by Anne R. Allen
I blog often about an author’s online presence and the importance of keeping your image squeaky clean, especially when you’re starting a writing career. That image is sometimes called your “author persona.”
Artists have always had personas—an image they project when they are in public. It may involve a way of dressing or a way of speaking, or subjects they like to talk about. It’s what they present in interviews and personal appearances. Until the Internet age, authors didn’t have to think about it much except at book launch time.
But in the age of social media (and Google) we are out there in public every day. It can be hard to remember we’re always “on stage” out here in Cyberia, even while we’re sitting home in our jammies. But we still need to be aware of our image at all times and make sure what we say and do resonates with our audience and supports our brand.
I don’t mean to say you should wear a mask or play an inauthentic character online. Nobody likes a phony. Your persona should simply be your best self—yourself freshly showered and dressed for a public appearance as opposed to yourself on a Saturday morning in your sweats and bunny slippers.
What’s the Difference Between Your Author Persona and Your Brand?
Your persona and brand are interdependent, but they’re not the same thing. Your name is your brand—that’s true—but it’s not who you are.
“Stephen King” as a brand means a certain type of book: a gripping, spooky look at humanity’s worst fears that takes you on a roller-coast ride of pure scary.
Stephen King’s persona, however, is a wise, honorable elder of the artistic community with a sly sense of humor and compassion for his fellow writers. We know him as man who’s still married to his college sweetheart and never “went Hollywood” or left his home state of Maine in spite of being one of the most successful authors of all time. He also plays rock and roll with the Rock Bottom Remainders for charity. He seems comfortable in his own skin.
Is Mr. King that wise, funny, confident artist in real, everyday life?
I have no idea. (Although we grew up within 50 miles of each other, we’ve never met.) But it doesn’t matter. When he appears in public, he wears that mantle and puts on that persona, and that’s how we know him.
A Consistent Author Persona Helps with Interviews, Public Appearances and Bios.
So why do you want a persona? Shouldn’t you just be yourself?
You should be yourself. Your authentic self. Up to a point.
It’s also important to avoid oversharing. You’re not online for free therapy. You’re here to sell books. Don’t project anything in social media that’s going to hurt your book sales. At least not with the name you use for writing.
Don’t ask too much of your readers. They don’t owe you anything because you’ve had a tough life. A majority of online readers say they’re turned off by content that’s too personal and “creepy.” Readers want to see you as a professional, a creative, and a helpful, friendly person.
But they probably don’t care all that much about your insecurities, anger, and pain, unless those insecurities, anger, and pain relate to your work. For example, nonfiction author Rachel Thompson‘s persona involves being a survivor of childhood sex abuse. That’s because it’s the subject of several of her books. So even though she also writes about marketing, her childhood pain is something it’s okay for her to talk about on social media. But if you’re a budding Janet Evanovich or A. A. Milne, you probably don’t want to talk about sex abuse as part of your author persona. Your audience won’t care and will probably look for stuff in your writing that you didn’t intend.
When you project a persona, you can be warm and real in your emotional connections with people, but you don’t need to share intimate, personal details.
As I said in my post on how to protect yourself on social media in April, when you project a persona, you want to behave online and at personal appearances as if you’re at a Chamber of Commerce Mixer or a PTA meeting. You don’t have to project the “you” that slumps on the couch when you’re exhausted after a long work week, or you’re having a tell-all girl’s night with your besties and a couple-three of bottles of rosé. (Never drink and post!)
How to Establish an Author Persona Online
- Get a professional looking headshot for all your social media. If you use several photos, make sure they look pretty much like the same person. The same person with clothes on. Beachy shots are fun but in a thumbnail they can show a lot of skin. Okay if you write erotica. Otherwise…not so much. You also don’t want to post a photo of a baby or a pet. Unless you write from the point of view of a Scottish Terrier, that photo of dear little Bobbie the Bruce is not going to enhance your career as a dark thriller author.
- Don’t create multiple personas for different platforms. Choose one and go with it everywhere. (Unless you write in wildly different genres—and then you’ll need to put each persona on each platform.)
- Blogging. Having your own blog that you have total control over is the best way to establish your persona. Blog about the things your best self is interested in. For more on this, see my post on what an author should blog about.
