 | 25 Apr 08 |
Last week I talked about log lines. This week I want to talk about branding and signature.
So Merriam Webster says, a brand by definition is: 3 a (1): a mark made to attest manufacture or quality or to designate ownership (2): a printed mark made for similar purposes : TRADEMARK b (1): a mark put on criminals with a hot iron (2): a mark of disgrace : STIGMA the brand of poverty 4 a: a class of goods identified by name as the product of a single firm or manufacturer : MAKE
Signature by definition is: 6: something (as a tune, style, or logo) that serves to set apart or identify; also : a characteristic mark
So while they are very similar they are two distinctive entities. A brand is like Kleenex, we all know it’s tissue. Clorox same thing, it’s bleach. So when you tell the hubby to pick up a box of Kleenex so long as he comes home with tissue regardless of manufacturer you’re happy. Same with telling him to pick up a bottle of Clorox, you want bleach, generic is fine. You have no delusions ever of what product you are getting.
Now take Morton’s restaurant for instance, they have a signature Maytag blue cheese dressing that is to die for. No one makes it better. To me that’s the mark, the signature, and while they do have great steaks it’s the dressing they do best.
For me my brand is simple. Hot cops. Since breaking into historicals, I’m looking to incorporate hot knights as well, but haven’t quite come up with the exact concoction. Feel free to suggest away. The last thing I came up with was Hot cops, Hot knights, Arresting passion. For now it will do, but it isn’t right. But do you see the pattern? My brand is hot guys, regardless of genre.
As far as my signature goes? What do I think I do best? Passion. My characters are passionate about who they love, who they hate, and what they stand for. You will never have to scratch your head and ask yourself where they stand. So my signature is passion.
I know I haven’t articulated this very well. It’s after 2:30 a.m. and I’m really tired, but please share your views/opinions on branding and signatures. And while you’re at it, as an author tell us your brand, and your signature, and as a reader what author brands do you look for?
© 2008 – 2009, Karin Tabke. All rights reserved.
A Cop’s Wife Writes the Cop’s Life:
Award winning author, Karin Tabke isn’t just another author with steamy stories to tell, but a cop’s wife who has “seen it all and heard it all.†Some of the hottest stories come from behind the blue wall of law enforcement rather than from in front. Married to a street cop, now retired, Karin is intimate with both and proves it with her sizzling tales and hot cops. Not only are her cops hot, but so are her sexy knights. Karin’s Blood Sword Legacy series is a must read for anyone who loves tales of yore when men were men and women were women, and love did conqueror all!
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I thought you did a great job explaining brand and even though I have no idea what Morton’s is, I love a good dressing
My brand is probably the mongrel. Mixed-up, multi-genre stories like mysteries with paranormal and romantic subplots.
by wendy roberts April 25th, 2008 at 5:54 amHey Karin, Whoo Hoo I received my copy of, Save The Cat, yesterday so I haven’t got to this part yet, but really looking forward to it. My brand is generational stories. And what I look for across the board…give me a hot cop, knight, comedy, thriller; I gobble them all.
by LaDonna April 25th, 2008 at 5:55 amHot Cops. Hot Knights. Hot guys in any era.
by Amanda April 25th, 2008 at 7:52 amHow about “Men In Heat?”
No?
Fine, I’ll go back to painting…
by Jen April 25th, 2008 at 8:04 amCrap, this is exactly what I’m having trouble with right now. See, though unpubbed, I’d been thinking about this and branded myself as Steamy Military Romance, Served with a Side of Danger.
But now I’ve won the Harlequin Presents contest. International tycoons are not military guys, though I did recently blog that for me, my guys are ALL alpha warriors, whether they wear Armani or BDUs.
So now I need something that incorporates both these things. I’m not ready to give up on the military guys because one of my military romantic suspenses is a current Golden Heart finalist. I have expectations of being able to write both types of books. But how to brand myself? That is the question.
I like Amanda’s suggestion for you, btw!
by Lynn Raye Harris April 25th, 2008 at 8:08 amI like Jen’s suggestion!!!
Lynn…Jen’s suggestion could apply to you as well LOL!
by Erin April 25th, 2008 at 8:20 amFunny, I was having this conversation a couple weeks ago with another author, and i couldn’t come up with my brand. so I asked my editor, and here’s what she said:
Sophisticated smarty-pants with a genuine edge—and real, real men
I’ll take it!
