Your Name Is Your Brand

I think the title of this post is self-explanatory. Being a writer means becoming your own Brand. If there's one thing I've learned since my book deal, it's definitely the importance of this fact. Recently I asked the people of Twitter for suggestions for my new website domain. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to use the handle I have for all my social media accounts, or something entirely new. Now, obviously, if HeatherMarie.com were available, I definitely would have snagged that up. But as it is, I didn't have many options. (There are about a billion Heather Marie's in the world, I've come to realize.)

Anyway.

I came to a decision shortly before announcing my book deal, that I was going to change all my social media to one handle: HeatherMarieYA. I'm so glad I did that before the announcement, because since then things have really taken off. The only thing I failed to change was my Facebook page. Ugh! So yeah. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to writer meet-ups and had someone say: "You're Heather Marie YA right?" It's kind of crazy to think that people actually remember me, but that's the point, isn't it?

Now, if I had HeatherMarieYA on one handle and HeatherLovesCats on another and FireFlyForever for another, you get my point; it kind of throws things off a bit. Wouldn't you say? Personally, I always match Twitter/Instagram handles to faces. I've even had conversations with friends where one of us will say: "You know SarahGraceWrites on Twitter?" And I'm like: "Ooh yeah. I totally know who you're talking about." It's weird, but that's just the way it goes.

So you have to ask yourself, how do you want to be known? What is the best way to promote/market yourself so people remember you and your books? I'm not saying you have to do what I'm suggesting, but is it gonna hurt? Not at all. Will it help you in the long run? Most certainly.

This is just something to think about now, in case you haven't given it much thought before. I can tell you that this has made a big difference for me. I hope you find it just as helpful. Cheers!

Heather Marie is a YA writer who loves all things creepy. She enjoys writing horror/supernatural stories that make you question that feeling of someone watching over your shoulder. Heather spends most of her days reading and writing and plotting her next idea. When she's not in her writing cave, she enjoys watching creepy TV shows with her husband and picking apart plot holes in movies.

Her YA debut, THE GATEWAY THROUGH WHICH THEY CAME, releases August 25th, 2014 from Curiosity Quills.


You can find her on Twitter @: http://twitter.com/HeatherMarieYA
And visit her website @: http://heatherxmarie.blogspot.com/