general stuff, but especially things people in my genre (Animal Fantasy) have to deal with a lot, how naturalistic we can and want to be in our stories, when to use the science and biological research on the creatures we write about and when NOT to and why, and so much MORE!
Suspension of disbelief isn’t even an EIGHTH of it, but is one of the common hurdles, the older readers get from 5-7 (I and some other writers apparently are the “RARE” exceptions) the HARDER it is, but it’s not impossible.
My main brand is “Talking Animal Addicts” and its mission to bridge the gap in readers minds about how much breadth, depth, and VARIETY is in the world of fantastical fauna, not just in books, but film and television, too. A concern of mine going forward is being able to appeal to both kids and teens, but parents, because and I could some tips for how to switch back and forth when needed.
One of the biggest myths I want to dispel is that (That’s not in the vein of Horror, psycho puppets, or involve Teddys with Potty Mouths…) and I’m reading a book now that while for adult readers, is a joy for this grown-up reader, meaning me.
But I don’t want to alienate kids from the site and cause confusion among parents and possibly teachers. I thought about password protecting them, but that would alienate readers who aren’t yet dedicated followers, and it’d be one more step they may not want to bother with, and kids find ways around passwords, anyway. Any ideas?
BTW: I bought your ebook about public speaking, and it’s giving me a lot of ideas and hope that I can overcome my concerns with public speaking, whether or not I do it as a side business. This is just something I need to get better at for as much personal reasons as professional.
It might be in the book but I haven’t got to it yet, but could you recommend any programs for dealing with accelerated/slurred speech?
Aside from nerves of seeing a crowd of people live, my only personal issue with public speaking is being so scary is that not being verbally understood because I talk so fast, not always out of nervousness, but because so much I want to say “In a non-ego way!” that I don’t always realize how fast I’m talking. When I started doing video and hearing my voice played back to me, I realized how bad it could be.
But at least with pre-recorded video or audio, I can retake and edit, with a live speech offline, or a Google Hangout/Skype situation, you’re live and need to be easily heard and understood, and that’s where I need help!
For a chatterbox (When I’m reasonably calm) like me that’s dangerous. You can’t engage with your best stuff if people only understand every third word you say. I empathize with Donald Duck that way, we both have difficult tempers (Though I try to be NICER to others and not as hard on myself), and both have hard times being verbally understood. Though, I don’t have a lisp at least…
Hi Joanne, this was something I asked you about the first time we met at a workshop in Brisbane must have been about 5 years ago. Well you had few answers about this problem then but you seem to have cracked it now. In your terms I can now state my problem and I hope resolve it to some degree. The problem is I like writing in many different genres and that is not a good plan to make money! I wrote the biography of my friend the late David Barrett, Digger’s Story (Five Mile Press), and in the process became somewhat of an authority on Australian prisoners of war of the Japanese during WWII. But I wrote the book because of my friendship with David. This was not the brand I wanted! I have since written Riotous Retirement published by Agneau Press, a humorous look at life in retirement. I have websites for both but at present I am concentrating on being a humorous writer. This does not mean I won’t create a new brand when I write about the troubles in Cyprus during the 1950s! Brand problems are never ending for me!
Hi Brian, I had fewer books back then 🙂
I would say that you find a theme and just use your name as the brand – a common theme for you would be history I think – which also fits into retirement 🙂 but yes, humour is a difficult one. I think people love personality in writing, so you can just be one Brian – and then have separate pages for non-fiction history and humour. That’s one way to go. I don’t the two are incompatible as there will be crossover.
PS. Thanks for still following me after all these years 🙂
Great article, I agree with all the points you make here Joanna. As a fiction author starting out who writes both crime/ suspense fiction and romance, it’s a question I have often pondered. Glad you agreed with my decision to stick with the one brand for now as the best thing to do, it’s definitely less of a headache to keep up with all the marketing/ promotional aspects.
Have read Pentecost, thought it was superb, and can’t wait for Delirium. Keep up the good work, I’m sure you will;)
Beck R
Thanks Beck, and ‘romantic suspense’ is actually a genre in the US, not in the UK though which I’ve always found odd! I’m going to be interviewing Colin Falconer soon and he sits in those genres too, so keep an eye on the podcast.
