What's My Brand?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Branding. When I was a tiny tot, the only time I heard that word was while watching Bonanza or Big Valley, and it referred to Hoss or Heath ropin’ and wranglin’ a heifer and impressing the ranch mark into the poor thing’s hide. (It never seemed to bother the cow, but it’s not like she was asked her opinion.)

 

 

When I started my writing career, the concept of an author brand was just taking off, and it was strictly limited to a name. (No hot irons involved, thank goodness.) James Patterson was a brand. Danielle Steele was a brand. It meant readers were so devoted to what you wrote, they’d buy the current book, and the next, and the next, not knowing anything about what was between the covers. For a few extraordinary writers, their characters were their brand: a Jack Reacher thriller, a Dirk Pitt adventure.

 

While both those types of branding still exist (and THANK YOU, dear readers who buy one of our books automatically!!) the world has changed since the early aughts. Facebook, Instagram, Tik-Tok, YouTube - they’re all major forces in connecting with fans and developing new readers. And they all have one thing in common: visual imagery. Even author blogs and newsletters have gotten more image-heavy; those old plain-text emails you signed up for in 2000 are long gone.

 

Right now, with a new book out in five months, I’m working on a brand new website, a new email, and how to tie everything together on other social media platforms. My problem? I honestly don’t know my brand! Ideally, I should be able to put together several words encompassing feelings, images, and elements of my fiction in a way I can translate into, well, all those things online I just listed. For instance, everyone’s favorite, Louise Penny. I would say, “Canada, literary, well-travelled, small town.” And sure enough, if you go to her website or sign up for her newsletter (you should, it’s delightful) you see images and writing that conveys those very concepts.

 

Reds, do you have a solid idea of your “brand?” How did you come up with it? 

 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Ha ha ha. NO. I do not. You guys tell me, okay? I would LOVE, truly love, to hear it.

 

HALLIE EPHRON: Brand? I have never thought about my writing in terms of creating a brand. I mean, I know we’re writing “genre” fiction, but we’re storytellers and the stories we tell don’t come out of an advertising machine and none of them are cookie-cutter. They come from somewhere inside us, and I suppose the extent to which they’re similar to one another, that goes toward creating a “brand.” 

 

For me? My brand would be *creepy but not icky* *suburban* “domestic suspense* and *stuff that could really happen.* Doesn’t sound much like clever branding. But there you are.

 

JENN McKINLAY: I wish I had a brand but I’m all over the place in different genres and whatnot. I haven’t a clue. Anyone? Hit me with what you think my brand is, readers! I’m all ears.

 

JULIA: I'm not sure how to put all your books together as a brand, Jenn, but I think "brightly colored" and "fun" are definitely in your portfolio. 

 

LUCY BURDETTE: My brand would probably be Key West, food, friends and family, murder. With a good dash of psychology stirred in. And the obligatory pets, especially cats. (Sorry Lottie.). When you pick up a Key West book, it’s reasonable to assume that that’s what you’ll be reading. 

 

My question is supposing I want to take a tack that doesn’t fit into this “brand.” THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS, for example, and quite possibly UNSAFE HAVEN. Neither one takes place in Key West. Although the food remains, it’s not the same central character that it was in the other books. Hmmm…

 

So I wonder if a person really wants to make a switch, would it be best to decide which two or three of these qualities will fit the new project too? Or should we quit worrying about our brands–leave that to the marketing gurus–and write what we want to write?

 

RHYS BOWEN:  Julia, I feel your brand is the Upstate New York version of Louise’s books. Small town, cast of characters we come to know and love, evil in the most bucolic of settings. Hank, you are definitely edgy domestic suspense.

 

I know I have a brand because one of my publishers turned down the proposal for In Farleigh Field because “it was too far from her brand.”  

And if you look at my covers they definitely reflect a brand: the Royal Spyness and Molly Murphy both easily identifiable and clearly reflect the tone of the book. 

 But I’m not happy with a writer being tied to a ‘brand”. As you know, my stand-alones range from tense thriller to  warm historical. The only thing that links them is that they are all set in the past. I applaud Jenn for reaching across genres.  I read across genres, don’t you? Many readers do.

 

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  I never thought about having a brand, but I guess it would be British mystery/police procedural/contemporary. If we add “couples investigating” and take off the “British” that brand would include your books, Julia. Maybe we need to form our own brand!

 

JULIA: I can see that, Debs! "Clever couples, cottages, cultural critique and carnage." What do you think, dear readers? Help us out and let us know what words or images you'd use to describe our brands!

Independence Day at the Movies

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans. It's a little difficult you know what to write about today, and not just because we already covered favorite summer specialties. Instead of pontificating, I'm going to suggest   movies that encompass the thrills, chills, music and mayhem that make up our country

 

Jaws: It's been 50 years since this adaptation of Peter Benchley's thriller came out, and it's as compelling as ever. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw have to rescue Amity, NY's 4th of July holiday from a terrifying and iconic killer.