- Be careful not to go “off brand.” That doesn’t mean you can’t express yourself, but express a consistent self, or people will be turned off. SciFi author Chuck Wendig projects a powerful persona. He’s a tough guy with a potty mouth and strong humanist opinions. If he suddenly started running Nazi rants, or substituted “my stars” and “Heavens to Betsy” for his usual expletives, he’d lose way more than he did when Marvel objected to his profanity-laced tweets. His persona is always consistent, whether you like it or not. And obviously his fans like it fine.
You May Already Project a Persona.
Introverts often develop a persona early in life that they put on—sort of like a suit of armor—in order to be with other humans, especially in a crowd. I certainly did. My whole family has anxiety issues, and we moved a lot when I was a kid, so I was always having to present myself to a new group of people.
I had a frozen, deer-in-the-headlights reaction to my social anxiety, and that freeze could translate into the semblance of serenity.
I remember people in college talking about my “Madonna-like calm.” One guy said I looked like “Some Delphic Sybil observing everybody with detachment.”
That “calm” persona masked a terrified kid from the boonies who was standing on the outside looking in—hoping I looked as if I had a clue WTF was going on.
Luckily I got more confident in my later years and managed to project a friendlier, more scrutable persona. 🙂
You don’t want to do what I did, which was manufacture a persona that was very different from how I really felt. The most useful personas are the ones that allow you to be your best self, comfortably—online and in person.
So how do you do that? Try listing what you do and don’t want to project to your potential readers.
Make Lists to Define Your Author Persona.
If you’re having trouble defining your persona, try making some lists.
1) Qualities you like most about yourself.
- Are you a good listener? You can have a blog where you answer questions from readers.
- Athletic? You might post pictures of you hiking on your last vacation, or running marathons. Post news about athletes in your sport.
- Are you a country mouse who can talk about growing plants and tending animals?
- An urban sophisticate? Take us to your favorite city haunts. Dress to impress.
2) What your family and friends most like about you.
- It’s okay to ask your family and friends what they think your persona is. You may be surprised at the answers.
- What’s your role in your family? Can you be that with your audience?
- Have you always entertained with funny stories? Use humor to attract a following on social media.
- Nobody to ask? Maybe you’re a solitary artist. So…talk to the other loners out there.
3) What are your interests outside of writing?
- Love to stay home and read? Share booky news on all your social media. Get in touch with your inner librarian.
- Animal lover? Nothing like cute pet videos to bring people into your orbit.
- TV addict? Chat about your favorite shows.
- Serious sports fan? Draw in your fellow fans.
4) Which of your qualities will appeal to your target audience?
- If you write middle grade fantasy, you might want to concentrate on your work with the local Renaissance Faire rather than your years as a Vegas stripper. (Although I have to admit that when I was a tween, I was fond of Sherry the Showgirl comics. 🙂 )
- If you write dark, sexy thrillers, you’ll want to project a different persona than if you’re writing Christian children’s picture books.
- Are you likely to write in several genres? Find things that span genres, like love of pets or baking.
- Keep all this in mind as you choose which of your qualities to emphasize.
5) List the limits on what you want people to know about you.
- Do you want to talk about controversial subjects? I’ve advised authors not to talk about subjects that will alienate a chunk of your potential audience, but some authors do–and that works with their persona. Catherine Ryan Hyde is an advocate for equality, kindness, and human rights, which unfortunately are controversial these days. But Catherine is most famous for adding the phrase “Pay it Forward” to our language. People would be disappointed if she didn’t take a stand on human rights. That’s her persona.
- What about your family? Do you want people to know about your kids and your spouse—or would you like to shield them from public scrutiny? A parenting blog can lure some readers, but might make you and your children feel vulnerable. Whether to bring them into your online life is entirely up to you. But you should make the decision early on whether you want “parent” to be part of your persona. You also might want to ask your kids. This piece on Medium this week tells how a 14 year old feels about being the subject of her mom’s social media posts.
Be Yourself. On Purpose.
Ruth Harris has written several great posts on style. She often reminds us that style is being yourself. On purpose.
A persona should reflect your personal style and represent you at your most “style-ish.”
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) May 12, 2019
What about you, scriveners? Do you feel you have an online author persona? Did you consciously choose to show some of your qualities and not others? Do you find having an author persona helps you interact online?
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Anne—Great post with lots of great ideas. Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated! 🙂
Ruth–Your posts on style are perennial favorites! Style has a lot to do with persona.
