Building an Author Brand Through Writing

Colin Wade is an author of crime and murder mystery thrillers. His first novel came out in 2019 and he has published one book a year since, all with Troubador Publishing. His first two books, The Lost Years (2019) and Plutus (2020) were pure self-published books through Troubador. His other four titles, Deadly Connections (2021), The Sins of the Father (2022), The Devil’s Code (2023) and his most recent novel Murder at the Manor (2024), were published on a hybrid basis with the Book Guild. 

What inspired you to start writing, and how did your journey as an author begin?

Back in 2016, I had the opportunity to end my full-time career and move to part-time work. This gave me the time to start writing. I had always been an avid reader and simply wondered whether writing was something I could do. I decided to write what I like to read and after positive feedback on my first manuscript, I went from there.

What was your primary goal when you first started writing? Has it evolved over time?

My primary goal when I started was simply to see if this is something I could do. After brilliant feedback on the first book, I then wondered whether this was something I could make money doing, a hope that was quickly dispelled. I found that it is incredibly difficult for the vast majority of authors to make money from writing. I therefore decided, in the summer of 2023, to start doing paid talks to community groups about my writing career, to supplement my income.

However, over time, I accepted the realities of being an author and my place in the writing world, focusing on the sheer joy and achievement of delivering books that people love to read. This has led to me being more altruistic about my writing, reaching out to local libraries offering free talks about my career, and creating a local independent authors group in Oxford, because it’s the engagement with other authors, local communities and your readership which is most fulfilling. 

How would you describe your author brand, and what key elements define it?

The key element of this is that I am the brand. Readers are delighted when they meet the author of the book they are reading. I have done lots of local craft and book fairs, where I have been able to meet my audience. Not only are they fascinated to meet me, they love the fact that I am a local author within their community, and will often ask for a signed copy of my book. Finally, I make it clear that my brand is about crime and murder mystery novels. This has also proven to be beneficial as many readers love the genre.

What steps did you take to identify your target audience and tailor your writing to them?

This was cemented through observations at the local craft and book fairs, where it became obvious that the majority of my customers are older people, generally those over 50 with a leaning towards more women than men. This is not to say that younger people don’t read my books, but it helped me to target talks and events where I knew my target audience was likely to be present.

What challenges did you face in shaping your author brand, and how did you overcome them?

Limited challenges because I paid someone to help me shape my brand. He helped me professionalise my image, get better headshots, develop a new website and identify my customers. This was a lesson that sometimes it pays to invest in professional support as, since doing this, my income and book sales doubled over 18 months.

What specific strategies or tools have you used to establish and promote your author brand?

The short answer: many! They include:

• Professional website, with VIP sign-up where members get newsletters and special discounts, plus information about me and links to purchase my books
• Using the vast majority of social media channels, with regular posts
• Face-to-face promotion at talks, craft and book fairs
• Engagement with local libraries, offering free author talks
• Word of mouth
• The support of The Book Guild, particularly with NetGalley and ARC copies of new books to Bookstagrammers has proven to be excellent in promoting me and my brand, plus great reviews of my writing
• Working with local independent bookstores
• Running a local independent authors' group

How has building a strong author brand impacted your writing career, readership, or opportunities?

It has undoubtedly increased sales and awareness of me as an author. Also, the more books I write, the more coverage I have been receiving in local press, social media, crime blogs, etc.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors looking to shape their narrative and build their brand?

Write because you enjoy it and don’t expect to make money from writing. Get yourself out there and promote yourself, because no one else will do this for you. Get a professional website that promotes your brand. Join or create an author group as you get so much from working with, and gaining mutual support from, like-minded individuals who are having the same challenges as you.