Branded

Once upon a time I could write for several different publications without changing my byline. I could have a child-friendly story in a children's magazine and a violent or sexually explicit story in an adult publication the same month and not worry that the readership would overlap.

My how things have changed. Thanks to the Internet and all the search engines and social networking sites, readers can now discover the range of my work.

Unfortunately, a reader who enjoys my YA romance Just in Time for Love or my sweet romance Unbridled Love: A Romance With Horse Sense isn't likely to enjoy my hardboiled private eye novel All White Girls and is even less likely to enjoy the sexually explicit crime fiction in Sex, Violence & Half a Million Dollars.

In a world where branding is important, I've become over-branded, much like the tattooed lady at the carnival who becomes so covered with ink that no particular image stands out.

And, sadly, having "writer" as a brand just isn't specific enough.