Why I'm Branching Into YA (Plus a Cover Reveal!)

Photo Credit: Flickr Joaquim Pinho

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

In a recent post I shared that I have a Young Adult (YA) book releasing next March 2015.

I've been writing adult historical romance for the inspirational market for the past four years and currently have six full length novels published through Bethany House Publishers with three more slated to release through 2016 (including an enovella releasing in October to kick off my new lighthouse series).

Things are going relatively well. Bethany House has been an all-around excellent publisher to work with. With all the horror stories out there about traditional publishers, I really have nothing to complain about.

So why branch out? Why bother writing more? Why start writing young adult (YA) books too?

There are many reasons I wanted to try something new and why I chose to write a medieval YA series. Here are just a few:

1. I'm a prolific writer. Once I complete a first draft of a book, I'm always eager to start the next one. In fact, if too much time passes between first drafts, I become somewhat discontented. I'm most satisfied when I'm in the creative mode that comes with the writing process. In addition, my writing muscles are honed after years of constant practice. Thus, I'm willing and able to write more than one book per year.

2. I'm an ideas person. I count myself blessed that I don't struggle to come up with new story ideas. Sometimes I find myself having too many. With the ideas clamoring for my attention, it's difficult to be content with just one genre.

3. I want to have versatility. In today's turbulent publishing industry, nothing is certain. Authors could once count on reaching a sustainable livable income. But once-popular authors now struggle to keep readers and maintain adequate sales. As genre popularity comes and goes, some authors don't have contracts renewed. Others have quit altogether. Having some versatility seems wise in today's market.

4. I'm writing what I love. I love historicals AND I love YA books. With three high school students, I've tried to stay current with popular YA books so that I can discuss the books with my teens. In the process, I've found myself falling more and more in love with the YA genre.

5. I'm fulfilling my dreams. During my childhood, some of the first stories I wrote were about handsome knights, strong castles, and daring damsels. Those fairy-tale like stories have always been at the back of my mind. I've always wanted to write them. The dream hasn't died. It's only gotten stronger, until I've realized I needed to give it birth.

As part of the process of branching out, I had to consider quite a number of factors, including whether I should take a pen name. After all, I don't want to confuse my brand. Most of my readers know me for my adult historical romances, especially for basing my stories off of real events or people. Wouldn't writing medieval YA confuse readers?

After much debate, I decided that since medieval fits under the umbrella of a historical writer, that I'm still staying fairly close to my brand. And I've found that most adults enjoy reading YA almost as much as teens. Ultimately, I believe that my current readers will enjoy my medieval YA as much as any of my other books.

So there you have it! My reasons for branching out into YA!

And now . . . drum roll please! The cover of my first YA, An Uncertain Choice!

An Uncertain Choice

One beautiful lady. Three handsome knights. 

And a life-changing choice.

Due to her parents’ promise at her birth, Lady Rosemarie has been prepared to become a nun on the day she turns eighteen. Then, a month before her birthday, a friend of her father’s enters the kingdom and proclaims her parents’ will left a second choice—if Rosemarie can marry before the eve of her eighteenth year, she will be exempt from the ancient vow.

Before long, Rosemarie is presented with the three most handsome and brave knights in the land. But when the competition for her heart seemingly results in a knight playing foul, she begins to wonder if the cloister is the best place after all. If only one of the knights—the one who appears the most guilty—had not already captured her heart.

 **********

How do YOU feel about authors writing in more than one genre? Do you give it a thumbs-up or thumbs-down? Why?

 

3 Tips for Cultivating an Online Brand

Why are you using social media sites?

Obviously, some writers use blogging, twitter, and facebook for fun and nothing more. But a large majority are joining sites as a way to begin developing a web presence.

No matter where we're at in our writing journeys, we can start to broaden our web presences by using social media more strategically (see Monday's post). Part of the strategy involves cultivating our online brand.

Real life brands, like Godiva and Starbucks, make us think of heaven, whereas Hershey's and Folgers make us think earth—as in dirt. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)

An "author brand"  refers to the type of book and the reading experience people will expect from us when they pick up one of our books. Our name becomes our brand—either favorably or unfavorably.

Justine Lee Musk in her post The Online Art of Developing Your Author Brand takes branding a step further. She says this: "For better or worse, an ‘author brand’ – that shared mental imprint people think of when thinking of a certain author – is no longer defined by the books she releases every now and then and the interviews she gives . . . but also by the writer’s online presence. And that presence is constant, and constantly accessible, because whatever you do on the Web tends to stay on the Web."

In developing a web presence, writers should begin to think about their brand—how others are perceiving them. What impressions are we forming? When people see my avatar and name throughout cyberland, what do they think? How am I establishing myself? How are you establishing your name?

