I'm reassured by the answers I got to Wednesday's post. The consensus was basically that branding won't become an issue until I've got several published novels under my belt. People have to know my name before they start to wonder what they can expect from me.
Brilliant bit of reasoning, don't you think?
What made me doubt this is that publishers seem to have earlier expectations from writers these days--such as endorsements. Thankfully, I haven't been asked to provide endorsements. But some unpublished writers have. And this is something writers didn't used to have to think about until they had a contract and a manuscript that was ready to go to print.
And when I think about it, if historical could be a brand in itself...well, that's an awfully wide brand. I've written a novel set in Bible times, the Elizabethan age, and now I'm working on WWII. You can't get any more spread apart than that. If my next is contemporary, that's only a leap forward of sixty-some years.
So anyway, I'm assured that while I'm still in the process of finding my voice, I can write whatever I want. Up to this point, the stories that have found me have been set in the past. And in the near future, I'll continue to let story lead the way.
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4 comments:
Good strategy, Tina. Write what God gives you, and if anyone argues, let them take it up with Him.
As always, we're on your side.
IMO, for a publisher to ask for author-endorsements pre-contract is a no-no. I would never want to do this unless we had a deal signed. Moreover, they should approach authors themselves--I should not have to do so. After all, how does the author I approach know that she's going to 1) have time to read 2) like 3) be in a position to endorse my book? This is way too in-the-face for my taste.
If, however, the publisher wants to approach other authors who write for them, on my book's behalf, once I have an advance in my chubby hand...this rocks.
I love what Dean Koontz had written about writing, something to the tune of write for your self first.
Good post Tina.
I'm with the group that says "Endorsements for an unknown author and a prepubbed book? And these are going to come from...whom?"
It's been mentioned on several other blogs, specifically by agents, that they don't know where this idea is coming from...that they don't know who these authors are who are brave (or dumb?) enough to endorse a novel that hasn't even seen its final form yet...etc.
The publisher's supposed to be enthused about your work to begin with, not supposed to have to be "sold" on it by external sources. If they're not excited enough about your work to buy it, I fail to see how endorsements or the like would change that one iota. If endorsements WOULD convince them to buy it, they're buying for the wrong reasons, IMHO.
All in all, the whole notion has always sounded fishy to me, and still does. Let the acquiring editor do her own sales job on the publishing committee. That's the thing that's going to sell the book to the publisher, in the end.
Janny
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