Leveling Up

Even the best brands will evolve over time, because you will evolve as an author. In fact, if you don’t allow your brand to evolve, it will stagnate. By the same token, even if your brand isn’t growing, it’s vulnerable to attacks, deliberate and accidental. Your brand is a living organism, either improving or devolving at all times.

If you’ve reached a point where you want to move your brand forward, the first step on this path should be a long, hard look at your current objective and how it’s changed since your last effort to refresh. Always articulate a clear measure of success for this transformation. What does your brand need now that it didn’t have before? Where do you want your brand to take you next? What is it you want your brand to do differently than it used to?

The key to successfully selling your brand with a carefully packaged presence is understanding your unique market. While every author’s market overlaps with colleagues, the singularity of your voice and output means that the appeal and success of your books can never be duplicated.

What's the scope and reach of your unique market? Who wants the emotional experience you’re offering? What are you doing to increase its range?

Promotion is an activity packaged for public consumption. Developing brand awareness in yourself and in your readers allows you to expand your circle of fans and also to discover potential within your niche. A strong brand acts as a Trojan horse to bypass doubts, apathy, or boredom and nets you new advocates and mental real estate.

How accessible is your brand? How carefully have you crafted your promotion package? Is your brand expanding to bring you and your works more attention, or is its garish or dull light keeping people away? If it's shining strong, what could you do to make it stronger?

The more you prepare, the more you can take advantage of the twists of fate and crazy breaks meant for you and you alone. At the same time, we knew that don’t get too stuck on expectations. Remember: luck is opportunity plus preparation. Don’t wish for a fairy godmother to grant you a favor. Be the spire that draws the lightning. Generate your own storm. Build your own net that makes other people want to fall in with you.

What opportunities are already available for you and your projects? Where might you find similarly fertile ground? What have you done to make sure you're ready when lightning strikes, and what have you done to draw its power near to you?

A Game Quizzes

Endorsements

Your A Game is a career changer. Damon and Heidi’s branding approach helps you learn what sets you apart in a very crowded fiction landscape and, more importantly, how to use that information to your advantage. Regardless the level of your career, every author should take advantage of these fabulous resources. I promise, you’ll never think of your public image and your marketing the same way again!

Joanna Shupe
Joanna Shupe bestselling, award-winning author of the Knickerbock Club series and the Wicked Deceptions series

Smart, fast-paced and comprehensive, this is the ONE book you need to develop your own brand and a personalized marketing plan that works for you. Run, don't walk, to get started on YOUR A GAME!

Cindy Dees
Cindy Dees bestselling, award-winning author of the Dragon Crest series and the The Medusa Project series

Your A Game is a playful, succinct and accurate guide to marketing in today's changing world. Whether you're a new writer or a seasoned pro, you will find the text and the format fun, informative, personal and useful. And brilliant-- don't forget brilliant, from conception to delivery.

Amy Lane
Amy Lane RITA nominee & bestselling author of the Johnnies series and the Green's Hill series.

Your A Game is relevant for everyone - whether you're just starting out or have been doing your own marketing thing forever. It isn't just the same five tips repackaged - this one is literally a game changer.

Tere Michaels
Tere Michaels bestselling author of the Vigilante series and the Faith, Love, Devotion series

The only truly useful marketing guide I've ever found...Your A Game doesn't rely on what worked for someone else, but effectively helps you find your own marketing platform.

Anne Tenino
Anne Tenino bestselling author of the Romancelandia series

As a recently published author, I've found Damon and Heidi’s Your A Game an amazing reference book and an invaluable tool. I’ve tightened my marketing plans, expanded my online presence, and improved my website drastically. It made publishing my first couple of books exponentially easier. Thank you for putting everything folks need to know about marketing and publishing in one easy-to-access tome.

Lyla Bellatas
Lyla Bellatas Author of the Real Fling series

Heidi and Damon have broken the "code" with Your A Game, a vital tool for any author serious about promotion and branding. The customizable, easy-to-follow program gives the author common sense suggestions to accommodate individual needs. The antithesis of the cookie cutter approach, Your A Game guides you down the path that best suits your ultimate goal.

Brita Addams
Brita Addams bestselling author of the Tarnished series

Exercises & Worksheets