Another one I will send all my students to, Anne! I can’t agree enough with your points about being very careful what you post so that you don’t alienate a group of readers. I have a friend who is a writer of sweet romance. Because she writes sweet and not sexy, the Christian right has flocked to her Facebook page, and has been posting all sorts of alarming political stuff on there. My friend has been forced to start a new page, that she doesn’t tell her readers about. Quite traumatizing.
Melodie–Your poor friend! I think you can set your page so nobody can post on your “wall”. But they may have changed that. Early on, I had some Hare Krishna guy who kept posting huge pictures of Krishna on my wall and it got my readers really confused. I finally blocked him and I think had things set not to allow anything posted on my page without permission. But they’re posting again, so I guess that got undone.
All fanatics are dangerous, but the ones who advocate hate and cruelty are the worst. They can destroy your career as well as your sanity..
Sad.
Wow, such a forthright look at something lots of us take for granted. You’ve accurately pointed out the errors on both ends- either by assuming there’s zero difference and ranting your way into trouble with readers, or by adopting a persona so phony and taxing that it exhausts you. Maybe some authors burn out that way?
I had a lot of performance experience and am naturally extroverted, so I fell into my social media choices without much reflection and would say it’s worked out… OK. Time and money are of course factors too, and here it’s 90% time (e.g. how many platforms to commit to, things like that).
You need to find a Persona Whisperer! Get some incredible person to come on your blog, take on volunteers and tell them what image she’s seeing in their platform. Schadenfreude-Fest! Everybody would come to read that one.
I would grade myself a B+ on persona, because it doesn’t strain me to do whatever it is I’m doing and yet I can feel a fence around what I say on FB and the “real” me. I give myself credit whenever I type out a rant on somebody else’s page, and then delete it!
Will–I’d give you an A+ for persona! Of course I’m not a persona whisperer (great idea, BTW.) But everything about you I’ve seen online says “epic fantasy author”–even your hair. Your photos all look like somebody out of a fantasy novel. You have a strong, forthright voice and you also show in your posts that you’re a teacher and a family man.
Maybe that’s because of all those rants you delete (I do that too. 🙂 )
This was an excellent post. Great job on it, Anne.
Lydia–Thanks!
That would’ve been a great checklist for when I started ten years ago. I just went with being me and got more comfortable being me as time passed.
Some authors do overshare. Or it’s always about negative things. That does get wearisome reading every single week. Do people’s lives really suck that bad?
You have that confidence now – and excel at it!
Alex–Thanks! It’s amazing how age can give you the confidence of not giving a *%$# 🙂 And I agree. Whining is not an attractive trait. It doesn’t give people confidence in your writing. If an author has such a terrible life, reading their books will probably feel awful too.
Excellent advice. I once met one of my favorite writers at a conference and sat next to her at dinner. She was nothing like I expected though that was before the days of social media exposure. I felt different about her writing after that meeting. One never knows how something shared or said could win or lose fans. Consistency is the only option.
Susan–I’m not surprised at your experience. I once met a painter whose work I loved when I took my mom to a gallery opening to see her work. My mom had her checkbook open and was ready to make a big purchase when the painter went into a whiny rant about how fans were always swamping her and she was annoyed by having too many people at the opening. My mom walked away. She said the painter must be having a bad day, but she’d never enjoy the painting after that. I’ve never bought any more of her work either.
And I’ve heard other writers say that meeting a big name writer had a negative effect. When an author turns out to be whiny or racist or small minded in real life, we see their books differently, even though the books don’t change. We really have to be “on” and show our best selves whenever we’re in public.
Great post, Anne! You and Ruth continue to offer practical tips for authors about things that truly make a difference – from writing to marketing to reaching readers in public. I especially like the lists for culling out what can and can’t go public.
Had a cackle fit over the deer-in-headlights look — too familiar for comfort! :O))
Forwarding this to all my newbies authors right now…
Thanks for all you and your partner in crime do for writers (and editors) in today’s writing world.
Maria D’Marco
KC
Maria–Thanks for passing this on to your clients! An editor can have a lot of influence on new writers and advice from you can help them in many ways as they start on their careers. Yeah I spent a lot of time frozen in those headlights. Thanks!
Hi Anne — good advice, as always. I’m particularly fond of your new scrutability. I love it when friends are scrutable.
