Showing posts with label branding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label branding. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

BLOG TOUR: Yvette Allen-Tatum

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

·         An Author, Teacher, Conference Host, Public Speaker, Encourager, Motivator, Ordained Minister of The Gospel, Radical for Christ, the list goes on ...

·         Married (10 years); this is a second marriage for both of us.  We have five children between us – All Girls; women actually since the youngest is 18.

·         I’m in the process of earning a Master of  Arts in Human Services – Executive Leadership from Liberty University.  I am also a graduate of Grace Christian College where I earned my Master's of Divinity and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology; and a graduate of the University of Richmond, where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a Concentration in Finance and a Minor in Leadership Studies.

·         I am the Founder of Surrounded By Faith Ministries, Inc.  Surrounded By Faith Ministries is a women's ministry ordained by God to transform the lives of women with the Word of God.  You can find out more about Surrounded By Faith Ministries by visiting us on the web at http://wwww.surroundedbyfaith.org.

·         To date, I have authored two books Welcome to my Morning Glory and I Didn't Know, taught numerous Bible Studies, have been a featured speaker at several conferences and hosted numerous ministry events; most notably The Throw Yo' Hands Up Conferences sponsored by Surrounded By Faith Ministries.

·         What began as a mandate from God to train and equip women in the ways of the Lord so they would become like the Proverbs 31 woman in the Bible, has expanded to a platform of child advocacy.  Actually, my spiritual focus has always been on the family unit – to receive and achieve spiritual wholeness.    First, targeting women – to strengthen them as the nurturing forces they were created to be; and now giving a voice to the voiceless – our children.



What type of jobs or careers have you worked in the past?

For the most part I’ve always worked in Corporate America in the capacity of an analyst.  I’ve always had a fascination with numbers


Who are your favorite authors?

That’s a good question.  Let’s see; I like Bee Bee More Campbell, Maya Angelou, Rick Joyner, Joyce Meyer and Juanita Bynum.



What are your favorite books?
 
Wow, I’ve never thought about this before and I can’t really say that I have a favorite book or books.  I remember buying a collection of books by Maya Angelou and how much I really enjoyed reading them.
I would say that I like a variety of books by various authors but I cannot recall all the names of the books; but to mention a few:  Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine, The Call, The Final Quest, The Five Love Languages, How To Enjoy Where You Are On The Way To Where You Are Going and The Threshing Floor.

I actually read in spurts and sometimes do not complete reading the entire book once I’ve gotten from it what I want/need.
 
 
Are you a full-time writer? If so, describe your day?
No, I’m not a full-time writer.  I write by inspiration.  I can usually go from concept to paper in just a few days; typically a weekend.  From there, it depends on the nature and the purpose of the book as to how many revisions and/or research is needs to be added to complete the book. 
 
 
 
 
 
Tell us about your journey to publication.

The journey of publishing my first book was simple and easy.  As I previously stated, I had written the book for myself not knowing that it was a book at the time.  In short, I did not set out write a book.  My second book was written intentionally.  I purposefully wanted to share my story and hopefully do my part to prevent it from happening to others.
Specifically, I wrote the book:

§  To expose the enemy (I believe this lessens his power)

§  To overcome the guilt & shame by being able to confront it head on

§  To encourage and educate others on how to identify, confront & overcome child sexual abuse

§  To set the captives FREE
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
When did you begin to realize you wanted to write?
Well, I’ve always written in some form or another and I believe that’s because I’ve always been a dreamer.  I enjoy journaling and writing plays.  I did not realize that I had the capacity to write for an audience until some of my school papers were reviewed for a counseling class.  From there I sat down one weekend and wrote my first book.  At the time I did not know it was a book because I was merely just getting/putting my thoughts and feelings on paper for me.  After my husband read it he said I should publish it.  From there I met with a publisher, who was also my husband’s publisher (he writes poetry), and I guess I can say the rest is history.
 
 
 
 
I DIDN’T KNOW VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR with YVETTE ALLEN- TATUM
Paperback: 110 pages
Publisher: Kingdom Publishing Group, Inc. (March 15, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0988312670/  ISBN-13: 978-0988312678
 
 
About The Book
“I Didn't Know" is for more than just an audience of one. If you look to your left, look to your right, or directly in the mirror, you will see or know someone who has been sexually abused... even if you look in the mirror, and the person is YOU! More than the tragedy of sexual abuse is the tragedy of the silence of sexual abuse. It must be talked about. Our stories have to be shared; someone's life is literally depending upon YOU to BREAK THE IGNORANCE OF SILENCE! "I Didn't Know" brings to the forefront the many hidden faces of child sexual abuse. The author, Yvette L. Allen-Tatum, shares not only her story, but the compelling testimonies of others--everyone from the actual victim, to the offender, to those who standby by in disbelief and allow these heinous crimes against our children to continue. Our voices have to be heard, our children must be free or freed to tell the TRUTH: that someone touched them. Who can they run to? Will it be you?
 
