The Write Focus

Branding / Attract Readers to your Brand (& Here’s a Blurb Script) / 4:35

We’re talking Branding, and we’ve covered Books and Series. Now we take a look at how writers brand their own business.

• 1^st Question: Pen name or not? Different pen names?
• 2^nd Q: What guide helps create our brand?
• 3^rd Q: How do we create an author biography?

Finally, picking up from the last episodes, we offer a last look at Blurb Scripts, boiled down to essentials with two examples.

TIMINGS

• 00:00 Welcome
• 00:39 Intro
• 01:15 Inquiring Minds of Curious Readers
• 04:00 Author Branding & Pseudonyms
• 07:10 Key Questions / Author Bios
• 09:46 Brief Blurb Script with 2 Examples
• 15:05 Last Word & Closing

Total Run Time: 16:33

LINKS

Link to Joanna Penn’s “Using Different Author Names or a Pseudonym as a Writer” www.thecreativepenn.com/using-author-pseudonyms/

A Video Trailer showing Branding in Action: https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8

Purchase the ebook at these inks:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL8GBM1

https://books2read.com/u/bPyKQ7

Purchase a paperback 8 x 10 with Characters / Plot / Branding / Sentence Craft here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08691892S

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Branding: the Way Writers will Reach the Readers.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

Branding / Market Copy Additional ”Between” Episode / 4:34

It’s our Branding “between” addition for Market Copy, featuring Ellis Peters and Elizabeth Peters.

We pick up right where we left off in this stripped-down episode. No powerpoint / mp4 for this previous episode. Visit the previous episode for links and expanded show notes.

Timings

• 00:00 Start
• 00:39 Intro
• 01:04 Market Copy in Action / Ellis Peters
• 07:04 Market Copy in Action / Elizabeth Peters
• 14:12 Last Word
• 14:40 Closing

Total Run Time 15:40

Thanks for Listening!

Branding / Clever Market Copy / 4:33

We’re talking Branding. Clever Titles was last episode; this one is Clever Market Copy.

Market Copy means taglines and book descriptions, also known as Blurbs.

We have 3 Rules that govern all Market Copy.

Success happens with our understanding of the different roles of taglines and blurbs. Don’t be surprised if you spend hours and hours crafting the perfect market copy. Remember, along with a great cover that blazes with story and an intriguing title, clever market copy will turn that browsing reader into a buying reader.

We have an in-depth look at Tony Hillerman, first with titles that intrigue but need covers and market copy to sell and then two blurbs that clinched sales.

Look for an additional “between” episode on Saturday with examples for Ellis Peters and Elizabeth Peters (otherwise, this episode with run super-long!).

Timings

• 00:00 Start
• 00:39 Intro
• 01:39 Taglines / Taglines vs. Loglines
• 07:56 Blurbs
• 09:05 Example: Tony Hillerman
• 15;55 Last Word
• 16:23 Closing

Total Run Time: 17:23

 

Branding Worksheets at Buy Me a Coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr/e/150472

 

A Video Trailer showing Branding in Action: https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8

Purchase the ebook at these inks:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL8GBM1

https://books2read.com/u/bPyKQ7

Purchase a paperback 8 x 10 with Characters / Plot / Branding / Sentence Craft here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08691892S

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Branding: the Way Writers will Reach the Readers.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters
• Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

 

Branding / Clever Titling / 4:32

We’re talking Branding. Before we launch into this week’s episode, let’s have a reminder.

1^st ~ We have nanoseconds to capture a reader’s interest. We can capture that reader with three glances. The 1^st glance is a cover that blazes with story. Our cover has to represent our story with 3 little words focusing on 1] the protagonist, 2] the subniche of our story, and 3] on setting.

2^nd ~ We select images that tweak what our competition is doing. Those 3 little words, ever so important, guide us, then we narrow in to capture the mood or tone of our story.

3^rd ~ Glance III, which we start this episode, seals our contract with readers through Clever Titles and Cover Copy.

Let’s look at Clever Titles.