 

Born on the Fourth of July - Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning anti-war story proves Tom Cruise can really act, not just do stunts. 

  

Independence Day - my family's must-watch movie for today! If you like major American landmarks blown up by evil aliens, this one's for you.

 

A Day in the Life of America. A masterful documentary of July 4th, 2017, shot by 92 film crews scattered across the US and Puerto Rico. 

 

Yankee Doodle Dandy: the all singing, all dancing, all delightful biopic of "the man who owned Broadway," George M. Cohan.

 

Mr Smith Goes to Washington - nothing specifically takes place on July 4th, but it's a great evocation of the ideals that founded this country.

 

And finally, a classic it-can-happen-here novel turned into a miniseries, The Plot Against America.

 

How about you, dear readers? What do you suggest for the perfect Independence Day flick? 

Dos and Don'ts for Tourists

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: It's that time of year when we welcome peoples from all over the US and abroad to Vacationland, i.e., Maine. (If you're planning on visiting, please ignore what I said Monday about it being a cold summer. It's perfect.) We genuinely like to see folks traveling here, loving the same landscape and waters we love, and, to be perfectly honest? we need your money. 

 

(Separate note: we especially love our neighbors from the North, but we understand and empathize with your reasons for not visiting this year.) 

However! Having lived for close to four decades in a tourist destination (and for four years in DC before that) I have some dos and don'ts for you that will make the difference between Mainers saying to each other, "Gosh, weren't those nice folks?" and slashing your tires when they see your out-of-state license plates (Ha! Ha! No, we only did that during the early days of Covid.)

 

Don't feed the sea gulls. Yes, I know they seem beautiful and graceful and that you read Jonathan Livingston Seagull when you were 12. They're rats. Aggressive, feathered rats.

 

Do merge a half-mile (at least) before the actual merge point. We see you, with your out-of-state plates, zooming past all the Mainers who got into the right lane as soon as they saw the MERGE sign. We are judging the heck out of you.

 

Don't wear jewelry on the beach. This isn't the Jersey Shore. 

 

Do park in the appropriate spot. Yes, you may have to walk a little farther. But it's probably a lot less expensive than it is where you come from, and trust me, the local cops or sheriff's deputies will be wicked keen to have you towed out of Skip Tarbox's driveway.

 

Don't try to imitate a  Maine accent. Please. I beg you. There are third and fourth generation Mainers who can't do the accent. Neither can you.

 

Do wear the lobster bib. Yes, it's silly. But that delicious treat is messy, and you don't want to have butter stains sitting on your shirt until you get back home.

 

Don't show up dressed head to toe in brand new LL Bean clothing. Beat up old LL Bean clothing is acceptable, as is one new item with the rest of your outfit suitably worn, verging on shabby. See: not the Jersey Shore, above.

 

Do ask how to crack the lobster. The locals next to you are willing to help! We love introducing visitors to our iconic dish.

 

Don't get to close to the sea in rough weather. We have some lovely sandy beaches. We have a lot more stony, granite-boulder stretches that can be genuinely dangerous under certain conditions. If you see a warning sign, yes, this does mean you.

 

Do shop like the locals, at Reny's and Mardens. Reny's is "out" as a Maine staple, and you'll actually see people in New York and DC wearing their labeled gear. There are no labels at Mardens, but it has wicked great bargains and a jingle everyone in Maine can sing. 

 

Don't drink and boat. Do you want to come home tired and happy from your vacation? Or do you want to come home in a box? Those lakes are deeper and much colder than you think.

 

Likewise, Do be aware the ocean is friggin' cold.  The Gulf Stream, which makes the Jersey Shore so warm and delightful, is way the heck off the continental slope up here. The average water temperature in August is 61° to 64° (16° to 17°.)

 

Don't amble across Route One. Like, you don't have to run, but be as brisk as possible. We're trying to get places, people.

 

Do visit some out of the ordinary locations. Maine is more than the ten mile strip along the Atlantic. Check out a concert in Bangor, or the slow pace in the Lakes Region, or the charming towns near the southern NH border, like Cornish and Fryeburg.

 

Don't think you can get ahead on Route One by speeding and passing. It's a two lane road, bub. Cool your jets.

 

Do wear sunscreen!  The sun can also kill you, though not as quickly as being foolish around water.

 

Don't write articles about how quaint and idyllic our life is. There's a whole genre of newspaper commentors who come to Maine and then produce lovely, poetic paeans to the peaceful, authentic way of life and how noble and wise the natives are. Yes, our state motto is "The Way Life Should Be." But it's idyllic because you're on vacation, bub. Come to my house in January and you'll sing a different friggin' tune.

 

How about you, dear readers? Any suggestions for when we visit your neck of the woods?