The Revolutionary War didn’t start in Concord or even Boston—it had its beginnings earlier and more widespread than what appears in your seventh-grade history book. One of those beginnings was the Pine Tree Riot (or White Pine Rebellion) in New Hampshire. And one of its youngest participants would one day meet Washington.
What was the Pine Tree Riot?
The Crown claimed that white pine trees in colonial forests were the property of the Crown because of their use as masts on Royal Navy ships. The sawyers (those who made their living working timber) in New Hampshire disagreed, resulting in one of the first fights in the Colonies.
What started the Pine Tree Riot?
One of the leaders among the sawyers, Ebenezer Mudgett, had been arrested days before for possession of white pine logs without the Crown’s mark.
The sawmills banded together and arrested the local Crown sheriff, surprising him in bed early in the morning. The sheriff grabbed his pistols, but when momentarily distracted he was overcome by the mob, his horse’s tail clipped, and he was run out of the county.
Muggeridge was also a ringleader in the rebellion. He and his adopted son, Billy Simpson, fled the county for a time in fear of redcoat retribution.
The account of the event appeared in the New Hampshire Gazette, on April 24, 1772. The event and Billy will be featured in my upcoming book, A Drummer Boy for Washington.
Billy Simpson Beyond the Riot
Early in the American Revolution, Billy Simpson became a member of George Washington’s Honor Guard, a group charged with defending Washington in battles. Billy met Washington as a protégé of Nathaniel Folsom, a friend of Mudgett. Simpson was among the youngest of the 180 members of the Guard, serving as a drummer boy. At the time Billy joined, he was only twelve.
Drummer boys did not have a glamorous life. They performed all the drudge work, had to attend school in off-hours, and were in the thick of battle with no weapons (and a rather loud instrument drawing attention to themselves). The Guard, and Billy, were in every battle with Washington until it was disbanded in 1783.
Michael L. Ross is a lover of history and great stories. A retired software engineer turned author. The Search was his second book in the Across the Great Divide series. Find him and his books online at HistoricalNovelsRUs.
“Do I need an author logo?” Writers and authors often ask me this question. Another question usually follows, “After all, isn’t branding all about making a logo?”
As a 20-year branding professional, I can tell you the answer to the last question is a resounding *NO.* However, the answer to your initial question is a wishy-washy *maybe.*
Let’s break both questions down to better understand the concept of branding and why it might be important in your writing career.
What Makes Up a Brand?
When you think of some of the most well-known corporate brands like Coca-Cola®, a logo might pop into your mind first. However, it is only one component of a much larger branding strategy. Branding involves visual elements such as the unique combination of colors, fonts, imagery, and other details such as messaging, mission, and even things like guidance on authentically interacting with the customer.
When a company is well-branded, such as Coca-Cola, it allows us to recall the visual representation and, almost more importantly, helps us remember the way we feel about the company. (For example, Coca-Cola literally redesigned Santa Claus and put him in that red suit, so you will think about having a Coke during the Christmas season! It’s true!)
Brand Analysis Comes First
While Coca-Cola does have a recognizable logo—it alone does not make or break the brand. Before you go design a logo, it’s critical for individuals and companies, when creating a brand, to first analyze four important questions:
Who Are They? – The company’s mission/message
What Do They Offer? – What are the product/service and the benefits
To/For Whom? – Who specifically is the target audience
How Are They Different? – What makes the company similar and different than the competition
Only after analysis of all those factors can branding (or rebranding) begin. If the research determines a logo would strengthen a brand, then it would, in fact, be created.
What About An Author Logo?
“That’s fine for corporations,” you say, “but what about individual authors? Do authors need logos?”
To build a solid personal logo or brand (an author brand is supporting a person), you should first ask those same four questions, too. Your analysis may determine that no other author in your sphere has a memorable logo, and having one might make it easier to connect with readers more effectively.
Beyond that, my advice for authors is to build a logo for one of two main reasons.
