August 27th, 2008 | by Elizabeth Amber |
The first time I heard of the concept of an author tagline was in a speech by Theresa Meyers of Blue Moon Communications. She was talking about author branding. Taglines were only a very small part of creating an author brand, but I started noticing taglines here and there after that.
So, how to find that quick, catchy synopsis that captures the unique flavor of my writing style.
Is Elizabeth Amber’s writing…
“Hot?” No, I couldn’t just say “hot.” Erotic romance is hot by definition, right?
“Wild? Sexy?” Yawn.
“Satyrrific?” Yes, I write a hot series about satyr brothers, but that sounds too contemporary and I write historical.
Here are three I admire:
Delilah Devlin has one of the best romance author taglines:
“Get in bed with Delilah. Everyone else has.”
And how about Ashlyn Chase’s: “Where there’s fire, there’s Ash.”
And I ran across this one recently. Bronwyn Storm’s “Where Romance Reigns” I like the play on storm/reign.
Since I haven’t come up with anything memorable, I’m holding out for the tagline of all taglines: NYTimes and USA Today Bestselling author! Hey, aren’t we all?
What are your favorite author taglines? Authors, what are some you rejected? What are you using now?
Tag lines…ah the joy
Up until a few months ago, I used: A little bit of laughter and a whole lot of spice. Which I loved, but my writing has gotten a little hotter lately, and the line didn’t fit. So now I’m… I’m the author your mother warned you about!
by Shelli Stevens · August 28th, 2008 at 2:38 amI’ve seen a lot of good ones but can’t seem to find one for myself. I’ve always liked the line “you say cheesy like that’s a bad thing” but it clearly doesn’t work for me as a writer.
I think I’ll just keep playing around with it until I find one that works. Or maybe I’ll just “borrow” Shelli’s–that’s funny and memorable.
(Just kidding, Shelli!)
by Anitra Lynn McLeod · August 28th, 2008 at 10:36 amShelli, I like the new one. I love taglines with a bit of sly humor. And, I remember that Theresa at Blue Moon said it was wise to keep refining your brand. (I sound like a commercial for her, don’t I? I don’t know her, but I thought she had some good ideas about branding.)
Anitra, let’s make a pact to hold out for NYTimes Bestseller!
by Elizabeth Amber · August 28th, 2008 at 12:48 pmThat would be awesome since I just can’t seem to get one that I like.
by Anitra Lynn McLeod · August 29th, 2008 at 11:56 amMine is ‘edgy elegant erotic romance’ and I think it works for everything I write. It took me so long to get this far that I doubt I’ll be changing it any time soon
by Kate Pearce · August 29th, 2008 at 1:02 pmI love Delilah’s one too
Great one, Kate! Which reminds me, I’ve been meaning to read your Simply Sexual title. It looks like a book I’ll enjoy. I haven’t read anything except non-fiction for a solid two months. But that’s another topic . . .
Anitra, I think Lora Leigh is one of the few erotic authors who can use the coveted bestseller tag line. For now, maybe we could say “future NYTimes bestselling author.” Hey, I like it.
Shelly, are you using the tagline about “I’m the author your mother warned you about” Another good one might be something along the lines of what Kensington puts on the back of our books. A tagline like: “Warning, my books are HOT!” Or maybe not–I can never come up with one I love.
by Elizabeth Amber · August 29th, 2008 at 3:12 pmI’ve been struggling with a line that defines me as a writer, too.
One thing I’ve done is go back through my reviews to see what reviewers have picked up on…things I wasn’t aware of.
The main thing that surprised me is that they mention how “warm” my stories are. Meaning there’s warmth between the characters.
My editor has said the same thing: that it’s hard to find warm and hot at the same time…
So, how the heck do I put that in a tagline?
If I use “warm” I kind of lose the heat…and turn it into something it’s not. I don’t write family sagas, even though I often write of familial warmth and affection between friends.
this is a conundrum for sure.
I love the edgy elegant tag…
I’m opening this problem to the universe and will wait for something to fall into my empty head. Ideas have a way of finding me that way.
by Bonnie Edwards · August 29th, 2008 at 3:38 pmI just love Delilahs tag line.. it just pops out at you…
im not an author but i use this one at the signature line on my email…
Powerful Women’s Motto:
Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the
by Jolene · August 29th, 2008 at 5:11 pmfloor in the morning, Satan shudders & says……………………
‘Oh shit….she’s awake’
LOL…mine’s just, Kate Douglas/Wolf Tales. With twelve titles out in three years, I figure if someone hasn’t heard of me, they probably aren’t reading erotic romance. And to think I was concerned when Audrey, my editor, said she wanted to use the same title for all my books! Talk about making “name branding” easy!
by KateDouglas · September 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 pmBonnie, I’m with you on waiting. Better to have no tagline than one that isn’t helping, is what I’m thinking.
Jolene, I hadn’t heard that one, but I love it. And as far as Delilah’s tagline goes, I remember I was slightly shocked the first time I read it–in a good way. I admired her for her fearlessness. And I never forgot it.
Kate, that’s interesting that Audrey helped brand the books in the series as numbered Wolf Tales. I can’t imagine them titled any other way!
by Elizabeth Amber · September 4th, 2008 at 1:17 amElizabeth, I started Wolf Tales as an online serial called “Wolf Tales,” parts 1, 2, 3 etc. When Kensington bought the serial and asked me to turn it into a series, Audrey decided she liked the original title and said they’d go to Roman numerals to designate each book. We discussed it over dinner at RWA shortly before the first one released and I remember joking and saying, “Great…I can just see it now. Wolf Tales XXXVIII!” Ha. Ha. I just finished writing VIII…only XXX to go!
by KateDouglas · September 4th, 2008 at 1:35 pmI write f/f/ and f/f/m for Ellora’s Cave and am trying to come up with one for myself.
I’ve seen lots of cool ones, especially for shifter and vampire authors.
by Paisley Smith · September 26th, 2009 at 9:35 pm