Branding ~ Iconography 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

 

Direct Link to the Audio https://eden5695.podbean.com/e/branding-iconography-part-b-431/?token=6bc3b781c7ac571db7367377e1d6ac36

Direct Link to the Video Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7L4OtDk2Bde7LDwQ2l7K8NE

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 series. 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.)

Listen on your favorite podcast site: from Apple to YouTube, Spotify and Podbean (my favs), Google Play, Amazon Music and Audible, Samsung and Player FM, Deezer and Podcaster, the rivals iHeart and Tune-in, and too many to list.

Here are the 4 easiest. Make us a favorite, and follow along easy-peasy, once a week, while you fix a quick dinner, drive a short commute, or take a brisk walk.

My favorite podcast is Podbean. https://eden5695.podbean.com/

YouTube direct link to the Branding Playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7L4OtDk2Bde7LDwQ2l7K8NE

Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-write-focus/id1546738740%20

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4fMwknmfJhkJxQvaaLQ3Gm?si=ffeb71ed17c3409d

Branding ~ Iconography A

 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

 

Direct Link to the Audio https://eden5695.podbean.com/e/branding-iconography-part-a-430/?token=653b8a1c95a606e8f2c0f8ac1d97cb5b

Direct Link to the Video Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7L4OtDk2Bde7LDwQ2l7K8NE

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 series. 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.)

Listen on your favorite podcast site: from Apple to YouTube, Spotify and Podbean (my favs), Google Play, Amazon Music and Audible, Samsung and Player FM, Deezer and Podcaster, the rivals iHeart and Tune-in, and too many to list.

Here are the 4 easiest. Make us a favorite, and follow along easy-peasy, once a week, while you fix a quick dinner, drive a short commute, or take a brisk walk.

My favorite podcast is Podbean. https://eden5695.podbean.com/

YouTube direct link to the Branding Playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7L4OtDk2Bde7LDwQ2l7K8NE

Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-write-focus/id1546738740%20

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4fMwknmfJhkJxQvaaLQ3Gm?si=ffeb71ed17c3409d

 

Branding: 1st Impressions

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

Great Covers = Niche Market within the Genre

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.

1st 4 Cadfael Covers:

Vintage Gothic Covers ~ the Genre is Mystery / Suspense with Romantic Suspense or the Gothic as the Niche Market:

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

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 series.

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.)

Listen on your favorite podcast site: from Apple to YouTube, Spotify and Podbean (my favs), Google Play, Amazon Music and Audible, Samsung and Player FM, Deezer and Podcaster, the rivals iHeart and Tune-in, and too many to list.

Here are the 4 easiest. Make us a favorite, and follow along easy-peasy, once a week, while you fix a quick dinner, drive a short commute, or take a brisk walk.

My favorite podcast is Podbean. https://eden5695.podbean.com/

YouTube direct link to the channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73Pe3yKV5HixAUjBNOg47A

Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-write-focus/id1546738740%20

Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4fMwknmfJhkJxQvaaLQ3Gm?si=ffeb71ed17c3409d

Branding: Reaching the Readers

Our series focus for Juy and August is Branding: the Way Writers will Reach their Readers

Great Branding will cause readers to Stop. Look. Read the Cover Copy. Get the book.

Good Branding will have readers saying "meh".

Bad Branding will cause readers to run.

Create a successful brand for your books, for your series, and for your author name with the information and keys and guidance in this series.

1st episode / July 5 / 4:28 / E 169 ~ Branding History and Definitions

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 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

 

Direct Link to the Audio https://eden5695.podbean.com/e/428-branding-the-key-for-writers-to-reach-readers/?token=0df527c4f966d5a924de4f2dc2d7425a

Direct Link to the Video Playlist https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7L4OtDk2Bde7LDwQ2l7K8NE

Purchase the ebook here:

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

https://books2read.com/u/bPyKQ7

View the trailer for the ebook here:  https://youtu.be/uthI5gEWic8

Summer with The Write Focus

How’s Summer with you?

At The Write Focus, we are wincing whenever we step outdoors. After a wettish June with moderate temperatures, July brought the sudden onslaught of high temperatures and dry days. That means fine mornings in the shade until the sun and steam of summer drives us inside.

The best way to beat the summer’s heat is with distractions. The best distractions give us an incentive to achieve more and more. How do we achieve more and more? We set and pursue our writing goals: Write More, Learn More.

Write More

The Write Focus featured the June Writing Challenge. Host M.A. Lee set a goal of 1,000 words per day, starting on the 1^st and continuing to the 30^th.

In addition to the weekly check-in for the Challenge, each of June’s Wednesday episodes offered information about writing.

1^st, the Stages of Writing, original idea to proof-plus & publish.

2^nd, the age-old writer question of Plotter / Pantster / Puzzler and the 7 Steps of a Perfect Scene.

3^rd, Writers and their Ideas

4^th, Vaccine against the Writing Doldrums and commentary on an excerpt from Phyllis A. Whitney’s Guide to Fiction Writing.

The final Writing Challenge Check-in occurred at the first of the July 5 episode.

Learn More

All through July and August is a series on Branding: the Way Writers Reach Readers. We talk brand creation for a book, a series, and a writer’s business.

Successful examples from previous bestselling series and authors focus on Ellis Peters’ Cadfael series, Tony Hillerman’s Leaphorn & Chee Navajo mysteries, and Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody series.

We capture browsing readers with 3 Glances and 6 Keys, all to develop the best cover, titles and taglines, and market copy (blurbs) for our books.

The series closes out with developing a short video script. The advertising world tells us that buyers need 7 sights of a product before they commit. Short videos are an active and interesting method to snag the readers’ attention for a couple of those “sights”.

Coming at Summer’s End

September starts a series on story structure: Plot ~ the foundation for every story.

Start with character, the writing gurus say [which we did, last January :) and Discovering Characters concluded in May]. The gurus are right about writing. Now we the best plot structure for our characters. To improve story craft and flow / pacing, we must focus on Discovering Plot.

Autumn’s Coming

Our next newsletter update will be in October.

Don’t sweat the heat and humidity too much!

As always, 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.