I haven’t written anything in a while, mostly because I’ve been so busy and I haven’t had a chance to write a single word for any of my three “in progress” novels, or my short story based off of something that happened to me recently. That one is nothing too serious, and in fact, reflect’s the style that Chelsea Handler uses in most of her memoir style books. If I told you what it was about, it would spoil the humor, so I’ll keep my lips zipped on that one until (if) I choose to publish it here.
Lately I’ve been reading a lot of articles that I find on twitter about author personas and branding, which has brought up somewhat of a dilemma for me. Clearly, I already have a website and twitter with my name (which weren’t already taken, luckily). So what’s the problem? Drumroll…
I’m not sure if I want to publish under Lily Paradis.
Why? Because no one can pronounce it. If you’re French, or if you’ve taken even the smallest amount of French, then you’ll know how it’s supposed to be said. Otherwise, I get people calling me “Lily Paradise” (or something far less elegant) and thinking that I’m some kind of fruity alcohol brand, or worse. There’s also a lingerie company with the same name as me, only spelled slightly differently, and I’m not sure if that’s the kind of thing I want to be confused with.
Sure, it’s a unique name, one that has domains and things available because no one else has apparently tried to make a twitter or a website out of it. I need something that’s memorable, but something that people can say out loud if they’re talking to me, introducing me to others in public, etc.
Obviously, I imagine myself on the Today Show talking about my book, but that’s because I’m obsessed with the Today Show and I like to dream big. So, clearly, I don’t really want Matt or Savannah, or Hoda and Kathie Lee trying to butcher my name on my big day.
Another thing is my signature:
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It’s pretty terrible. No matter how many times I try and perfect it, for some reason it always ends out looking sloppy. I wish I could just carry a stamp around with me and stamp my signature via a cute font on everything a la the middle ages, but I’m not sure that’s entirely legal. Again, I’m imagining book signings and having my OCD kick in about all of my signatures.
It looks much better here:
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Simply by cutting off my complicated last name and swapping it for my middle, everything makes much more sense, and my OCD is much happier. The y’s are kind of bothering me, but overall it reminds me of a Lilly Pulitzer font, which is a great thing. I’ve had people ask me why I don’t just do Lily R. Paradis, or L.R. Paradis, but that still brings up the problem of my last name. Also, the signature there would take far too long and end up looking all scribbly and weird, and this doesn’t even look very good:
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This entire post should probably be added to my “How to Write a Novel” via procrastination post, because instead of writing my actual books or even updating my blog, I’m sitting in class practicing my signature and dreaming about New York when I should be paying attention to whatever my professor is saying about Mesopotamia. I know it’s incredibly vain to care this much about signatures and branding, but I think it’s important to choose before I publish whether it all should be done as Lily Ray or Lily Paradis. It’s still sort of late in the game to change things, but better now than three books in, right?
Lily Ray just sounds so whimsical and pretty, and for some reason it just feels more right than Lily Paradis does for publishing, even if it is more unique.
Have you ever considered publishing under something different? How did you choose? Also, if you like one version of my name better than the other, or think that it would be better for business, please weigh in! Be brutal, if necessary. Clearly, I need all the help I can get in this department since I’m completely indecisive!
Side notes:
1. Since I missed Music Monday last week, and I’m missing it again today, click here to listen to one of my favorite songs of all time, which seems especially appropriate for today’s post.
2. They are announcing who will be playing Caleb in the new Significance movie (based on the bestselling book by Shelly Crane) that I posted about a couple of weeks ago this morning! By the time this posts, they will have revealed it, so check it out here! I’m especially excited, considering I already know who he is, and I get to have lunch with both him and Cara Calderaio on set!
3. I did my signatures as shown above on this really cool iPad app that I recently downloaded for writing and taking notes, I’ll do a review soon!
Happy Monday!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