You want an author logo. Do you desire an icon of your very own? Do you have materials that will showcase your logo, such as a website, business cards, T-shirts, etc. I’ve had my swirling pen logo for nearly two decades, and I still love it. Just be aware that the logo design process may require more money and time than you’re willing to spend. (You do need time to write after all.)
You plan to independently or self-publish, and you need a logo for the spine of your books. However, one could argue that, in this case, the logo is not for a personal brand but, instead, a corporate brand for a publishing business. (You’d still need an author-focused brand, website, and other collateral for your own books.)
My swirling pen logo
Either way, what an author logo looks like, how it’s used, and the colors it will bring in, need to be developed after those original analysis questions are answered. Why spend time and money creating a blue logo with Helvetica type if it will not appeal to your audience. (I’m looking back at you, Gap.)
Do you still have questions? You’re in luck. I have the book for you! I’ve distilled my experience as a branding expert working with authors into a step-by-step workbook to help people structure their own written author brand plan. If that interests you, hop on over to my Brand the Author (Note the Book) page and learn more.
Yes, I said, “giveaway.” In honor of the upcoming launch of my 4th book, Brand the Author (Not the Book), I’m giving away 24 copies of my author branding workbook coupled with the incredible Kris Spisak’s The Novel Editing Workbook.
Enter for a chance to be one of 24 lucky winners by May 12th.
Talk about a wonderful pairing! If you want to write books and publish long-term, these two author workbooks will help you succeed. I promise!
The Novel Editing Workbook, a guidebook for both traditionally or indie-published writers, teaches the art of self-editing to help authors take their work-in-progress to the next level. It is the perfect complement to Brand the Author (Not the Book), which I wrote to guide you step-by-step through the process of structuring your own written author brand plan.
Sounds too good to be true? Not at all! Twenty-four winners will receive one of each book. And ONE of those lucky winners will receive both books PLUS a box of author-related goodies (it will absolutely include chocolate).
Be the Boss of Your Author business with The Novel Editing Workbook and Brand the Author (not the Book). Click here to get all the details about how to enter to win. Note: If you are a current subscriber to my newsletter, you will need to enter your email address again.
Is it ever too early to worry about branding yourself as a writer or author? Elisabeth Carson-Williams, teacher turned young adult historical novelist, joins us to share her thoughts on when author branding should begin and what surprising benefits it has brought in her writing career.
Branding is for ALL Authors
Branding. That’s one of those trendy, millennial concepts, right? TikTok-ers and viral video moguls and influencers use this. I don’t need to brand. I’m a writer. Once I get an agent/publisher/book deal, someone will handle this for me. Wrong!
If you’re an author, you need branding.
At the 2019 Historical Novel Society Conference, my eyes were opened to the necessity of branding. I attended Karen Chase’s Masterclass, Brand the Author. Without an agent, book deal, or finished manuscript, I wasn’t sure I would ever use any of the information or resources she shared. It was way too early for me to start any branding, right? Again, wrong!
Who needs branding?
Creative types—writers—who are reliant on the general public for sales. Income.
How does it help sales?
Branding provides a way for readers to find you by making you identifiable.
Color schemes
Fonts
Messaging
Images
These elements, done consistently, allow readers to easily find you. Finding readers, whether early in your career or multi-published, is essential to sustaining a writing career and generating income.
Why should I brand?
Do you plan to sell your work to more than just family and friends? Harsh reality check: your creation is just a product, one product among thousands. Products need marketing. And you, dear author, are a business owner…so you do the marketing. Regardless of publishing path, YOU will have to figure out how best to reach readers to generate sales. That takes marketing. Branding is a powerful marketing tool.
But I’m an author…
Like the title of the Masterclass: Brand the Author, you will brand your author-self. To quote Karen, “…your livelihood is tied to the feeling you ignite in your reader.”
You may write in multiple genres. You may write in multiple mediums. But you remain the constant. By branding what makes you unique, your readers will follow that persona, your brand.
When should I start the branding process?