I’m one of the few people who get involved with both aspects of your personality. One aspect of it all I can’t seem to work out is how to add an additional Author’s Page to my profile. I already have one under my computer pen-name; how do I add one for the erotic author? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Penny, Thanks for being a crossover reader 🙂
and here’s how you can split your author pages on Amazon Central http://traceywritesbooks.com/different-pen-names-amazon-author-central/
I know I always play the devil’s advocate here. Or maybe I’m the moral conscience advocate. But part of may brand is to be “anti-brand.” I understand that in order to sell product one needs a niche, a potential audience, a market. But I’m critical of people, individuals, human beings, making themselves into brands. In the larger picture I believe us humans are all created equally, but it’s our own pride and ego that drives us to become more successful. I’m not claiming to be an exception to this rule, but rather am very uncomfortable with the self-promotion, marketing, and advertising that accompanies it. I’d much rather just sell books and stories than having to blog, brand, speak, sign, etc. etc.
Hi Dan, I agree wholeheartedly with what you say. I too am a very reluctant marketer but if you want to. or have to make money, as many do, it is the only way other than a traditional publishing deal. Yes, and I am old enough to be aware that it is my ego pushing me and still like you I am uncomfortable telling my customers and friends how great a writer I am and how great my books are. Here is a book that I have read and recommend that might give you some comfort. Make a killing on kindle without blogging, facebook or twitter by Michael Alvear.
For both Brian and Dan, marketing does not have to be as ego centric and driven as it seems to be. A lot of people think that all sales has to be the pushy kind none of us like and that was the norm in the past.
Now, it doesn’t have to be anything like “look at how great my book is”. It can be very much about solving someone’s problem, or filling a need. Someone complaining about XYZ problem that your book solves? Mention that you’ve written on the subject and take the conversation from there. It is no different than recommending any other product you find useful. And many would say, if you have a gift to share with the world, it is selfish not to share it/offer it in appropriate circumstances.
And that’s another key-appropriate circumstances. There are a lot of people who try too hard, again, thinking they are modeling “successful” sales people. No one wants you to introduce yourself by saying my name is Joe, I’m an author, you can find my books at …. But if occupation or hobbies is part of a conversation, simply stating that you are an author has nothing to do with being ego driven. If you push it further without a reason, it doesn’t matter if you sell books or computers, no one thinks that is a comfortable conversation.
It is harder for many people to recommend themselves or their work without feeling like they are bragging etc. but if you are starting from an attitude of service to others, it can actually be a very pleasant conversation on both sides.
Yes Cheryl I agree if the book is solving someone’s problem, a mathematics book for kids who find math difficult or perhaps the best slimming plan ever but is this the case for Joanne’s excellent books or my humorous book about retirement. They are not so much solving a problem but just entertainment. But I’ve still got a website etc.!
It can be a little easier with the nonfiction/problem/solution situation, but the idea is the same for marketing or selling anything. If you are asked what you do, you can still talk about being an author. If someone is talking about a movie or another book that is similar to what you write, you can ask what they like about that kind of work, or what else they’ve read etc. At some point it could fit to say you also happen to write in that genre. If they ask more, you can tell more. If they simply say, “Oh, that’s nice” and move on, so be it. You never know if they’ll remember you were the friend of their friend who writes such and such books and they try to find you when they’re ready to buy again. Nothing about that kind of conversation/situation is ego driven either, it is sharing your talent with people who genuinely may be interested.
I’m going to riff on your reply. His ‘perception of ‘Branding.'” is the same problem that people have with sales. Too many see “sales” as, “How do I get you to pay me money, for something?” That’s why “Sales” has a bad name. Selling is really *solving a problem, with your product/service, and being paid for it” A genuine “Brand,” whatever your business is (writing/building/medicine/etc.) is “everything you do.” How you answer a phone, how you treat people, how you act around other people, etc.. If you, as an author, go to genre conventions, the way you act, becomes part of your “brand.” If you use your hobbies/side/main business to help people that adds to the luster of your brand. If you answer questions in an “it’s all about me,” no one will like you, or buy your books.
Thanks to Brian and Cheryl for jumping in here too.