 
Connect with the Author
Twitter: Twitter.com/loosed03
Facebook: Facebook.com/Yvette.tatum
 Buy Links

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/om77u4q
Barnes & Nobles: http://tinyurl.com/ngowlaq
 
 



Monday, September 16, 2013

BRANDING by Author Brian W Smith

I'd like to share my thoughts on the sensitive topic of BRANDING. To be more specific - book covers. Please take a moment to read. I hope this helps someone.



My 14 year old son attempted to walk out of the house the other
day without allowing me to do my customary “sag check.” Wrong answer. I’m not new to this “daddy” thing so I peeped what he was trying to do and I stopped him before he could escape. Sure enough, his pants were a few inches lower than he knew I would authorize. As you might expect, he wasn't pleased with the lecture he received from me about the importance of presenting himself in a respectable way. But, I’m his father so he had no choice but to listen. Along with my customary “boy... you know I don’t play with you look”, I also explained to him that his image is his BRAND. I told him that while living in these suburbs he is being stereotyped and racially profiled every time he walks out that door. Perception often becomes reality; therefore, he needed to understand that when someone is looking to shoot him (figuratively speaking of course) he should never give that person the bullets. As I look around at the literary scene, I see a lot of young authors who would benefit from someone doing a literary “sag check” on them. Yes, it’s your novel, so you can use vulgarity in the title. Yes, it’s your novel, so you can put thugs holding glocks and stacks of money on the cover. Yes, it’s your book, so you can put a scantly clad female or male model on the cover. But understand this, if your novel gets dismissed as “porn on paper” or “hood ignorance”, and readers choose not to sit their prejudices to the side and give it a chance, it’s no one’s fault but your own. YOU chose to BRAND your work in that fashion. YOU chose to run the risk of being pre-judged and stereotyped in a negative manner. The outcome of your BRANDING choices start and stop with YOU. Just like my son can’t control public perception (and the subsequent public reaction) to his appearance, YOU as an author can’t control the way people perceive and treat your novel based on its appearance.


Moral to this story: Choose your BRAND wisely because once you get that literary tattoo, it takes a lot of time and money to have it removed.

Friday, August 2, 2013

GUEST POST: How Important is Branding to an Unpublished Author or Published Author? by MJ Kane

Good morning!

Today I have the opportunity to share a few branding tips with you. Some of you may have visited my blog and read the post I wrote where I shared a few of the things I’ve done to build my brand. One thing I can honestly say is that it is not a process that can be done in a matter of a few hours. Brand building takes time. For starters, you have to know what your brand is. Let’s get started!

1) Creating your brand as is an investment in you. It is a way to define yourself as a writer and distinguish you and your writing voice from other authors.
...
2) Your brand is more than just a picture used on a book cover or as the image on your FB or Twitter accounts. It is your public image. What is a public image? It is how readers perceive you. How do they do this? By formulating opinions about you based on what content you put online. You can ‘steer them in the right direction’ by monitoring that content. Your interactions with other authors and fans, opinions you share, as well as your accessibility are key. Think twice about commenting on political, religious, racial, or any other hot topics. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is entitled to their opinions and have the right to share them. But, is it possible that your personal opinions may offend a fan? The last thing any author wants to do after spending countless hours of writing, marketing, and promoting to build your fan base is to say the wrong thing in the heat of the moment and run fans away. I’ve seen one too many comments made by readers who vow to never support an author again because of a comment posted online. Another great example…Paula Dean…enough said.

3) Once you have decided how you want the public to view you, be that way at all times. If being easy to talk to is what you want, then be that way! Don’t ignore emails, Facebook PM’s, Twitter responses, etc. from fans who wish to connect with you. Once you decided to publish your book, you pretty much opened up a part of your life to your readers. If quiet and mysterious is the persona you wish to have, then again, be that way. But beware…readers these days prefer interaction with their favorite authors. Failure to do so can slow the growth of your fan base. You’d be surprised to find out just how much a few minutes of interaction with a fan can build a lifetime of support.

So, those are my Branding tips for today. Stop by next Friday morning when I will share a few more. If you haven’t read my blog, I am attaching the link. Until next time, have a great weekend and HAPPY BRANDING!!!

http://authormjkanebooks.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/how-important-is-branding-to-an-unpublished-author-or-published-author/