TIMINGS

• 00:00 Start
• 00:39 Intro
• 01:50 1^st Job ~ What hooks a reader?
• 06:12 2^nd Job ~ Understand our Keys
• 07:40 Titles with Tricks
• 09:40 Examples with Perry Mason and Victoria Holt
• 12:25 Examples with Nora Roberts and Alistair MacLean
• 14;42 Examples with Dick Francis and Phyllis A Whitney
• 17:05 Last Word
• 17:33 Closing

Total Time 18:33

A Video Trailer showing Branding in Action: https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8

Purchase the ebook at these inks:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL8GBM1

https://books2read.com/u/bPyKQ7

Purchase a paperback 8 x 10 with Characters / Plot / Branding / Sentence Craft here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08691892S

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Branding: the Way Writers will Reach the Readers.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Coming soon are worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

Branding / Iconography part B / 4:31

We’re talking Branding. In this episode, we take a second look at Iconography.

“Um-what?” you ask.

Iconography is a fancy word that simply means “Writing with Images or Pictures”. Our covers catch a reader not with a blazing image but an image that blazes with story. Capturing our story on the cover is key to reaching our readers.

We can do this, paying $1000s to artists to paint a  pivotal scene from our novel. Few of us can spend $1000s. We don’t need a scene, though. (Save your $$$ and your bank account!)

We need to present our niche market inside our genre, so don’t panic. Some story ideas are not hard to convey. Others, though, are tricky, and that’s our focus for this episode. Our example is Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody books.

Iconography for a Tricky Cover, with Keys 5 and 6 :: Let’s go.

TIMINGS

• 00:00 Start
• 00:39 Intro
• 01:50 Iconography as a Key
• 02:35 Tricky Book Covers
• 03:50 Key 5: Tone through Image
• 06:55 Amelia Peabody and Key 5
• 09:20 Approaching Key 6
• 11:56 More Problems
• 13:25 Last Word
• 13:50 Closing

Total Time :: 14:49

 

A Video Trailer showing Branding in Action: https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8

Purchase the ebook at these inks:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL8GBM1

https://books2read.com/u/bPyKQ7

Purchase a paperback 8 x 10 with Characters / Plot / Branding / Sentence Craft here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08691892S 

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Branding: the Way Writers will Reach the Readers.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Coming soon are worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

Branding / Iconography part A / 4:30

We’re talking Branding, the way the writer reaches the reader.

In the last episode, we explored the Crucial 1^st Impression, built with three glances.

• 1^st, Capture the story in words.
• 2^nd, Match those words with images through iconography.
• 3^rd, Use clever titling and cover copy to close the deal.

Finding those three words was our first job, and we have two keys: 1] using contrast or juxtaposition and 2] narrowing to a niche market.

In this episode, we focus on the second glance and clever iconography, with Keys 3 and 4.

TIMINGS

• 00:00 Start
• 00:39 Intro
• 01:28 Glance II: Clever Iconography
• 04:40 Key 3 and Ellis Peters / Cadfael series
• 05:57 Key 3 and Tony Hillerman / Leaphorn & Chee series
• 09:46 Key 4 and Elizabeth Peters / Amelia Peabody series
• 13:23 Understanding the Story
• 16:05 Last Word
• 16:32 Closing

Total Time :: 17:32

 

A Video Trailer showing Branding in Action: https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8

Purchase the ebook at these links:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL8GBM1

https://books2read.com/u/bPyKQ7

Purchase a paperback 8 x 10 with Characters / Plot / Branding / Sentence Craft here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08691892S

 

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Branding: the Way Writers will Reach the Readers.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Coming soon are worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

Branding: 1st Impressions Matter / 4:29

We’re talking Branding. In this episode, it’s the reader’s 1st Impressions.

1^st Impressions are so important. In every aspect of our daily life, whenever we encounter someone or something new, it’s the first impressions that immediately strike to our souls. There’s a reason for the clichéd “Love at first sight”.

For books, 1^st Impressions are CRUCIAL! It’s the crossing moment, the significant bridge that has the reader reach for the book. Without a strong 1^st impression the browsing reader won’t even stop at the book. Whether in a bookstore (yes, they are coming back!) or an online catalog that only requires the tap of a finger, we have to earn the reader’s reach.

