Key Elements Of A Successful Author Logo

Branding is crucial for all companies across all industries.

You might wonder why is branding important to an author (especially when branding is so corporate)?

Well, it’s true that you’re not a multinational corporation. Instead, you might be a one-man army if you’re an indie author like me.

However, you’re similar in that you’re both selling something (companies sell products or services while authors like you sell books). Branding helps you package yourself and create an image. It’s how you present your books to readers and yourself as a writer. This is key to marketing your books.

Today, we’ll explore the various components of an author logo.

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Image

A logo usually includes an image that represents your business.

Here are some common images that show that you’re an author who writes books

• Feather quill
• Pen
• Pencil
• Fountain pen
• Book
• Typewriter

You could also use images that are related to the genres that you frequently write about

• Heart: love, romance
• Blood: paranormal
• Spaceship: sci-fi

Or you could use images related to your characters

• Man or woman
• Hot guy (if you usually have Alpha Males in your stories~)

Photo by Roman Pohorecki on Pexels

Tagline

A tagline tells your readers the type of books you write and what they can expect from your stories. It’s also short and memorable. Hence, do put a lot of thought into crafting your tagline.

You can mention genres in your tagline. But this isn’t mandatory, unless you always write books in this genre.

Right now, I include “paranormal romance” in my tagline but I might choose to remove it in the future when I write books in other genres.

If you write books in multiple genres using the same pen name, you’ll need to find the common element in your stories. This could be characters, settings or feelings that your readers experience while reading your books.

Consider making a list of taglines and asking your readers which tagline resonates with them most. Also, ask readers who have never read your books if they can guess the type of stories you write.

Bear in mind that your tagline is not set in stone. You can change it as your writing evolves~

Source: Copywriting Course

Color

Your author logo should have a theme or main color. This color will evoke certain emotions in your readers and hint at the genres you write.

• Red: romance, passion, love
• Green, Blue: fantasy, magic, sci-fi
• Dark colors like black & gray: mystery, thriller, dysopian
• Bright colors like yellow & orange: happiness, fairytale ending

Do explore and see which color resonates with you most. You can choose a few colors too. There are various color schemes such as

• Monochromatic: one color but different shades
• Analogous: colors next to each other on the color wheel
• Complementary: colors opposite each other on the color wheel

The key is to select your colors carefully and ensure that they get your brand message across.

Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán on Pexels

Font

Just like how you choose certain fonts for your books depending on the genre, you’ll need to carefully select the font for your logo.

• Serif: font with small lines attached to the end of strokes in a letter
• Sans-Serif: font without small lines attached to the end of strokes in a letter
• Script: font with loops and flourishes

You might choose the polished and classic Serif, the modern and minimalist Sans-Serif or the artistic Script that captures the beauty of calligraphy.

Different fonts communicate different impressions and have their own individual personalities. Therefore, you need to choose a font that resonates with your brand.

You should use no more than 2 to 3 fonts in your logo. Perhaps, one font for your author name and another font for your tagline.

Check out my blog post on how to choose the perfect font~

Photo by Free-Photos on Pixabay

Bonus Tip: Look At Logos & Taglines Of Other Authors

A great source of inspiration is looking at the logos and taglines of other authors. By learning from these author branding examples, you can figure out what you like and don’t like.

You can simply list down the logos and taglines of other authors then add your own remarks. Do mention what you like or not like about it, how the logo or tagline makes you feel.

I’ll start with my logo and tagline. My tagline includes the genre I write which is paranormal romance. This is also reinforced by the heart in my logo which represents romance. But if you look carefully, you’ll notice that the heart is bleeding which symbolizes the tragic ending of my stories (which is also highlighted in my tagline). The red, pink, purple colors are again associated with the paranormal romance genre. My name uses script font which is elegant and beautiful. I think it’s very suitable for a romance author. Check out my author branding experience, including how I overcame obstacles and the logo design process.

I’m happy with my logo and tagline. But I hope that my tagline will grow from being descriptive to aspirational. Right now, a descriptive tagline works better because I’m still an unknown writer. Readers can immediately tell that I write paranormal romance. However, I might change the tagline if I write other genres. Or even make the tagline more aspirational when more readers know me 😀

Bonus Tip: Hire A Logo Designer

If you just started writing, I recommend that you hire a logo designer from Fiverr or Fiverr Pro. Or you can create a professional logo in a few clicks with Fiverr Logo Maker. The prices are affordable so you can save some money and use it on other important things like your book cover design or editor. You can always hire a better logo designer when you start making a profit from your books.

The most important thing right now would be a good book actually. I’m not sure about you but I tend to research more about the author if I love his or her book. Hence, I recommend that you focus most of your efforts on writing a good book.

However, you should also spend a bit of time on your first logo. Your first logo, which probably isn’t the best, would nevertheless be the first impression to your readers. It should at least look decent (and not amateurishly created with Paint).

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels

Now It’s Your Turn

What is the inspiration behind your author logo and tagline? How was your branding journey? Do you have any branding tips that you would like to share with fellow authors?