Building a Franchise

Platforms, branding, franchise, fans, discoverability. There are many words bandied about that all represent the same thing: how does an author build a base of loyal readers. Forbes recently published an article by David Vinjamuri  titled: The Strongest Brand In Publishing Is ... The premise of the article is that brand is more important than platform. He argues that if platform was key, celebrity books would all be successful. One of his interesting observations is that consumers are willing to pay a 66% premium for a book by a favorite author over an unknown author. This means favorite authors sell more books at a higher price. It does seem that brand loyalty is more important than a social media platform.

So, how do you build a literary brand? Although not called out specifically by Vinjamuri , it appears that characterization is the most crucial element. Granted, authors need to know how to write and tell a good story, but readers develop the greatest loyalty to a character. A good character draws readers back to an author faster than fame, storytelling, or exceptional writing skill.

The strongest brand in the most recent Codex survey is Jack Reacher, who is a character created by Lee Child. Reacher is completely different from the stereotypical thriller hero. Jack Reacher novels have sold over 70 million copies, making Child comfortable enough to buy a Boeing product. Vinjamuri writes, “Child carries a higher percentage of his readers with him to each successive book than any other bestselling author.”

If you’re interested in finding out how Child accomplished this, get it from the horse’s mouth. In Vinjamuri’s article, Child gives three perceptive reasons why Reacher has strong brand loyalty.

Now, if I can just get Steve Dancy an introduction to Jack Reacher, all will be right in the world.

The Lone Ranger—Hi-Yo Silver Away!

The Lone Ranger has ginned up a lot of controversy. It’s not a homage to the 1950s television series, nor should it be. Reinvigorating the Western genre means appealing to younger generations. Other than costumes, do the Batman films have anything to do with the television series? Well, in the Lone Ranger, they even ditched the costumes. Thank goodness, because a masked man in a form-fitting white outfit made as much sense on the range as Roy Roger’s blinged cowboy shirts. The movie appropriately retained only the symbolic white hat.

Purists criticize the film for enlarging the role of Tonto over the Lone Ranger. I disagree. The television series and the film are buddy stories and good buddy stories need parity between the partners. The film comes closer in this regard than the old Clayton Moore/Jay Silverheels series. To me, this had more of the flavor of the Lethal Weapon series—a bomance disguised with irreverent bantering.

Bottom line: I liked The Lone Ranger. I laughed out loud, which is rare for me inside of a movie theater. I was dazzled by some of the cinematography, and loved the score. The characters were different than I expected, but struck me as fresh. The plot follows the standard story line of a wronged protagonist reluctant to accept the mantle of hero. That’s behind us now, so from this point forward, it’s Hi-Yo Silver Away!

If you’re interested in some other perspectives, take a gander at these:

Forbes: Review: 'The Lone Ranger' Is A Fun Summer Ride

Salon: “The Lone Ranger”: Rip-roaring adventure meets dark political parable

Henry’s Western Round-up

NPR: The Lone Ranger: Justice from Outside the Law

Western Fictioneers: Who was that Masked Man?