CS–I’ve been working on my scrutability. 🙂
As a member of the LGBT community, who writes books that often feature LGBT characters, it’s hard to cultivate a persona online that stays true to who I am as a person, and who I need to be to sell books to a wider audience than the small pool of LGBT readers out there. Many mainstream readers don’t care for overtly political or activist authors. Yet, to hide my opposition to news, to policies that go against my own best interests and those of so many of my author and reader friends is quite difficult.
I’ve given up trying to remain politically correct and sensitive to the possibility of turning readers off because of my beliefs and not because of what I write. My core audience gets it. My writing colleagues certainly get it. They’re all living in the same realm of wanting to sell more books but not compromise who they are in the process. It’s a tough choice for many to make. I can’t fault anyone for choosing differently than I did. I have a day job. I have health insurance. I don’t live on what I write alone. Some of my colleagues do.
Anne–As I said in #5, that’s a decision every author has to make for him/her self. If simply being yourself is going to upset some people, don’t worry about those people. Be the person you are and sell to people who embrace your core beliefs. I have a lot of gay and trans characters in my books. I get some angry reviews. But that’s fine. No books appeal to all people.
Me, I hate books with a lot of violence, so I’m very happy to be told something is too violent. If an author has an extreme fighter type of persona, I probably won’t read his books. But that’s okay. Focus on your core audience and branch out from there. Look at what Armistead Maupin did 40 years ago. He has a powerful persona. Also his great characters and great stories made everybody love him, even though he has always been very open about who he is.
First, Catherine Ryan Hyde did not introduce the term “pay it forward” to our language. She popularized the term used by Lily Hardy Hammond on page 208 of her 1916 book, In the Garden of Delight, where she wrote, “… do not pay love back, … pay it forward.” Second, you give good advice, but can you follow it? Your implicit assumption that advocating for “equality, kindness, and human rights” is controversial suggests that anyone who considers a different philosophy is opposed to those ideals. I don’t believe any one side owns a monopoly on advocacy for equality, kindness, and human rights. To do so seems to be taking sides while preaching against taking sides.
Ja–I didn’t say CRH invented the phrase. But she brought it into common use. Thanks for stopping by!
I have a question about the professional photo you suggest we all have. I did in fact get some done (currently waiting for them from the photographer) but I was only planning on putting them on my website. I am leery about planting my face all over the internet because I have fears. I admit that I fear gaining attention from strangers just because I am a female rather than because I am a writer. And of course, I’m nervous about the online predators and creepers who will see a face and decide to harass. Not much traffic currently hits my website, but as Twitter and Instagram have avatars anyone could see my face and that bothers me. I currently use an image an artist friend of mine did of one of my characters. Do you think this would deter possible agents from wanting to work with me even if they can see my real face on my website?
iefaber–If you don’t want anybody to know who you are, you’re going to have a very hard time in today’s publishing industry. If you write steamy erotica and don’t want your friends and neighbors to recognise you, you might want to use an avatar. But bestselling erotica authors like EL James let people know what they look like and don’t have any more problems than the rest of us.
There are a whole lot of women writers out here who display our faces and we’re not all being stalked by perverts. If you look way hotter then the rest of us, maybe get a new photo with glasses or with a stern, buttoned up jacket.
Being on social media does open you up to the usual scammers and catfishers. I get friend requests every day from 3rd world catfishers who pretend to be Americans (always with two first names) who are in the military or work on oil rigs. Don’t accept their friend requests. They’re members of a crime syndicate that targets lonely middleaged women to hit them up with sob stories and ask for money. But it’s very easy to block them and mark them as spammers. Don’t let them keep you from having a writing career.
That kind of paranoia will scare off most agents. If you have been the victim of stalking or other kinds of sexual abuse, do get professional help to overcome this so you can have a career. You’re not alone, and counselling works!
Hahaha – definitely not a hottie, definitely some paranoia. Thank you for such a real answer. I’m just sorting out the courage to share my work with critique partners let alone agents. Putting my face out there is just as scary. Honestly, I’m not sure which is more intimidating. Just getting the photos taken was an anxiety moment. But I made the decision to try and share my stories by turning them into books so I guess I have to keep moving forward and try to be brave.
ie–I do understand that newbie anxiety. I had it too. I wanted to use a pen name and hide behind a different persona. And if you’re just starting to share work, it all feels pretty scary. So take baby steps. The photo was a great start. You can wait to put the photos out on soc med until you’re submitting your material to journals or agencies. Best of luck!!
