Thursday, May 3, 2012

Get Along Lil' Dogie




Many years ago in the wild, wild west of North America, the only kind of branding you would find would involve a dusty cowboy, a white-hot piece of metal and some poor unsuspecting steer.  It was a way to lay claim to what was yours and woe be to the man or beast that tried to take it from you.  Some brands were known the world over and stood for something...something honorable and it represented the integrity of the person behind the brand.




Branding today isn't very different.  We take the thing most important to us...ourselves...and put our brand on it.  We create out of thin air this entity that sometimes becomes greater than any one person and we present it to the world as worthy of ownership.  But what exactly does YOUR brand stand for?  Quality work ethic?  Integrity in your writing? Honest dealings with those around you?

It's pretty easy to create a brand in today's high tech society, but will it last?  That's the question we must ask ourselves when we are creating our "writer platform".  This is the part of branding we are presenting to the world and the foundation of who we are.  Let's make sure the brand we create is something others will want to be a part of...



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15 comments:

  1. Susan KaneMay 3, 2012 at 10:45 PM

    In this age of living with the consequences of anything put on-line, establishing a brand of excellence is so important! Good post.

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveMay 3, 2012 at 11:05 PM

      Hi Susan and welcome to my blog! I'm glad you like the post...it's how I have lived my life...I know no other way to be...;0)

      Fyi...I'm a new follower...lovely blog you have...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  2. jpMay 4, 2012 at 7:09 AM

    Hi Donna, just a quick thank you! I had thought about getting something in print but never really considered it to be anything other than a pipe-dream. After encouragement from yourself (and one or two others) I furtively submitted drafts from Boyhood to two publishers. Both have come back to me asking for the complete manuscript which I assume is a good sign.

    I'm not in print yet but now believe at some point I will be and it is due to the encouraging feedback I had. I don't really write for young children as it is sometimes hard to keep the harsh realities and cynicism out of what I write but I have had an idea which I am working on for your next Festival.

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    1. Donna L MartinMay 4, 2012 at 7:26 AM

      Oh my goodness, JP! I am absolutely THRILLED for you! Yes, that is a good sign when someone wants to see more of your work! Keep in mind it's YOUR story to tell and while publishers will make suggestions on what they want changed in a manuscript, that doesn't mean every change will be right for the story you want to tell. The first thing you want to do us actually finish writing that story...;-)

      I'm sending cyber HIGH FIVES to you for a having the courage to believe you have the ability to maybe influence someone's life through your writing...you already have mine!

      Doing the happy dance in your honor and yes you CAN do a children's story...just give yourself time to believe in yourself some more and it will come! Please let me know how things turn out with those inquiries...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    2. Think Positive, Be PositiveMay 4, 2012 at 1:16 PM

      I think it's always nice to know when something you've written touches someone else...it validates the writer's hard work...thanks, Janet, for letting JP know you are inspired by his writing...I too think he is a talented writer...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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    3. jpMay 4, 2012 at 11:58 PM

      LOL I wish somebody had told me all this a long time ago :D

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    4. Donna L MartinMay 26, 2012 at 4:37 AM

      It's never too late to pass along a kind word...especially when it's the truth...;-)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

      Delete
  3. S.A. LarsenッMay 4, 2012 at 8:09 AM

    These are great questions to ponder. It's always important for a writer to not only examine his/her work, but his/her intentions and the messages represented.

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveMay 4, 2012 at 1:20 PM

      Even before my martial arts training, I had integrity and an honest work ethic instilled in me...I can only hope I carry it over into my writing...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  4. janetMay 4, 2012 at 12:33 PM

    Donna, you and your blog has inspired me. And thank you for introducing me to JP and his blog!

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveMay 4, 2012 at 1:19 PM

      My pleasure, Janet. Thank you for your kind words. What a week it has been for me...first, one of my classrooms I read to made up a postcard where they are holding up the letters that spell out thank you, then JP with his kind words of thanks, and now you. I better watch out or I might get a swelled head from all this attention...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  5. nutschellMay 4, 2012 at 1:41 PM

    You do martial arts? Did I know this before? How awesome! I do martial arts too--the Filipino Marital Arts of escrima. I'm curious what you train in:)
    Happy weekend!
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveMay 4, 2012 at 3:36 PM

      Hi!

      I am a Fourth Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo and the Center Manager/Program Director of our school...been training 12 years...;0)...I know enough about escrima sticks to fill a thimble...lol...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  6. Hilary Melton-ButcherMay 5, 2012 at 4:11 AM

    Hi Donna .. great post .. branding is rather like selecting our domain name - we need to know what we're doing and where we're going .. gimmicky names may well not help in the long run. Cheers Hilary

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    1. Think Positive, Be PositiveMay 8, 2012 at 1:27 PM

      Hi Hilary! I FINALLY found out what was causing me to not see your comments on my posts...thanks to the lovely hacker I had a couple of weeks ago, you and a couple of other people were showing as "spam" and I actually couldn't find you until today! I'm so proud of myself...lol...I'm NOT a computer geek by any stretch of the imagination but having to self-teach as I continue to undo the damage...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time...hopefully I will actually SEE you from now on!

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