About Branding…

I know, it sounds painful! LOL

Camy brought up a great point in her comment on yesterday’s post. “Chick Lit” in and of itself is not a brand. It’s a genre. And distinguishing oneself from the pack in ideas and quality is what makes or breaks authors in this highly competitive business.

There are some things about Chick Lit that have almost become cliché–expensive handbags & shoes, for example. Therefore, my lead character in this first book and/or series (one can hope!) is NOT a Hermes handbag sort of girl. In fact, she’s an ex-jock. Played basketball. She’s a professional photographer who has trouble drumming up business (I mean, EVERYONE owns a digital camera & an HP printer, right?), so she starts shooting sporting events. I know a LOT of women who are big sports fans, so this will open up an audience that hasn’t been “written to” very often in Christian fiction.

My first Chick Lit book is also a murder mystery, which is a very popular genre right now. However, lots of Chick Lit writers are pumping out mysteries, so that in and of itself wouldn’t help me set my book apart. I’m using an atypical setting, though–the Ozarks. Few fiction books are set there, even though it’s a pristine area with a fascinating history.

Native Americans were afraid of the Ozark mountains due to the mist that often hangs on the hills. Many believed evil spirits clung to the mountains and travelers usually gave the Ozarks a wide berth–going many miles out of their way. Native Americans sometimes punished wrongdoers by cutting them off from the community. Being exiled was often feared more than death. And where did many tribes send those who were ostracized? Yep. The Ozarks! Also, outlaws on the lam often hid out in the Ozark Mountains. There was enough wood, water, game, and caves to supply everything one needed to stay out of reach of the long arm of the law for a LONG time. Yeah, these mingled with other settlers and became the Ozark area’s ancestors.

Another way to make my book “special” is the theme. (And this is where the “branding” iron comes into play.) I have intertwined a theme, without being “preachy,” throughout my writings that began when I wrote my nonfiction book, The Prodigal Daughter. That theme is “It’s okay to come home.” Many Christians have left the church, their families, etc., and aren’t sure what to do to reconcile. Reconciliation and God’s loving arms receiving back the prodigals will play an important role throughout my fiction writing.

My lead character hasn’t drifted deep into the pit of sin, but she has turned her back on God and her family. I want my book to show her struggles with this issue in a realistic story that includes lots of humor and intrigue as well. Many people have witnessed that they became convicted to serve the Lord after reading a Christian novel. I hope to reach those who may be afraid to step foot in a church building at this time, but who are willing to read an inspirational novel. Hopefully, they’ll be…inspired!

Pomotion Tip

I got an e-mail from my brother, web designer extraordinaire, and he told me about a link service I’d never heard of–some of you may use it already–called del.ico.us. Sites with lots of links do well in search engines, and this service creates a link directory on your web site. You can “tag” sites you frequent and assign categories for your favorite sites, such as Authors, Historicals, Fiction, Resources, etc. I have begun tagging sites on my blogroll and author sites that I’ve swapped links with on my regular web. You can scroll down on the left sidebar on my blog to see what the tags look like (link in signature) or to see how it would look on a web page, you can view my brother’s site: http://residueofdesign.com/ You can change the list style view and colors, too. The more tags a category has, the BIGGER it appears.

Also, if you click on a category that your web/blog would fit and don’t see a link to it, let me know if you’d like me to “tag” it on my site. This is one way we can help each other drive traffic to our sites. Who knows, perhaps some nonbelievers will venture onto one of our sites and be exposed to the Word!