It’s best started early—the earlier the better, so you can grow your following. You can grow a following once your novel is released, but it will be a stronger following if you grow it before. If you begin after your book is out, you’re already behind on establishing brand trust and those looking for you.
Who will be looking for me? I’m not published yet!
Future readers
Potential agents
Potential publishers
Branding allows you to present as an industry professional. You present as being serious about pursuing a long-term career, not a one-and-done writer. Remember, you are growing a following.
Unintended benefits of branding
Going through the process provided more benefits than I expected. Just a few of the benefits include:
Tangible goals for my writing career
Streamlined professional life
More control over my career
With a clear focus of where I want my career to go, I can easily assess what is working and what is not. Decisions are much easier to reach with a firm understanding of my brand.
I was reluctant, initially, to trust the branding process. Now, having been through it, I cannot imagine trying to launch a book and a brand simultaneously. Achieving the dream of being a writer requires perseverance and patience in growing a readership. Branding provides the roadmap.
Learn more about the fabulous Lis Carson-Williams and check out her smashing new brand (and her book-in-progress) on her website, ECarsonWilliams.com.
I thank Lis for her insights on the importance of author branding. She’s correct! It’s never too early to create a unique, authentic author brand that works for you and connects with your target readers. Authors need to be the boss of their own business, so I’ve created a do-it-yourself branding workbook that takes authors and writers through a step-by-step process of creating sustainable author branding strategies for themselves. It’s available to pre-order from now until May 15th. Learn more here.
As many of my readers may know, I’m more than just an author. I’m also a speaker, and for three decades I’ve been a brand designer. I’ve not only worked with corporations and nonprofits for the last eight years, but I have also been helping authors develop brands and marketing materials to reach their unique audiences. (Yes, I’ve been busy. Heavens!)
I realize not every writer can afford one-on-one author branding or marketing services. When I coupled that truth with the sheer number of authors now independent publishing (as of 2018, self-publishing grew greater than 40% of the total book market), it became clear to me that my expertise in branding needed to be distilled into a do-it-yourself author branding workbook. Consequently, I’m happy to announce the launch and pre-order of:
Brand the Author (Not the Book) is a do-it-yourself branding workbook, especially for writers.
The reviews are in!
“Mandatory reading for all new clients—for veteran authors and those who are just starting the journey. Great advice from an expert in the field of marketing and branding. You will find your copy dogeared, underlined, and flagged.”
In future blog posts I promise to dive deep into that question. For now, in a nutshell, an author brand is the unique collection of fonts, colors, words, and imagery consistently applied to tools you use to connect with your readers. A brand is authentic and particular to each author, even within genres or topics. (Think how different Danielle Steel is to Sadequa Johnson—both historical novelists.)
Do authors need a brand?
Do you remember the last book you read a book you really loved? Do you remember the author? Chances are you reached out via Instagram, the Internet, or through a local bookseller to connect with the author or to discover other books by that same writer. Whenever a reader engages with any materials from an author, if what they see is consistent and has a unique image and sparks a unique feeling, the person is more likely to remember everything about that experience. Consequently, as we authors publish more books, readers are more likely to come back to us if we have a consistent and authentic brand.
Why is an author branding workbook necessary now?
Publishing has changed. Is changing. Constantly. There are many paths to publishing a book and more ways for readers to find those books. And, as evidenced by the authors I work with and the massive changes in the publishing industry, publishers expect (and in some ways have abandoned) authors to carry the bulk of the reader connection business. We authors are both creating the reader experience (writing) AND managing the marketing.
How does this workbook help authors?
Taking control of your author marketing, not just for one book, but to support your entire career, can be very empowering. This workbook gives practical advice and guidelines about authorship, and the tasks, audiences, and tools required to reach readers. It also provides education and worksheets so authors can build comprehensive yet simplified brand and materials plans for their author brand and books. Along the way, I provide tidbits of information and education supporting each workbook section. When complete, authors will have what most authors don’t: a written plan for their author brand and a prioritized list of the most effective digital, social, and printed materials to produce to support that plan.