While I agree with 99%, I do think it is okay to occasionally share if you’re upset about something if you do it in the right way. e.g. my boyfriend recently broke up with me, and he was also a collaborator on a creative project. Obviously, it’s all very sad, and I’ve mentioned it twice in three weeks, along the lines of “not feeling great. Send GIFs or memes!” and friends (let’s be honest, I don’t have a million readers) have sent me lovely GIFs. It’s hilarious how “on brand” they are, too!! But I think it’s okay to show you’re human and it also gives you the opportunity to chat to people you might not otherwise talk to and start building connections with new people.
Icy–Some things need to be shared. A divorce or big break up is something you usually need to share. Also a death in the family. It would be weird not to. Your fans do want to know things like that. And getting “on brand” replies is so perfect. That means you’ve got your persona out there working for you.
I know one author who has been giving updates of her divorce and move to another state on FB and it’s been great. Her persona is very open and friendly and the posts about the move and the road trip were all positive.
What you don’t want is an endless whine-fest, Not what you did at all.
So sorry about the breakup. That’s just rotten. And takes a while to grieve over. that kind of loss.
Hi Anne, another really useful post, thank you. I’ve been published since way before social media and my rule is, if I wouldn’t tack this onto the village notice board, then it doesn’t go online period. I belong to a closed group where I can share more, but even there I’m cautious. Photos are my bugbear. I’ve been using the same one from when I was made a Member of the Order of Australia for four years and worry it might be getting old. I don’t get studio photos done any more as social media wears them out too fast. Your thoughts?
Valerie–Nobody says your personal has to reflect your real age. Just the age you want to project. Use whatever photo works for you. I admit my current photo is a couple of years old, and the one I use everywhere, with the rose, is over 5 years old. That poor rose bush has an awful case of rust and we had to cut it back. So…do what works. Just show your persona, not all the warts. 🙂
This was a good and helpful post – actionable as the lingo has it – and I found most of the comments were a helpful complement to the post, too. I also shy away from artists/writers who get too personal on their blogs/websites as I feel that’s not the appropriate place for private reveals. Also we cannot take for granted that readers or people we meet at launches/events will share our politics or social views. We should perhaps think of a small number of goals we want to achieve with our public persona, and being helpful, encouraging and brightening someone’s day might be a starting point. Thank you for this contribution to my writerly life.
Julie–I’m glad you agree with me. I think knowing your goals first helps a lot in deciding what to share. Thanks!
A fine balance between being personable and too personal while remaining focussed. I have two (and possibly in the future three) pen names that only differ by a letter. Still working on this one.
Ned–Nice phrase about personable vs personal (You must be a writer! 🙂 ) But I don’t advise writers to take on multiplr pen names in the age of social media. Just too darn much work. You might want to take a look at my post on the subject. https://selfpublishingsites.com/2017/10/author-pen-names-digital-age/
Brilliant advice for writers, as always. This is THE BEST website for writers. Hands down. Great guidance. So valuable!
Julie–Many thanks! We’re blushing here. Hey, can I quote you on that? 🙂
Excellent advice, Anne! Posting to social media should be an intentional act, and done with forethought. How the post will resonant with a potential reader, as well as my existing audience, is the first thing I think about. Which is why I don’t bombard my FB timeline with ten posts per day. It’s important to consider how FB (or any other site) works. Back-to-back posts don’t gain as much visibility as two posts spread thirty minutes (or more) apart. As you say, it can be tricky. I joke a lot about murder. My thoughts are, if someone is easily offended, then they probably won’t like my books anyway.
Did you see my FB post a while back where teenagers recreated scenes from MARRED? Anyway, some jerk called the girl’s pose sacrilegious, and then blasted me about being a bad Christian. I had to walk away before responding, because how we respond to comments is equally important. Whether we realize it or not, people watch how we handle bad situations. If we totally lose our cool, then we look no better than the troll. Turns out, I didn’t have to do much. My audience ran to my defense. Amazing! I’m often surprised and humbled by my social media family.
Sue-I’ve always been impressed with the way you use social media. And teens acting out scenes from your books!! What a compliment in so many ways.
But OMG deliver us from self-righteous, judgmental narcissists. They give every religion a bad name.
You were wise to let your peeps do the defending. Trolls just want you to feed them by reacting. It’s hard to resist the bait, but you’ll always be happy later if you do.