I am definitely not a fan of spammy marketing – I just see it as ‘sharing what you love with people who want to hear about it’. My aim is to be useful and interesting, and ATTRACT people through that approach, rather than screaming ‘buy my book’ – which you only see me do a couple of times a year on launch – which I hope I have earned the right to do by delivering value all the rest of the time 🙂
There is a part that is ego – of course – writers want to publish for ego, to be read – or we wouldn’t bother publishing. But for me this is also my full-time income, so it’s also about living and paying the bills. Without some kind of marketing, I’d have to go back to a day job 🙂
I’am very gratefully for your weekly reminder ,I agree with you ,writers must have a brand and market for their books
Hi Jo
I have been toying, vaguely, with creating a separate brand for my horror writing. I’ve only written short stories thus far, but they don’t feel comfortable being on my main site, especially as the main on-going story on there is aimed at teens!
Having said that, your run down, in terms of work put in, makes me break out in a cold sweat when I think about trying to do that!
hmm, not sure yet, but thanks for the handy pointers.
cheers
Mike
Hi Mike, it’s a tough one for sure, and as per the article, I really recommend trying to keep your brand as one. But teens vs horror maybe borderline. Of course, you can use different author names on Amazon and just have a static website page for one of the brands – it doesn’t have to be the whole caboodle in terms of blogging and all the social stuff. I think choosing the primary brand based on your primary aim for revenue is probably the best idea – so I am trying to dial this down and dial up JFPenn … it just takes time 🙂
Mike,
If you really do feel that the audience for your horror writing is distinct from that aimed at teens, how about just creating a distinct landing page on your site just for the horror fans, with an opt-in to a separate email list? An additional email list is very low maintenance, and you’d have the flexibility to share updates or even sample stories if you wanted.
Depending on how your horror writing evolves, you can revisit your setup down the line. Maybe that involves rebranding your main website, or perhaps maintaining two sites for each audience will be a necessity. The main thing is you don’t have to commit right now. You have options.
Eloquently and in the simplest of terms you have reinforced my decision that my main website –as a freelance writing and copywriting portfolio home –needs to be distinct from the more experimental fiction writing I am pursuing. The personas are different and typically so are the audiences.
Like you, I am a novelist who helps other writers. I manage two brands. It’s not easy but I have learned to be more productive with my time. I regularly analyze all I do and make needed cuts for the sake of sanity. I seem to have the ability to keep a lot of plates in the air but that doesn’t mean I should. One of the things I teach is that to survive a hectic schedule we need to remember to breathe, reviive passion for life, and replenish creativity. If I fail to apply that to my own life I become a hypocrite. Since I’m committed to leading a truthful life, that’s not an option.
I’m with you Janalyn. I constantly have to reassess what I am doing with my time, especially as the income side is increasingly related to the fiction I write, as well as my life goals and what I love doing 🙂
I can brand my publisher. I can create an image around my books or another product for that matter. But you cannot reduce people to that. That does not mean a person should not have a public image, but to confuse the artist with the product I see as problematic. Especially since products are fixed, but people change. If you are branding yourself, you are fixing yourself. How can you change? If you brand your product, it has no baring on you or any following work–each new work can have a new brand created for it.
As you see this with successful authors that publish a variety of work. Our image of them is constant, even if our impression of their work is not.
And here is where it gets fuzzy for me. I am really unsure of the answer, mostly because there is no obvious model. I actually am interested in more than one thing. Should we assume our audience is simply is interested in one thing? I buy technical manuals, but that does not mean I don’t listen to classical music. Joanne, I think in your case where one blog (this one) is devoted to your consulting business, it is good to separate that. But I am not sure you cannot make a complex blog that can speak to many interests–it can’t be too much of a stretch that my readers and my interest would intersect on multiple levels.
Anyway, interesting post. The more I think of author as brand, the less sense it makes. Public image? Yes, I am good with that. My imprint and my books? Yup, that works too. But unless I want to be the Goodies, Prince, or Duck Dynasty, which are really product brands based on celebrity and rather limited, I don’t see branding myself (which sounds painful) as a good idea.
Hi William, I think you’re considering brand as much too narrow a concept. You could swap the word for ‘perception’ and that might help you think about what it means. Because as soon as anyone sees your website or reads your book, or a tweet or a Facebook update, or whatever, they have a perception of you in some way. All I am suggesting is that you try to actively curate this perception. I do agree that you can just do this under your name, so then you can attract people who want to follow you and whatever you do – but as I have found, the different aspects of me attract different types of people. As with everything really, there is no right answer, and we all continue to find our path – but as I get so many questions about this, I wanted to share my thoughts.
