23 January 2010

Who Am I Again?

Mood: Out of Sorts (a generic catch all for feeling all sorts of negative things: frustration, discontent, irritation, etc. for no real reason)

What I'm Watching: COPS (Dude. Don't run when the cop stops you. You're going to get caught and the cop is going to be really ticked you made him run. He has a tazer. This will not end well for you.)

Carol over at Carol's Prints recently posted a very insightful and thought provoking entry about branding and blogging. I started my blog because it sounded like a fun way to share everything from the randomly sarcastic thoughts that occasionally nearly constantly run through my mind to the adventures the hubs and I invariably have whenver we attempt to travel.

I never thought about "branding" myself because, really, who cares about me? (see, I'm not completely narcissistic). The most I ever hoped for was that someone might stumble on my blog and maybe find it mildly amusing. It never even entered my mind that my blog would eventually be connected to my writing world because, at the time, my writing world existed only in a very dark room at the very back corner of my mind (I kept it hidden behind high school algebra because, really, who's going to look there?).

Since that time I've connected with a wonderful bunch of writers through the interwebs (special thanks to the #amwriting/#amwritingparty crew over at Twitter and all the super cool writer's blogs that I follow) and have slowly brought my writerly self out into the bright sunlight of the real world. Now? Thanks to Carol's musings I realize that the parts of my personality that come across in my blog/tweets/general internet presence may ultimately used to define who I am. Eventually agents (I hope) and maybe even editors (fingers crossed) may Google my name and what they find here will, for them, represent "me". My brand.


To be honest, I'm not sure exactly what that means. Like Popeye, "I am who I am" and I think that tends to come through in my on-line world. Sometimes I'm snarky and sarcastic. Sometimes I'm stubborn and (obviously) easily irritated by general stupidity. Most of the time I've got a sense of humor about the world and, perhaps more important, about myself. Often I'm passionate, compassionate, kind and loving (I swear!). Occasionally, I'm all of these things at once (which makes life fun for the hubs, I assure you).

Since I generally believe in being who I am, for better or worse, I don't think that "crafting" a brand for myself is going to be a realistic option for me. So I guess my brand is just plain old me...flaws and all. The most I can hope for is that anyone who stumbles across my little corner of the interwebs will be able to take me for who I am. If not? Well, then I suppose that they probably weren't the agent, publisher, editor or internet stalker for me anyway.
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7 comments:

  1. Good for you! I know "branding" is always important for writers...but they cant expect us to be perfect (LOL). I mean, writers have opinions-- more than most "normal" people I've come across!

    Besides, I like reading your blog-- it makes me laugh. And that'll be your brand: "I'm Rhonda. Take it or leave it. Decide quickly though, commercial is almost over and this guy is about to get TA-AZZZED!"

    =D

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  2. Where I work it's all about "the Brand!" so I was very familiar with the concept.

    As a writer I have decided that my brand is close to what I really am. I mean people are going to read your books and if you project and image that does not seem like the person that wrote the books, your readers are going to call you fake.

    So I keep things professional, but not writing only. I talk about other things that interest me. Yet, the private side of me, I make sure I keep quiet.

    Just don't get caught up in making an image. Readers are smart, they'll figure you out quick.

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  3. I am what I am - I love popeye. I agree just be who you are. Thank you for visiting my blog and becoming a follower. I don't know what my brand is either, I just hope people can relate a little bit.

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  4. I love the way you expressed that "you are who you are". What more could we ever be asked to give than that?! You go girl! :-)

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  5. @Natalie: Girl, you made me laugh out loud there...I guess my on-line presence really does reflect who I am because that last line would totally be something I'd actually say..."hurry up because I want to see this guy get tazed!!" :)

    @M Brand is something that I'd never even considered but now that I have I tend to think you're right. As a writer my "voice" is very reflective of who I am as a person and if I present anything different it's definitely going ring false.

    @Mary: Popeye is a great teacher when you think about it. Be yourself, eat your vegetables (no matter how disgusting...spinach...*shudder*), etc. :) And obviously this "people" related because I started following your blog!!! :)

    @Shannon: Awww, thanks. :)

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  6. Heck yeah...you are who you are and that's absolutely right. I love your blog (so I think that means I luvs you, too). So you know, just keep doing your thing, doll. We'll keep coming back.

    Thank you, by the way, for the lovely mention. So very kind of you ;)

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