And Karin, weren’t hot Knights basically the hot Cops of their day?
by Jami Alden April 25th, 2008 at 9:39 amWhy is everything in italics?
Oh, well.
I don’t get branding. I thought I did, then didn’t, then did, then didn’t. I’m still working on my logline for my 7 Deadly Sins series. Loglines I get.
I like Hot Cops, Hot Knights, Arresting Passion. It’s good. And “knights” has one of those double entrendre things going on. I think it is right. Maybe you’ve been over-thinking it.
by Allison Brennan April 25th, 2008 at 9:46 amI’m not ignoring you ladies. I’m drooling all over my new cover for Master of Torment.
by Karin April 25th, 2008 at 10:08 amI’ll be back!
Thanks, Wendy. I was totally bleary-eyed when I wrote this blog post. Morton’s is a swank steak house. Started in Chicago many moons ago and now pepper the US.
LaDonna, you’ll totally dig that book! And I think you could incorporate southern fiction into your brand as well. or maybe your signature?
Amanda,
Jen, too funny! and painting? as in a room, like with walls? Have at it, baby, I hate to paint!
by Karin April 25th, 2008 at 10:45 amOh, Lynne I like that first one. And as to your dilemma, hmm, how about Steamy alphas served with a side of danger?
Erin, isn’t Men in Heat the name of a boy band?
Jami, Love it. Hilary gave me the hot cops tag many moons ago. I kept it.
Allison, there are no italics, it’s you. and thank you! Maybe I am over thinking. I’m going to an all day branding seminar tomorrow, and I’ll see what i come up with. Watch it be exactly what I have. the good thing will be, I’m not a complete moron.
by Karin April 25th, 2008 at 10:55 amummm, I’m seeing Italics too.
and your tagline: “Hot Knights. Big Swords.”
And I LOVE your Jaded cover – this is the first I’ve seen it (why is that? where have I been?)
by Jami Alden April 25th, 2008 at 11:01 amKarin turned the entire blog italic. LOLOLOL. I’ll go in and fix it, if I can remember the admin login.
Branding is so important, and so far, I’ve really tried to use it, but I don’t think I’ve been terribly successful. I have the “Mormon suspense novels” and the “Psycho Dance Mom Mysteries.” You all knew that, right? No? Then it hasn’t worked. But I will continue to try. Sooner or later it will catch on.
by Natalie April 25th, 2008 at 11:54 amIt wasn’t italicized on my screen. but thanks for fixing it, nat.
by Karin April 25th, 2008 at 2:14 pmActually, Jami I just received the final Jaded cover today. it looks pretty good. as soon as I can figure out how to get my Master of Torment cover up on the blog I will! I love it!
by Karin April 25th, 2008 at 2:16 pmKarin, we are painting the entire inside of the house. We’re doing it in chunks and I’d say we have about 2/3s done.
Painting ain’t for weenies. Since I’m a card carrying weenie, I have no idea how my husband talked me into this.
Branding is beyond me.
by Jen April 25th, 2008 at 3:40 pmIt’s always good to get another point of view on words and concepts.
When I work with organizations trying to understand their “brand” I tell them to think past the logo, colors and tagline to how their organization “performs”.
For me branding is about making a promise to a person or audience you want to connect with. Then the promise is followed by the keeping of that promise in a unique, remarkable or unpredictable way.
That is what I see you doing as an author.
You promise hot cops, hot knights and passion.
“My characters are passionate about who they love, who they hate, and what they stand for. You will never have to scratch your head and ask yourself where they stand.”
How you deliver that in one story to another is the unpredictable and unique element.
Thinking of brand as a matter of making and keeping a relevant promise helps my clients keep the customer at the center of their thinking.
Thinking of brand in much the same way is how I see authors keeping the reader fully in view as they write.
But that’s just me. Grin.
Keep creating…a story worth reading,
by Mike Wagner April 25th, 2008 at 5:51 pmMike
Karin, I think Hot Cops, Hot Knights, Arresting Passion is great. The only thing missing is your heroines. You could have Hot Cops, Hot Knights, Passionate Women.
by Edie April 25th, 2008 at 5:54 pmGreat insight, Mike.
by Karin April 27th, 2008 at 11:15 amHmm. I’ve never considered this before (and I’m not sure I fully understand it) but I believe my brand is edgy paranormal thrillers with a side of comedic relief.
Of course, that could be my signature and my brand is something else…
by C.J. Redwine April 28th, 2008 at 3:37 pm