How Important is Branding to an Author?
Okay, buckle up my lovely buttercups, because today’s Writer’s Corner is about something that sounds super corporate and boring but is actually kind of fascinating once you understand what’s really going on behind the scenes.
Branding. I know what some of you are thinking—”Delta, why do I care about your logo?” Fair question! But here’s the thing: whether you realize it or not, every author you love has a brand. It’s not just a pretty logo (though that’s part of it). It’s the promise they’re making you about what kind of experience you’re going to get when you crack open one of their books.
What Am I Actually Promising You?
When you pick up one of my books, you’re expecting certain things—interconnected series where characters keep showing up (because apparently I can’t quit them), authentic rambling in my newsletters where I tell you about the cover I hate but keep anyway, and specific flavors of romance: military, MC, BDSM. You recognize what you’re getting from me.
And here’s the thing about promises: readers have SO. MANY. CHOICES. You might forgive an author a misstep or two, but once you feel like you’ve been baited and switched—like you thought you were getting one thing and got something totally different—it’s hard to trust that author again. Your TBR pile could crush a small car. Why waste time on someone who broke your trust?
This is why a lot of new authors don’t realize how important branding is early on. They think “I’ll worry about logos and fonts later when I’m successful.” But it’s backwards. The branding should come first because it helps readers find you in that sea of books.
The Visual Part (AKA Why I Keep Going Back to Dar)
So what does a logo need to tell readers? Are they looking at sweet romance? Steamy? Paranormal? Dark romance that’ll make their mother clutch her pearls? The visual brand should signal that immediately.
And here’s my PSA for any authors reading this: with only rare exceptions, this is a job best left to professionals. I’ve seen too many DIY Canva disasters that look like they were made in 2003 using WordArt. (No shade to WordArt. It had its moment.)
Why do it early? Because when you find a cover designer who really gets you—shout out to Dar, who has saved my ass more times than I can count—they can “brand” your covers too. If you look at my website, you can actually see the visual shift when I left Stormy Night Publications and went indie. It’s like watching someone step out of a corporate uniform and into clothes that actually fit.
“Authenticity Over Polish” (Or: Why I Tell You When I Screw Up)
This is my brand, and I’m weirdly proud of it. It means I’d rather be real with you than pretend I’ve got my shit together 24/7. I ramble. I make bad jokes. I tell you when I keep a cover I personally hate because it performs well. (Still bothers me. Still keeping it.)
I share the messy parts alongside the book announcements—like those major rewrites when I made Remy and Luc brothers and had to go back and fix everything. I want you to know me, not just read my books.
Some authors prefer a more polished, mysterious author persona, and that’s totally valid! It’s just not my brand. My promise to you is: what you see is what you get.
Why This Actually Matters
Strong branding means when I redesign a cover—like that Dominion’s Command disaster that looked like a boy band album instead of black ops BDSM romance—you understand what I’m doing. I’m fixing the visual promise to match the content you’re actually going to get.
When I launch a new series, readers who’ve been with me for a while follow along because they trust the experience I’m going to deliver. And when Amazon tweaks its recommendation engine for the fourteenth time this year, I don’t panic. You already know where to find me—through my newsletter, my storefront, my Patreon, my Facebook group.
Writer’s Corner, early access, my signing schedule, these rambling newsletters—all of this creates a relationship between us, not just a transaction where you buy a book and we never speak again.
That’s what branding really does. It’s not about the logo (though the logo helps). It’s about building something recognizable and trustworthy so you can find me in the chaos, and I can keep delivering the stories you’re craving.
The Behind-the-Scenes Truth
For my author friends reading this: start thinking about your brand early. Not tomorrow. Not after your fifth book. Now.
For my readers: next time you’re scrolling through Amazon or your Kindle library, pay attention to which authors you recognize instantly—by their covers, by their newsletter style, by the way they show up. That’s branding. And it’s working on you whether you realize it or not.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go stare at that cover I hate and remind myself that my personal taste doesn’t matter nearly as much as whether it gets you to click.