Those early formations are the ones we’ll want to continue to build upon, so we need to make sure we’re laying a solid foundation with branding right from the start. Here are just a few ideas for helping us with social media branding:

1. Use Our Author Name

Kristin Lamb had an outstanding article last month titled “The Single Best Way For Writers to Become a Brand.” She emphasized the importance of writers using their names versus cutesy titles like “chocoholic” or “caffeine junkie” both of which I considered using by the way. Okay, so not really.

But, Kristen Lamb says this and I agree with her: “There is only one acceptable handle for a writer who seeks to use social media to build a platform, and that is the name that will be printed on the front of your books. Period.”

Why? Because if we’re building a web presence under the name “chocoholic” and an avatar of a double layer fudge cake, it’s not going to help us when we get that book contract and want to promote our name and book. We’ll have to scramble to form new impressions and may confuse our followers with the change. Why not start off with the real thing from the start?

2. Use a Professional Picture

Any author photo is better than the double layer fudge cake picture. Well, maybe that’s debatable. But the point is if at all possible we should use a real picture of ourselves in our avatars.

If we’re trying to establish a web presence as a future author, then we want to put ourselves forward in the best possible way. This is a business where we’re communicating with industry professionals, and if we want them to take us seriously, then we have to take the business seriously first.

I suggest getting a professionally taken picture if feasible. I had a friend who runs a photography business do my first photo shoot last year—which I did before I had an agent or book contract. I had another photo shoot done this year by a high school senior who’s very talented in photography. Neither were very expensive.

The point is, we should try to use a favorable photo of ourselves. If you’re not, why aren’t you?

3. Build a Compelling Image

I’m all for honesty on social media sites. We shouldn’t set ourselves up to be somebody we’re not. But because people are forming impressions of us every time we post or comment, we need to work at establishing positive and distinctive images.

First and foremost we need a level of professionalism, especially since we’ll be rubbing avatar shoulders with industry experts. But second, we need to keep in mind people will form opinions about us that might be hard to break. I have branded certain authors as witty, snarky, smutty, helpful, giving, complaining, inconsistent, shy, boastful, etc. Maybe those are the impressions they wanted to give, maybe not. But they're the ones that stick.

As readers connect with us online, they too, will develop their impressions of us. They'll be able to stay connected to us between books, and get an inside view of what we're working on along with the myriad of activities that make us personable and likable. We won't just be selling our books. We'll be selling ourselves.

How are you doing with your cyberland brand? Are you doing all you can to get off to a good start? Are you mindful of what people are already beginning to associate with your name, picture, and image?

How Important is an Author Brand?

I've always struggled to come up with a catchy phrase that describes my writing. I've seen such creative ones around cyberspace, like: "Seatbelt Suspense" or "Passion With Purpose" or "Touching Hearts. . .Changing Lives."

Authors often use these tag lines at the bottom of emails, on websites, blogs, or business cards. And the saying usually sums up what they write, their style, their voice, or the uniqueness they bring to their genre. This is typically what we refer to as an author brand.

Since I was having trouble figuring out my brand, I decided to get the expert opinion. When I met with Bethany House Marketing, one of the first questions I asked them was this: How did they describe my writing? What did they think was my author brand?

Maybe they'd have a catchy phrase I could start using on all my correspondences, something I could splash across my website to coordinate with my background and theme.

And what was the answer of this talented team of marketing gurus? The summary of our discussion was this: Don't worry about a brand yet.

Here's why. In their many years of working with authors, what they've experienced is that the author's name becomes their brand and that usually doesn't happen until after at least 2 to 3 books are published.

In other words, when readers buy our books and loose themselves within the pages, then they will come back for another book, and hopefully another. Our writing appeals to them and they attach a favorable reading experience with our name. Thus our name begins to sell our books and that becomes our brand.

I'm sure we can all think of authors whose books we buy every time they have a new release. Do we buy the books because of the author's catchy saying? Do any of our favorite authors even have a special little summary sentence that we remember?

Most likely we're drawn to those authors because of our past experience with one or more of their books. We've found someone whose writing appeals to us, someone we trust will tell a great story. They don't have to hook us with the first page anymore or with a stunning cover. We're sold on their name alone.

Some famous authors don't even need a description of the book on the back cover. Instead the publisher plasters a big picture of the author there. Why? Because the author is the brand.

So, should unpublished or fairly new authors worry about coming up with a brand? Should we spend time and energy crafting the perfect summary of who we are?

While I'm still forming my opinion on the whole matter and trying to decide what really works in this modern age of technology and cyber networking, I feel a freedom now to relax about the issue. I don't have to figure it ALL out right now. It's okay to let time and ultimately readers define my writing.

Maybe some writers can truly sum up their writing with a short statement. Maybe their self-made brand will indeed match reader expectations. But we also need to be careful we don't let those catchy phrases put us in a box of our own making. Maybe someday we won't want to define ourselves that way anymore and we'll have trouble breaking out of the box.

What do you think? Have you ever tried to come up with a catchy phrase to describe your writing? In today's competitive market, do you think new authors should try to brand themselves in order to stand out? Or do you think they should wait and let the reader do it?