If I’d wanted to be a marketing expert, I would have studied business in college instead of nursing. Even my career switch to novelist didn’t prepare me for today’s publishing climate. Log lines, branding, high concept, tip sheets, and press releases. When did we stop being merely authors and turn into publicity demons?

So now I’m more than an author.  I’m also a brand.  If I knew what that was, I wouldn’t have to ask readers what to expect when you see my name on a book cover. Fun, fast-paced mysteries with a Florida flair?  Murder in the tropics? Humor, romance, and suspense?  What DO you see in my stories?

We’re advised to create a one liner that will sum up our story.  Easier said than done.  Ever try to condense 75,000 words or more into a single sentence?  I’ve never been good at copywriting. That’s why I’m glad an editor writes the back copy blurbs for my books. But now I’m expected to come up with these zingers. I could spend all day trying to come up with the perfect tag line. Believe me, it’s easier to write the story. As in any business, marketing is the key. It seems to me, though, that this environment steals creativity from writing novels and applies it to marketing techniques.  Change isn’t always a good thing. I didn’t sign on to this job to become a publicist. I only want to write compelling tales.

Congratulations to Ellie Wright of Garland, TX, who won my October contest at www.freshfiction.com.  For the rest of you, there’s still a chance to enter for November.