Author brands

The Flavia Albia series is a spin-off from your original Marcus Flaco series. Why did you end the Falco series and switch to his adopted daughter, Flavia?  Read more

Authors with strong brands enjoy numerous marketing advantages over those whose brands are weaker. For example, authors with strong brands are more likely to earn coveted book reviews and retailer merchandising. The results of such wins then feed into a self-reinforcing cycle that generates more readership, greater visibility, and more sales.  Read more

Twelve years ago, Ned Rust was the lone employee on James Patterson's team at Hachette Book Group (then Time Warner Book Group), working as what was then "radically" (as he put it) called a brand manager. At the time, Patterson was publishing two adult titles a year. "People were worried it was just too fast a clip," Rust said, and that "readers wouldn't be able to keep up."  Read more

Two recent articles, one for The New York Times by OR publisher Colin Robinson and one in Monday's Guardian point to what may soon be a dismal reality in publishing, and one that those in publishing have been anticipating for some time: the disappearance of the mid-list author in preference for author "brands".  Read more