Richard Chamberlin is a Genius

There are as many different camps on how to be a writer as there are…well…probably writers. Especially when it comes to the debate between author vs. brand. It’s not as MUCH of a hot topic as it was, but I was reminded of it, so I thought I’d write about it again.

Now, I don’t have anything against “branding” (as a marketing tool – the other kind, well, that’s a personal decision…) per se, but it’s not for me. And what’s brought this back to mind is a News From Me article that my husband sent me. Mark Evanier talks about his early influences and living next door to the doctor who was the technical consultant on Dr. Kildare.

Evanier met Richard Chamberlin who told Evanier when he said he wanted to write and looked at all kinds of stuff but settled on TV. Chamberlin said,

“You don’t have to pick one. I don’t consider myself a television actor. I’m an actor who is currently on television. I don’t neglect the other things I can do and you shouldn’t, either. It’ll make you a better writer of anything you do if you broaden your horizons. It also means there will be more places where you can work.”

And dude, this is totally how I view my writing. I am The Addam’s Family of storytelling. I’m creepy. I’m kooky – mysterious and spooky. I really am altogether ooky. And I LOVE that. Though I’m best known for my humor elements and some oddball stuff, I like mystery and the dark stuff, space opera, and all of it. Because there is so much to explore and learn from and experience.

I feel – and here’s where I might be totally missing the boat on the whole concept of brand – “branding” is a type of pigeon-holing, and I don’t want that. To me a “brand” is something where you pick up the item/story/etc and you know what it’s going to be. There’s a consistency. And that’s not a bad thing, but it’s not where I want to be right now.

I don’t mind doing a series – which is a type of brand – you know what you’re going to get with a “Redheads” book or a Dresden book or a Vorkosigan novel. But Dresden and Vorkosigan aren’t all there is to Jim Butcher or Lois McMaster Bujold. They do high fantasy. They DO other stuff. And that’s okay. And I want it to ALWAYS be okay – for them, for me, for anyone. I don’t ever want to get so caught up in “Brand” that I forget to be creative. I want to be a writer who’s currently doing THIS but tomorrow may be doing THAT or even THE OTHER THING. Because frankly, that’s where the fun lies.

Tags: Author, brand, branding, Writing