I have been struggling with the question of more than one brand for way too long it seems. For me, the question of where I want to be in 5 years gets in the way of starting where I am. It’s one of those questions that can keep us stuck if we let it. Thanks for your list of questions to consider – I’m looking at where I want to be in 5 years as just one aspect of branding, and I appreciate the idea of a brand that can allow “growth.”
I know the 5 year horizon can be hard – as I say above, I didn’t even think I would be writing fiction, and had to switch things when I did. I can see myself continuing to write fiction – thrillers, crime, horror – and also non-fiction – self help, business, marketing – maybe even memoir. So perhaps just think about the broader categories for your future.
Thanks for your thoughts on something I’m currently struggling with. I write for children, but the issue is that not many parents let their kids loose on the internet to find a new book from a totally unknown indie author. 🙂 (I enjoyed your recent podcast – I think Karen Inglish? – on publishing for kids.) So I set up one blog that I only link to in the back of my books (miriattwater.com). I set up another blog/website where I post crafts and activities as well as information about my book series, esivy.com. That way, I repeat some of my kid related book posts, in a slightly different version, at both blogs – because keeping up with two blogs is so difficult! And I know at least one of my book reviewers keeps up with me that way because she enjoys seeing *all* of my material.
But I was recently at a wordpress meetup and they really advised me to have separate sites. Arg. I don’t think I could do it. I’m going to give all of this some more thought. (And I love your tagline Thrillers on the Edge. I have tried but not come up with a “killer” tagline yet.)
I’ve changed that tagline 3 times already 🙂 so thanks for liking it!
On the site thing – I don’t know if you need 2 sites – it’s a personal decision and not something to do because of ‘should’ opinions (including mine!) I think that considering how much effort you want to put in as a total amount is important, and how you will split that between the sites.
Thanks for mentioning that you’ve changed the tagline 3 times – a good reminder that you can change things, you don’t have to get it perfect before you do anything. 🙂
Yes, you can have two sides — like you — or more… but wouldn’t it more comfortable to have just one? Of course, you could argue that we are complex and multiple individuals, that we want to express all of our sub-personalities, and that we feel “larger” by doing so. Now, there are two options: either you want to be recognized as having multiple personalities or activities (which seems to be your choice), or you want to separate them completely. I tend to think that the multiple personalities approach is a bit uselessly painstaking. Although I can understand that you sometimes HAVE to separate activities, I have the feeling that the way social media work, with their viral mechanics, should lead you to prefer a unifying approach, i.e., a one brand approach. Hope this makes sense.
Absolutely Peter, which is why I think keeping with your name as the main brand is the best idea. You can just use the author names on Amazon to separate the pages. But if you’re doing a lot of content production, as I do, you have to consider your audience e.g. my thriller readers would not be interested in this discussion at all 🙂 so best to have it separate.
Hi Joanna!
Great post and something I’ve been thinking a lot about. I currently have my main writing website at AWritersStruggle.com and contains both my personal/author blog posts (and my writing) along with my advice to writers, but as soon as my first novel is published later this year (or rather right before), I plan on separating the personal/author stuff onto another site. I think this is a good time to do this for me because I don’t have a huge following yet and I think people might get confused/turned off if they read my book and are directed to A Writer’s Struggle.
I don’t plan on having multiple brands in the same way that you have mentioned, as I plan on using Jeremy Collier for both my fiction and non-fiction, but for my Non-fiction I plan on focusing on ‘A Writer’s Struggle’ as a name/brand.
My question is do you think this is something that would work if I ever decide to publish non-fiction (and not just have it on the website) or do you think using a name like that would cause some issues? I’ve seen non-fiction work that uses a company name or a collective name, which is how I see A Writer’s Struggle developing.
Thank you! Keep up the good work!
Hi Jeremy, you have to think about how the name will appear on the sites like Amazon and Kobo etc – I’m not sure you can have a company name as the author, it’s usually the publisher. The brand would go in the title or sub-title e.g. like the ‘For Dummies’ series. I guess I see what you mean but I think people want to connect with people, not organizations. I would see no issue with putting this just under your name, and even on the same site. But there are no rules – it’s all personal choice!
That makes sense! If all goes well, I may be starting a small indie press under the A Writer’s Struggle name, so using that as the publisher for non-fiction work (even if I never go further than publishing my own work) might be the best way to use it.
Thank you so much!