Some sample pages are below, and I encourage you to check out the workbook on my website.
My hope from this workbook is that more authors will be able to stand strong and say:
My website is the only place you can order a coil-bound version. If you’re anything like me, you’ll appreciate that the pages lay flat while you write in the workbook. For those who keep all their author business working documents on their computers, an ebook is also available.
Sign up for my newsletter, and you’ll receive notifications about giveaways and special events surrounding the launch of Brand the Author (Not the Book). Watch this space for more details about author branding, historical research, and writing tips.
In late November, I had the good fortune of touring Bartram’s Gardens in Philadelphia, PA—a 50-acre garden in existence since 1728. The oldest surviving botanic garden in the US, the sloping and tiered lands on the western banks of the Schuylkill River were home to John Bartram—a botanist, collector, and explorer—and his son, William Bartram. Their garden was a source for seeds and plants for many of America’s founders including Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. My tour was for research for my next historical novel, and specifically to learn what those gardens looked like in 1787 when James Madison and others visited the gardens during the Constitutional Convention .
Why tour historic gardens in winter?
Now, before you go believing I’m nuts for touring a garden during winter (rather than July when Madison visited) such off-season tours mean fewer tourists and an occasional late bloom/fall burst of color. In our case, the oldest Ginkgo tree in America and the Tea-Oil Camillia, were giving a brilliant show.
Tea-Oil Camillia
The best reason has to do with wandering with a guide. Because there is less to do in winter, the curator—Joel T. Fry, who has been with the gardens since the late 90s—seemed to have all the time in the world to help me prune away the gardens as they are “now” in order to visualize them as William Bartram did “then.”
Bartram’s Gardens then and now
When the British moved through Philadelphia during the Revolution, troops built a floating bridge across the Schuylkill River east of town. What had been a ferry system from Grey’s Landing just few miles from Independence Hall, became a series of floating planks permitting visitors to land just a tad north of Bartram’s.
I wish I could say the view shown in this historic 1838 drawing (Charles P Dare, Fitzgibbon & Van Ness publishers) was equal to the view now. Today, one approaches Bartram’s via a graffiti-strewn bridge, and enters from the less-attractive back lane.
Back in 1787, however, a visitor would have first seen the tiered beds of plants—collected from various states as far south as Florida—rising up to the main house (like the photo above). Greens, tubers, and other edibles would have been planted closest to the house in the kitchen gardens. Built by John Bartram, the house was added onto many times, but the architecturally arresting structure remains.
The numerous trees scattering the property now would likely have been in a specific grove to one side of the house. That Ginkgo tree? In 1787, it was just two years old, so likely shorter than me, and in a different location. It now towers more than two stories tall. You can see an original William Bartram illustration of the garden map, on the Bartram Garden’s website here.
An incomplete archive of plantings
What was planted where and when by William, however, is difficult to ascertain. Although Bartram’s sold seeds and plants, “we don’t really have garden records from that time,” Joel shrugged as we chewed on some of the spinach miraculously still growing and plump despite a few frosts. “We don’t know if the records were thrown out when the family later lost the property, or if perhaps the Bartrams weren’t that good at keeping records in the first place.”
Personally, I find the latter easy to believe. John and William both seemed so enchanted by illustrating, collecting, exploring, and experimenting with plants and seeds, I can see them failing to write it all down at the end of a day’s digging. Their minds were likely their libraries and journals. Although Williams botanical illustrations are in some ways a series of singular plant records, like his study of Franklinia—a tree named for Franklin, and the garden’s signature tree.
A room inside the Bartram’s home. None of the furnishings are original either.
William Bartram’s illustration of the flower of the Franklinia Tree.
Visitors post-Revolution might also have seen a working cider mill along the banks. Again, the Bartrams papers have no record of it, although a reference to it appears in a letter from a visitor named Manasseh Cutler of Massachusetts. “[Bartram’s] cider-press is singular; the channel for the stone wheel to run in for grinding the apples is cut out of a solid rock; the bottom of the press is a solid rock, and has a square channel to carry off the juice, from which it is received into a stone reservoir or vat.”
