By Judith Ashley
No, not the kind made with a hot iron or a tattoo.
I need
help with my author branding.
2014 has been a busy year for me. By January 1, 2015 I’ll
have published 4 full length novels and 5 short stories with a 6th one
coming out by mid-January. In addition, by that time, I’ll have participated in 4 book signings. But most important, I’ve attended 2 writer’s conferences
and several workshops as well as read a couple of author marketing books.
The author marketing books and several of the workshops
talk about creating an ‘author brand’. This is where I need help—your help to
be more specific.
What I’ve already done:
Named my series. Not an easy task. It took over a year to
finally settle on The Sacred Women’s Circle series.
Hired Christy Caughie’s Gilded Heart Design to create the
book covers for my The Sacred Women’s Circle series. My covers all have a
cohesive design and if you look closely, you’ll see the ‘overlay’ which conveys
the mystical/spiritual element that is in all the books. Check out the upper
left-hand corner to see one of my favorite cover elements.Hired Christy’s Gilded Heart Design to update my website and create a ‘new look’ that is part of my author brand.
Purchased Joel Friedlander’s Media Kit and created varied
length bio’s.
But then I attended Emerald City Writer’s Conference in
October and realized I need to be even more focused regarding my brand. One of
the important pieces is to consistently label/market yourself. You’ll see
excellent examples with B.A. Binns and Pippa Jay’s posts. Each post starts out
with their name and their genre – a bit about what they write.
Here’s where you come in. I’ve written three short introductions
(19 – 22 words) and I’d like your input as to which one best showcases my
brand. BTW: the experts say 20 words is best because of how search engines like
Google scan for content.
1. Welcome, I’m Judith Ashley, author of
contemporary romantic women’s fiction and spiritual romance: stories that
celebrate the journey from Relationship to Romance. (22 words)
2. Judith Ashley’s twenty plus years in
sacred women’s circles gives her stories an authenticity that enhances a
reader’s experience. (19 words)
3. Hi, I’m Judith Ashley. I write romantic women’s
fiction with spiritual elements. My stories are all about journeys from
Relationship to Romance. (22 words)
If you have other ideas, please share! Commenters will be entered into a drawing for a $5.00 gift card for
Starbucks. Please be sure I have your email address so I can contact you if you
are the winner! Drawing will be held 12/10/2014. If you want to know who the
winner is, I’ll post it at on my Judith Ashley blog.
