It’s easy to start your writing career and not envision five, ten, or twenty years down the road.
Maybe you’re a mystery writer and thought it would give you an edge if you put “Your Name, Mystery Writer” on your blurbs, tags, business cards, and other promotional material.
The same goes for a children’s writer, romance writer, historical fiction writer, biographer, copywriter… You get the idea. There are many writing genres.
But…
What if, five or ten years from now, you decide to go from a romance writer to a technical writer? Or you’re forced to switch gears.
What about those hundreds of blurbs or graphics you created for your blog posts that have “Romance Writer” on them?
Why You Shouldn’t Lock Yourself Into a Genre
This is a dilemma I’m currently facing.
I’ve been a children’s ghostwriter for around 15 years. I did business, marketing, and health writing before that, but the children’s writing took off, so I focused on it exclusively.
For each blog post I wrote, I created a unique image to go with it. My posts are closing in on 600. And I had “Karen Cioffi, Children’s Ghostwriter” on the graphics.
While I’m still a children’s ghostwriter, with AI now in the mix, a lot of new children’s authors skip the ghostwriter. They prompt one of the AI models and BAM, they have a children’s story. These stories may not be publishing-worthy, but many new authors don’t care. Or they simply let the self-publishing service they hire edit it.
At least this has been my experience.
I’ve been getting more clients for editing and rewriting. And I started a children’s author self-publishing service. So now, most of my graphics are only partially right.
Why Does This Matter?
I have hundreds of blog posts that are mostly evergreen, and I continually reuse them for social media marketing. The graphics are front and center in each post.
Here’s an example of one that was posted to Facebook:
It’s no longer good business to brand myself solely as a children’s ghostwriter.
So, What Can You Do?
The best solution is NOT to lock yourself in. Keep it nonspecific on marketing graphics and other content that isn’t easy to change.
Instead of “Your Name, Children’s Ghostwriter,” make “Your Name, Children’s Writer.”
Even “Your Name, Writer” would work.
But if you do lock yourself into hundreds and hundreds of graphics that now contain inaccurate or partially correct information, the only solution is to edit all the graphics that need to reflect your current status.
If you have a lot of graphics, this is a huge job.
For my project, some of the original graphics were repurposed into new ones, so I no longer have the originals to edit. I have to recreate them.
UGH.
I’d like to redo 10 a day to get them done in about two months, but that’s not really possible—I don’t have the time. I’ll try for 5 a day.
Even if I get to one or two on some days, it’s still heading in the right direction.
Summing It Up
Your writing career will likely evolve. You may add new services, write in different genres, discover opportunities you never anticipated when you first started, or no longer have a market for that genre.
That’s why it’s wise to think long-term when creating your author or writer brand. Use wording that’s flexible enough to grow with you. A broader description today can save you countless hours of updating websites, social media graphics, blog graphics, and other marketing materials years from now.
And if you do find yourself in the position I’m in, don’t panic. Tackle the updates one step at a time. Even changing a single graphic a day is progress.
Your brand should reflect who you are today—not who you were years ago.
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I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, book doctor, editor, and self-publisher. I help turn your idea, outline, or manuscript into a book you’ll be proud to call your own—and provide hands-on guidance through every step of the self-publishing process.
OTHER HELP I OFFER:
HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN’S FICTION BOOK
A 200+ page book that will help you write your own children’s book
FICTION WRITING FOR CHILDREN eCOURSE
4, 8, or 12 Weeks / 9 Sections / Instructor Guided Self-Study Program
WRITERS ON THE MOVE SELF-PUBLISHING GUIDANCE AND MORE
Self-publishing help for children’s authors (specializing in picture books and chapter books)
You can contact me at kcioffiventrice@gmail.com.