Joel and my spouse, Ted, permitting me a photo for size perspective.
What Captivated Me Most in Bartram’s Garden
“What we’re doing is what William loved to do with visitors in the garden.” About half way through our tour—many stories in, the wind picking up, and much history shared—Joel smiled as he gazed across Bartram’s garden glittering with fall leaves. “We’re walking the paths and sharing ideas about the plants and other events of the time. It’s a chance to learn together.”
Nothing warmed my heart more on that cold November day. Thanks to Joel, in my next novel I expect you’ll find my protagonist Henry (along with other characters real and fictional) sharing ideas while wandering those same paths with William.
I urge you to visit Bartram’s Garden, and not just at the height of spring or summer, so hopefully you will be captured by this historic place, too. Just a 15-minute drive from Philadelphia, it’s a 50-acre respite for the city-weary soul Chasing Histories.
The view from the back of the house, with a new favorite vine—cup-and-saucer—gracing the left-hand edge of the walkway.
Every author has their own method and reason for picking a fictional character’s name. We are calling up spirits, birthing new people (or magical creatures), and this decision is weighty. The line from the knight in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is applicable here: “You must choose. But choose wisely, as the true grail will bring you life, and the false grail will take it from you.”
When the name selection moment comes, I essentially have three parameters for choosing character names. The first, no surprise, is related to Shakespeare’s line, “What’s in a name?”…
Spirit Painting, by Frederick Walker.
One: Choose character names based on meaning
Years ago, there was a baby-naming book called Beyond Jennifer and Jason. Rather than providing Gaelic and Old English meanings, which are important to some authors, the names in that book were categorized by how people view those names. Primarily centered on the western world viewpoint (with some foreign categories), the first names were sorted by whether we viewed those people as creative, strong, odd, intelligent, troublesome, etc.
I loved this approach, and incorporated such thinking into my selections to ensure they fit the personalities of the characters I was building. Boys named “Arthur” are very likeable and reliable. I needed him to be that even in the moments when he wasn’t.
For my Native American characters, I needed a source to help me inject the meaning for a culture clearly not my own. For me, NativeLanguages.org was my source. Although the website a bit antiquated, and it required a donation, the resource allowed me to provide them details about personality, gender, nation, clan, era, and region. When I received each response, I was given name options along with explanations, and even nicknames. Authenticity is important, which for historical novelists, leads me to this suggestion…
Two: Choose an appropriate character name
A name that’s rife with meaning can become a stumbling block for readers if it doesn’t fit the time period or geography. Sources like newspapers, tombstones, and legal documents—if they exist for your time period—help ensure the name feels authentic to the era and your fiction.
For Carrying Independence, I first settled on my protagonist’s location and then I headed to the genealogy section of the library and studied birth and death records for the region and year. In one column I wrote all the first names I loved (for both men and women—for my protagonist has friends), and in the other column I wrote last names.
Then, like a teenager signing her name over and over to get it just right, I compiled first-and-last name combinations. Nathaniel Marten, Arthur Bowman, and Silas Hastings were born. (The latter was also an homage to the character Silas Marner by George Elliot—a book my grandmother loved, with a miserly character like my own.) However, choosing a name out of love must be coupled with asking if I can live with it…
Three: Choose an enduring character name
In early drafts of my Revolutionary era novel, Carrying Independence, I named my protagonist’s horse after King Arthur’s steed, Llamrei. It’s weird to pronounce, and the double “L” became an ongoing problem as I repeatedly spelled it wrong. After draft three, the horse became Bayard. That lesson, along with the realization that writing historical fiction sometimes takes years, helped me create a few parameters. For character names I ask myself, can I:
Repeatedly say it and it will grow on me?
Type it correctly every time?
See the character or creature becoming one with the name?
