Have you ever gone into a bookstore in search of something that speaks to you? Damn the bestseller lists, the online recommendation algorithms or what your friends were reading. You were looking for your soul mate. You wandered over to your favorite genre and started picking up titles. You sampled a few pages in a handful of books. No sparks. No chemistry. Then, suddenly, you’re reading a book you can’t put down. There’s something about the unique rhythm of the writing or perhaps the way the characters converse or a strikingly vivid description of a place you know. Within a few paragraphs, you are lost, transported, enraptured. You buy the book and rush home to devour its contents.
That is the power of voice.
Finding your voice is perhaps the most difficult, soul-searching exercise you will undertake as an author. It requires fierce personal commitment, risk-taking and a lot of time…but it is central to your success. I wouldn’t presume to teach you how to find your voice. It’s not my area of expertise. I have, however, uncovered some valuable resources on the topic. Here’s a working definition from Wikipedia. It’s not perfect, but captures the essence of the concept:
The writer’s voice is the individual writing style of an author, a combination of idiotypical usage of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works). Voice can be thought of in terms of the uniqueness of a vocal voice machine. As a trumpet has a different voice than a tuba or a violin has a different voice than a cello, so the words of one author have a different sound than the words of another. One author may have a voice that is light and fast paced while another may have a dark voice.
Here are links to a few excellent blog posts on the subject of voice:
http://goinswriter.com/writing-voice/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/oct/18/how-to-write-fiction-meg-rosoff
http://theadventurouswriter.com/blogwriting/what-is-writers-voice-creative-writing-tips/
The message I want to convey in this blog post is this: not only is a unique, well-developed voice crucial for your writing, it is foundational for the development of a powerful author brand as well. Your books will always be the cornerstone of your personal brand message. But the voice in which you speak to your fans, the voice of your social conversations, the voice with which you share your stories with readers…this voice must also be completely authentic, completely you and must compliment the voice with which you write.
My advice to those of you who struggle with book promotion is stop thinking about the short-term goal of how to sell books. Instead, think long term about the power of voice. If you do the hard work to develop your voice as a writer, your personal brand will evolve organically from that exploration. The result will be authentic and the chemistry with readers will happen. So do the hard work to find your voice. Then, use it to build your audience.
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