And what kind of writer would that be that no one knows and that has no media identity?
Are we talking about the tree falling in the woods or what?
Seriously, I was attempting to dialogue with a writer who queried me with an email that had links to sites on which his or her writing appeared but no site of his or her own. I eventually asked if the writer had a web presence and said that I don’t believe you’re building if you’re not building your brand.
I was told this person wanted to be a writer not a brand.
And then, suddenly, Enlightenment!
I heard the sound of one hand clapping…
I completely agree with this. Personal branding is becoming increasingly important in all fields. With increasing competition employers want employees that bring something to the table and customers like to stick with products that are familiar because they know what they are getting.
And it’s not like I don’t understand where this writer is coming from. He or she wants to write, not worry about business.
I have lots of old artist friends that think like that and they’re hitting their 50s and 60s with a lifetime of work and little to show for it.
Some have accepted being less known than they could be and unable to make a living from their art, some have settled into serious drinking habits and some don’t care because they have family money and are basically talented dilettantes.
I don’t want to be in any of those categories. I may have a screwed up brand but at least I’m learning from my mistakes and continuing to build as best I can.
I just hate to see people starting out their careers with damaging delusions about the world.
One of the first things I tell journalism students when I speak to them is to create a hub on the internet where they can syndicate all of their work. It works as one part living resume and one part personal brand.
At the same time, you don’t want to ONLY be a brand, you want to do great work, but right now both are necessary.
It would be weird to just be a brand!
I think of a brand as something along the lines of how people view you as a whole package, i.e., you can affect that by paying attention to what you’re putting out there and claiming a web presence that you control.
So I like the hub concept. I also like effective use of things like Linked In profiles, Facebook pages and other spaces that can also have an open web presence.
In any case, taking charge of that is key, even if you’re just starting with a single page with links out to places you’ve been published.
At the end of the day, doing great work is part of building a strong brand but I’ve seen people do great work that very few ever saw cause they couldn’t get past the idea that just doing great work should be enough.