One of my romance pen names
is known for having a light tone
with a certain heat level.
My agent came to me
with a project.
It required me to write
under this pen name
with a different heat level.
That wasn’t that big
of a compromise, was it?
I drafted a proposal for the project.
I wasn’t excited about it.
I knew in my gut
I was messing with my brand
but the project was too good
to walk away from.
The agent then came to me
with more feedback.
The publisher wanted a darker tone.
That wasn’t that big
of a compromise, was it?
Of course, it was.
The FIRST compromise was too big.
I walked away from the project.
(and promptly was offered a different project)
Your brand HAS to stand for something
or you don’t truly have a brand.
Don’t compromise on this something.