While working on ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series, I built character by character, developed, considered their look, decided who they are and in what direction they would head within their story.

But also, I was ‘creating’ their look; dark hair, blue eyes, black hair, bronze eyes, tall, muscular, petite, almost ethereal. I will deliver many descriptions while ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series progresses.

In my head, the characters and their personality formed together with their look, and while creating them, I didn’t consider any consequences – like the book cover to the story.

Let me give you an example:
Katie is a breathtaking beauty with caramel colored hair and brown eyes; her cream skin makes her look almost fragile.

To find ‘Katie’ I was busy looking through hundreds of pictures on several websites. In a way, it was an exciting task, and my excitement grew with every picture. But after…

Definition

‘A type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name.’ (Oxford Dictionary)

‘An identifying symbol, mark, logo, name, word and/or sentence that companies use to distinguish their product from others.’ (Investopedia)

Brand creates an awareness, recognition and appreciation. It is the way people are made to feel about the person/company and product.

Note: Though there may be some overlap, Author Brand should not to be confused with Author Platform. See previous article: What is an Author Platform?

Intent

In other words; what the author hopes to achieve through branding themselves. (Not as painful as it sounds – no hot iron burning into flesh.)

Their brand should:

• Present a picture, perception, identity, etc. specific to themselves.
• Distinguish what makes them unique and different to other authors.
• Demonstrate value.
• Inform audience of goals and objectives.
• Set expectations.

Branding is, in essence, the author’s promise to…