See the character’s name becoming memorable/repeatable for readers?
Make sure isn’t too close in sound or spelling to the other names?
The latter is important to my father. He finds it frustrating when the main characters have names like Larry and Lemmy. There are 25 other letters of the alphabet to choose from, people. As for my mother, I know she and I are going to talk about these people as if they are people, and if we can’t get it right as I send her drafts, it’s not going to work. (Yes, my parents read my work.)
What parameters do you have for character names, or which character names do you remember most? For me, Indiana Jones will always remain one of my favorite character names, made even more memorable when it’s revealed by his father, “We named the dog Indiana!”
Reader Insights: The name of my main character in my newly published short story, Mary Angela’s Kitchen, came from food. I was telling a friend about story idea—which came to me in a dream—while we ate pizza and tiramisu at an Italian restaurant. The place is called Mary Angela’s. You can order her story, which includes four recipes, as an ebook and also in print.
Every book deserves a book trailer. Why do I think this? Because I love movies. And I love movie previews. (And I, like most authors, would love to see my novel made into a movie. So, why not a preview, too? )
Also, if Zappos can better describe a pair of shoes using video, then authors can do the same with their novels. Visuals can help readers find words.
While I’ll share tips and tricks for making engaging book trailers in later post, today I’ll keep it short and sweet. I’ve long wanted to make a trailer for my first novel, and while stuck at home, at last I had the time. So I give you…
GET THE NOVEL: Order a copy of Carrying Independence today. Retailers and book excerpts can be found at: CarryingIndependence.com. Or buy it direct from me through my online Bookshop.org.
BOOK CLUBS: Turn your Book Club into ZOOM Club! I’ll issue a secure link and join your club online for wine, reader discussions, and a trip to 1776. Contact me at info [at] karenachase [dot] com for details.
As I wrote in Part One, with a list of fiction titles, reading about others coping with their own isolation and restrictions can help us gain perspective. Through books read in my lifetime or with my book club, today I provide four nonfiction options.
The books are not new releases so you might get them used on ABEBooks or as e-book rentals from libraries. Links to purchase the recommendations are also here on my BookShop list, Karen’s Reads & Book Club Picks.
Karen’s Four Nonfiction Reads
Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
I know this seems like an odd title to include when we’re not talking to strangers much these days, but Gladwell is a nonfiction genius and always worth reading. I loved his startling look at how often we encounter new people, label them as good or bad, and we get it totally wrong. Using cases of Cuban CIA operatives, television sitcom faces, Amanda Knox, Sandra Bland, Sylvia Plath, and more, the data in this book will help you rexamine your interactions with strangers as truly strange indeed. …Buy the book.
The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
I read this years ago, but his story has long stuck with me because it is told in his own words, and Mandela has an unforgettably indomitable and resilient spirit. I am saddened that the long walk for so many people is still uphill, but words from Mandela give me hope for humanity. “I could not imagine that the future I was walking toward could compare in any way to the past that I was leaving behind.” …Buy the book.
Educated by Tara Westover
One of the finest examples of how education can release a person from the prison imposed upon their mind by those who are supposed to love them the most. Through a quest for knowledge, Westover writes a memoir so in-the-moment that we feel trapped in her survivalist family with her. I felt equally nervous and naïve when she stepped into the classroom for the first time at age seventeen. She makes an education seem within reach to all—even those with nothing but a desire for something other than the oppressive life into which they are born …Buy the Book.
Bossypants by Tina Fey
I love this woman and her comedy is indeed whip-smart. Why is her book on this list? First, we need to laugh and, without doubt, my other recommendations do not really include many chuckles. But it’s also because Tina was a woman who rose through a world of comedy that was too-long deemed “male only.” Saturday Night Live had never had a female head writer until Tina Fey. (Hence the hairy man-arms on a book cover that makes her look at ease for breaking into a boys club.) Her way of looking at the world is not too dissimilar to the way many of us see it now. Odd and absurd but still worth navigating. …Buy the book.
