Rebranding the Author Brand: "Let Your Imagination Take Flight"

Last week I blogged about what the author brand is and shared some examples of logos and taglines I found for other authors online. I mentioned that I was trying to figure out the core element of MY brand. Why I write, who I am, what my books are about ... and these were the things that came to mind:

escaping reality 

imagination without limits 

breaking free from real-world constraints 

unforgettable characters

I initially wanted my tagline to be this:

"escaping reality one book at a time"

Essentially, that is EXACTLY why I have always loved stories. Loved reading and writing. Purely to escape reality. But I thought that "escaping reality" might (MIGHT) have a slightly negative connotation. Escaping reality isn't always a healthy thing. That whole ostrich-burying-its-head mentality isn't seen as a good thing! And while getting lost in a good book isn't always about denial, "escaping reality" may sometimes be seen as just that.

So onto the next idea: Imagination. No limits. You open a book and your mind is free to soar across worlds, real or fantastical. So ... I needed an image and a tagline that would fit together and depict this idea. Soaring ... flying ... a bird! Which goes perfectly with:

"let your imagination take flight"

So I started doodling and came up with this bird:

Cool. I liked it. I really liked it. But I wanted it to be in nice, neat vector format. So ... I opened up a program I've owned for more than a year but have never been brave enough to use! Adobe Illustrator. After a few basic tutorials, and several hours (yes, hours. Don't laugh. It was my first time!), I had my bird!

Then I just needed to add my name in a clean, simple non-serif font (and I spent a while looking through various options), plus the tagline in a font slightly more whimsical...

And there we have it :-)

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GIVEAWAY WINNER

The giveaway for anyone who left a review of The Trouble with Flying ended today,

and the winner, picked at random by Rafflectoper, is Sally!

Congrats, Sally! You've been emailed :-)

a Rafflecopter giveaway