Today’s featured interview is with Karen A. Chase an author, speaker, and brand designer. For nearly three decades Karen has worked as a professional designer creating brands for national and international organizations, non-profits, and authors. In addition to two decades running her own freelance business, she launched 224Pages, her own publishing house in 2011. She has spoken with nearly one hundred historical, corporate, and trade audiences in the US and Canada—both virtually and in-person—about history, branding, and entrepreneurship. Her first novel, Carrying Independence , was a nominee for the 2020 Library of Virginia Literary Awards and was awarded #12 of the 100 Best Indie Books of 2019 .
“Humorous and chock full of insightful tips on how to brand the author and not the book, this is a must-read for veteran authors and those who are just starting the journey to building a personal brand. Great advice from an author and an expert in the field of marketing and branding. You will find your copy dogeared, underlined, and flagged. It will be mandatory reading for all new clients.” — Lisa Hagan, Literary Agent
WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT?
If you want to write books and publish long-term, you need a written author brand to connect with your target readers. This is the only author branding workbook that uses proven steps to guide you through building your author brand. This easy-to-follow (and often fun) step-by-step workbook—developed by an author and branding professional—will help you structure your own written author brand plan.
Brand the Author (Not The Book) will guide authors through steps to:
- Structure realistic hours for writing versus marketing
- Craft a particular author message
- Outline how to connect with targeted readers
- Select author platform tools (digital, social media, and more)
- Prioritize a plan to build author platform tools
- Establish standards for author logo, graphics, and materials
- Create a brand that is unique, consistent, and authentic
WHY DID YOU WANT TO WRITE THIS BOOK?
I’ve worked in branding and marketing for more than two decades, and after working with numerous authors—no matter how they were published—two things became clear. They were disappointed by how their books were doing, and they were overwhelmed by marketing. Publishing has changed. Is changing. Constantly. Publishers expect authors to handle ongoing marketing for every book. Self-published authors handle all the marketing. I wanted to share a simpler solution to all that woe and work with more than one author at a time. I know that building an authentic and strategic author brand is the foundation of all your marketing endeavors. Do this well, and the rest is easier to manage.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE OTHERS WILL TAKE AWAY FROM READING THE BOOK?
Empowerment. In a publishing industry rife with rejection, I hope authors will read Brand the Author and find a path to reclaiming that power. Whether they’re about to launch a debut novel, or they have a dozen published books, this workbook will help all authors stand strong and say… “I am the Boss of my Author Business!”
HOW CAN OUR READERS GET A COPY OF YOUR BOOK?
Brand the Author (Not the Book) is available through all retailers, including Bookshop.org , and in ebook on Amazon . I do have special print-only coil-bound copies available through my author website and signed editions bookstore .
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR READERS TO CONNECT WITH YOU?
My favorite communications are through my website—KarenAChase.com , where readers can sign up for my newsletter. Or socially, I focus on Instagram or via my author Facebook page.