We have bare seconds—nanoseconds—to catch the reader’s attention.

Let’s look at the 3 Glances we need to catch a reader. We’ll focus on the 1^st Glance and its 2 Keys today.

TIMINGS

• 00:00 Start
• 00:39 Intro
• 02:07 Those Crucial 1^st Impressions
• 03:59 1^st Impressions Matter
• 06:49 3 Glances will Catch the Reader
• 09:19 Glance I: 3 Little Words
• 11:44 1^st Job
• 13:42 Keys One and Two
• 16:45 Closing

DIRECT LINK to the Write Focus blog to exhibit the first four covers for the first Ellis Peters’ Cadfael novel, A Morbid Taste for Bones. https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2023/07/branding-1st-impressions.html

A Video Trailer showing Branding in Action: https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8

Purchase the ebook at these inks:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YL8GBM1

https://books2read.com/u/bPyKQ7

Purchase a paperback 8 x 10 with Characters / Plot / Branding / Sentence Craft here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08691892S

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is Branding: the Way Writers will Reach the Readers.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Coming soon are worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

Branding: The Key for Writers to Reach Readers / 4:28

1^st, we have a last check-in for the June Writing Challenge. Even if you managed only a few thousand words or a few hundred, that’s still a success  ~ because it’s more than a blank sheet of paper or a blank screen. Set your goal anew for July, and have at it with a weekly breakdown to achieve the monthly goal.

This episode starts a series on Branding. We’ll talk the history and importance of branding and a few definitions. In later episodes, we’ll talk First Impressions and Iconography, wording with images, basically a story with words on the front cover. This is the focus all through July and August.

Timings

• 00:00 Start
• 00:39 Introduction
• 02:23 Branding
• 05:55 Branding is Marketing
• 09:02 Book Distribution
• 11:15 One Author’s Branding / Victoria Holt and her pen names
• 14:32 Our Keys to Branding
• 15:20 Closing

Total = 16:19

A video trailer showing branding in action is here:  https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is the June Writing Challenge, starting on June 1 and continuing to June 30, with check-ins on June 7, June 14, June 21, June 28, and July 5.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

Writing Challenge Check-in #4 ~ 4:27

We’re counting down the last days of the June Writing Challenge. Here’s the Week 4 check-in followed by my rattling chatter on inoculation against the writing doldrums ~ when we all feel like we’re accomplishing nothing even as we accomplish something great.

Last for today ~ but not the least ~ is an excerpt from Phyllis A. Whitney’s Guide to Fiction Writing. Whitney is the grande dame of American mystery and romantic suspense and a best-selling international writer, with more than 70 novels penned. In 1961, early in her career, she received the Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, capping that with the Grand Master Award from MWA in 1988. In 1990, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Romance Writers of America. She died in 2008 at age of 104. Guide to Fiction Writing presents her perspective on the craft as of 1982, 41 years after her first published novel.

The final days of the June Writing Challenge will be presented in the introductory remarks to the July 5 episode of The Write Focus.

Timings

• 0:39 Intro
• 0:59 Challenge Check-in
• 3:01 Vaccine against Writing Doldrums
• 6:24 Guide to Fiction Writing excerpt
• 10:40 Closing

Total Time = 10:06

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is the June Writing Challenge, starting on June 1 and continuing to June 30, with check-ins on June 7, June 14, June 21, June 28, and July 5.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

Writing Challenge Check-in #3 ~ 4:26

Three weeks of June have vanished. How are you doing in the Writing Challenge? Today’s episode starts with the Challenge Check-in. I also present how I have developed ideas from nothing in the past … which is the method I use now and in the future. That’s the section on “Writers & Ideas”.

Timings

• 0:39 Intro
• 0:44 Challenge Check-in
• 4:35 Writers & Ideas
• 11:15 Closing

Total Time = 10:44

Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

Our current focus is the June Writing Challenge, starting on June 1 and continuing to June 30, with check-ins on June 7, June 14, June 21, June 28, and July 5.

Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

• You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Just up is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters

For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com  .

Write to us at winkbooks@aol.com.

If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (We’re small beans. We don’t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)