Great post. These are all good things to know so that when you begin interacting on social media and if you’re writing books, you want to project who you are in a way that won’t mess with the image you want of yourself as an author. I think authenticity is great but you don’t have to let everyone in the world know about every single thing that goes on in your life no matter what it is. Balance, balance, balance and honesty up to a point where you feel comfortable “revealing” and dealing with the ramifications of those revelations.
Thank you, Anne.
Patricia–Yes. It’s all about balance. And everybody has different needs in terms of privacy. The secret is to decide early on how much you need.
HI Anne.
I love how you distinguish your author persona from your brand. They are not the same.
Some of us are more comfortable sharing about ourselves online than others.
I am more reserved.
Thanks for the great advice as usual.
~Ingmar Albizu
Ingmar–A private person can keep up a certain persona and not reveal more than they’re comfortable with. I’m a bit “reserved” myself, so I don’t “let it all hang out” as we used to say in the 1970s.
Great post! I bookmarked this. I think it helps in setting a strong foundation for author branding as well
Jasveena–You’re right: persona and brand work hand in hand. (Uh-oh. Did I just make that rhyme? 🙂 )
Hello Anne.
I’m a very private person and I get anxious whenever I think of swopping my hot-air-balloon logo for a photo. I know that I’ll have to do this at some stage.
I don’t share private stuff and just hope that I’m not coming across as too impersonal or too bland.
Thank you for a wonderful post!
Michelle–You really don’t have to share that much private stuff. Most people don’t care. But they want you to be caring when interacting with THEM.
And you don’t really need to put your photo out there until you’re starting to publish or you’re agent-hunting. An agent will want to see your photo, and that shows you’re ready for a professional career..If you get a good one taken, you may feel better about displaying it. Think of it as a character in a play. “This is me playing “Ms. Successful Author.”
Anne, another great post! The to-do list was very useful, even for someone who has been at this a few years. Today’s publishing world is always evolving and it is good to be constantly thinking about how we are participating and projecting our author persona. Your comments about what we might NOT want to share is right on target and I wish I’d had that list a few weeks ago.
Writing mysteries set in Mexico inevitably means people think I should share opinions on immigration. In a phone interview a couple of weeks ago, a newspaper reporter started asking politically-charged questions until I said “those issues are not part of my narrative as a fiction author.” I wish I’d written down some better phrasing to have in my hip pocket but hadn’t read your post yet! It is worth going through your steps BEFORE the awkward interview questions! Many thanks.
Carmen–Oh, what a nightmare! It’s amazing how people try to trap you into some kind of conflict. It sounds as if you handled it just right. Isn’t it crazy that we live in a time when just setting a novel in another country can make people think you want to talk about politics? I try to keep my work politics free, but I do talk about homelessness, and it’s amazing how people want to argue with me about that. I try to do just what you did.
Spot on Anne!
Carmen–Thanks!
Excellent article, Anne. Thanks! Sharing and saving…
Bette–Thanks!
I’m so glad I read this post. Thank you Anne for the tips. I am coming out with a poetry book by June end and this post so helps me. It came to me at the right time.
Smitha–I’m so glad it helps. Best of luck with your book launch!
Thanks for this insightful and helpful post, Anne. What you said about being true to ourselves but not sharing too much about our problems and pain resonated with me. In seeking to be consistent and true to myself as a woman of faith, who has a painful past and has lived with chronic illness for over 25 years, I do tend to stray into personal storytelling mode now and then. But as my main objective is to encourage and point my readers towards hope, maybe sharing these things on my blogs and in my books (though often veiled in poetry) might not be such a bad thing. What do you think?
Joy–There’s nothing wrong with making your survivor status or your chronic illness a part of your persona. Just do it consciously and try to include some hope for fellow sufferers. The thing that turns people off is whining and helpless victimhood. But as I say, Rachel Thompson incorporates her survival of childhood abuse into her persona and offers hope to fellow survivors. It works great for her and her books are excellent tools for other survivors. Sounds like you’re doing it right!
Thanks, Anne! Yes, offering hope to others is so important. Readers definitely don’t want a misery-fest served up in a book or blog, unless it’s laced with inspiration and hope, and provides a way for them to grasp the potential of healing, recovery or tips on how to cope with the challenges being discussed. In making our words relevant to them we can strike a connection and build a supportive readership.
Thanks for this article as an author persona is not something I consciously think about. In reading your article, it seems that common sense, discretion and integrity are key.