Amateur To Published: The Fiction Writer's Guide To Publishing

5 - Brand Yourself

You won't just be selling your books, you'll also be selling yourself. You need to project a professional image to your readers. To do that:

STEP 1: KNOW YOUR READERS

This one is easy. If you have a book here on Wattpad, simply go to the stat section and see who regularly reads your book. Once you know that age-group and gender that is most interested in your books then you can figure how to tailor your books to appeal better to them. For instance you could make your characters be like your readers so that they can better identify with them. If you're writing to a younger audience, you may choose to use a 'hip' voice that is less formal (maybe even have some ebonics) etc

STEP 2: CHOOSE AN AUTHOR NAME

It doesn't matter whether you choose to use a pen-name or your real name. What's important is:

- No other popular author has the same name. Go to Google or Amazon and search that name before you settle on it. If you see another author with that name, choose something else.

- the website address for that name is available because when readers come looking for you, that's the first place they'll look and you don't want them landing on someone else's site

- 3-4 people can spell that name correctly every time. You don't want readers missing you on the internet because they have no idea how your name is spelt

- if you plan to hop across genres at the very least have a different name for each genre to keep your branding consistent. Note that if all you're doing is jumping between sub-genres in the same genre, then it's okay to use the same name.

Be consistent with the use of this name when interacting as your author persona on social media. Don't be bunnysqueeks on Wattpad and Angela Redd on Facebook. You want to make your name recognizable wherever you are.

STEP 3: RESERVE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS & WEBSITE ADDRESS

Claim all your social media accounts. Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Wattpad, Instagram, PInterest... take 'em all. Even if you don't plan to be active on those places. You don't want someone masquerading as you on those sites.

Reserve your website address through a domain-name registrars like Domain.com, Bluehost, GoDaddy, Namecheap, DreamHost etc. Please note that you'll need to do your own research to find which registrar works for you. In my case, I just did everything through Wordpress.com because I was a newbie then and didn't want to deal with much hustle. But when I revamp my site, I'll probably change to Domain.com

STEP 4: DECIDE HOW MUCH OF YOURSELF YOU WANT TO SHARE

Some authors are okay sharing every detail of their life with readers. Some prefer their privacy. It's okay to be whichever you want but make it clear from the onset. Decide in advance:

- what kind of author you'll be; mysterious or open

- the type of topics you'll focus on on social media e.g. celebrity gossip, family stuff, recipes, writing life issues etc

- the type of topic you'll avoid e.g. religion, politics

Planning what you want to concentrate on will make interacting on your website and social media easier and more orderly.

STEP 5: CRAFT YOUR AUTHOR BIO

This step is important enough that it needs its own chapter. Turn thepage.

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Comments? Questions? Ask away and I'll try to answer