Maybe you’ve already started entering competitions and pitching to agents and publishers – well done! Or maybe you’re still finishing your first draft – keep going! Either way, it’s never too early to start thinking about your author brand.

But what is it?

I like to think of author brand as an elevator pitch but for you and your writing. In a nutshell, it’s your writing signature – a way for potential agents, publishers and readers to recognise you and your unique voice. Pretty much like any other brand, whether we’re talking baked beans, perfume or high-end hotels, it’s the reassurance of knowing the quality of that product before you purchase. In your case – this is what I can promise when you open one of my books.

Sam Missingham, award-winning book marketer says: “The aim of a strong author brand – to put it into positive terms – is to build an authentic relationship with readers ... It is also about establishing your uniqueness.”

You may still be exploring what you enjoy writing and, if so, that is great. It can take a few manuscripts to hit on the right voice and genre for you. Hopefully though, by the time you are ready to submit to agents, you will have a polished completed manuscript and some idea of what you might like to write next.

We know that children’s books are marketed and sold in a different way to adult books in that they are neatly categorised by age range: picture books, chapter books, middle grade and young adult. However, these categories are just a starting point – they don’t give us any indication of what kind of book you might find on the 9-12 shelf. It could be a graphic novel about aliens, a heartfelt read about social injustice or a creepy horror.

So how do I decide what my author brand is?

Start by thinking about your writing style. Is it dark, cosy, thought-provoking? What genres do you enjoy? Historical romantasy, gritty dystopian, spooky middle grade mysteries? What are the themes and messages you are hoping to promote? Feminism, climate change, reading for pleasure?

Importantly, what can agents, publishers and readers expect from you, both now and in the future? Consistency is key.

Going on submission to agents.

Your pitch to agents will, of course, be focused on your completed manuscript but a smart writer will think ahead, hoping that a prospective agent will be in it for the long haul – interested in representing you, not just your current book. Agents are super busy people, so give them concise information to make it easy for them to decide whether they want to represent this manuscript as well as any future endeavours.

A tip from my long-term critique partner and successful thriller writer Allie Reynolds is to include a brief mention of author brand in your pitch letter. My successful submission letter to my now agent (the fabulous Rachel Petty from The Blair Partnership) included this one-liner:

My writing style is humorous YA with strong female characters and a touch of real world fantasy.

It’s also useful to bear in mind your author brand and the style of your manuscript when composing your pitch paragraph. Aim for a short, snappy pitch in the style of the book and your brand (in my case, light and humorous). Ideally, start with a strapline or one-line elevator pitch.

This was my pitch for Totally Deceased (originally titled Heart and Soul in the UV2022 anthology):

“Jess has got the heart – can she persuade Tilly’s soul to depart?

Sixteen-year-old schoolgirl Jess wakes from an emergency heart transplant to find she’s being haunted by the disgruntled ghost of her donor. Trust fund teen Tilly can’t rest in peace until she uncovers the reason for her untimely demise but Jess is unconvinced. Could Tilly really have been murdered? Or is she just the victim of a tragic car accident?

When Tilly can’t or won’t depart until she gets answers, the unlikely pair join forces and embark on a journey to uncover the truth. ”

My agent Rachel later commented: “The pitch is very clear, and concise, with a strong hook and just a touch of humour, which reflects the writing.”

So whether your book is a literary YA with gorgeous descriptions or a funny middle grade fantasy, ensure that your pitch showcases your author brand by giving the reader a taste of your writing style and voice.

Going on submission to publishers

When an agent submits your book to potential publishing houses, ideally, they will aim to secure a two or three book deal for you. It’s helpful for them to be able to convey your author brand at this stage so publishers know what to expect, not just for now but with respect to any future proposals.

If you are offered a two book deal for a standalone, it’s likely the publisher will want the follow up book to be the ‘same but different’ – another standalone with a similar vibe for the same readership. You don’t need to have this pitch ready as further books would be discussed/negotiated at a later stage but it’s helpful if you can have some ideas about potential stories in a similar vein. It’s sensible to assume that if book one is a historical romance, they are unlikely to accept a sci-fi thriller for book two.

If the book you are pitching is part of a duology or trilogy, think carefully about how you present this. It’s much easier to sell a complete story with series potential rather than a book wholly reliant on books two and three to make sense of the plot.

Does having an author brand mean that all my books need to be the same?

No! It may be helpful to think of your author brand as a thread that connects your books – if this book is about aliens and the next one about ghosts, your promise to your reader is that they can expect a similar experience or vibe – whether that’s comforting, unsettling or irreverent.

Does having an author brand mean that I can’t write for different age ranges?

No it doesn’t but rather than trying to manage a juggling act, perhaps get the first couple of books under your belt before you think about swapping from YA to MG or vice versa. A publisher offering a two book deal is unlikely to welcome a change of age range at this stage even if the themes and writing are similar. If you do decide to swap age range, you may want to think about rebranding yourself – some authors may use slightly (or completely) different author names for different genres. Having said this, some authors do genre-hop successfully under the same name, although it might be wiser to hang fire until you are more established.

What else?

Moving forward, think about your online persona and presence. Refine and summarise your author brand into a concise one-liner and include this in your bio on websites and social media profiles. Aim for uniformity of tone of posts and stories. Use fonts, colours and themes which will familiarise you to your followers.

At the design and marketing stage, whether you are self-publishing or going down a traditional route, your team will likely wish to consider consistency of cover and interior art, fonts and colours to retain existing readers whilst hopefully attracting new ones with each subsequent book.

I’ve had two YA books published by Scholastic and I was very fortunate to have the same cover designer (the talented Sarah Baldwin) each time. Although the books are standalones, you will see some overlap – the bright background colours complement one another. The cover art is different but the feature of multicoloured title and author name is consistent as is the use of foil highlights. When you place these books next to each other, they tell us they are different but with similarities.

Finally, even if you succeed in securing that coveted six-figure book deal (and I hope you do!), remember that author brand isn’t something you should just delegate to your marketing team. It all starts with you. What stories do you want to tell? Which themes do you wish to explore? Who are the readers you want to reach?

We all dream of having a bestseller but by aiming for mass appeal, you risk failing to connect with your target audience. If you want to find your readership, first, you need to tell them a little bit about yourself.

Good luck!

What is an “author brand” and why do I need one?