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Men With Pens is one of the top copywriting sites on the web, and James Chartrand is well known on the small business and internet marketing blogs. Today I'm excited to talk to her about writing under a pseudonym, website design, branding and copywriting.
In the introduction, I talk about my current fiction rebranding for JFPenn.com: Ancient Mystery, Modern Thrill and tell you a bit about my protagonist Morgan Sierra as I have been challenged by a listener to reveal a little more. The interview starts at 10:30 mins in if you want to skip the intro section.
James Chartrand is the founder of Men With Pens, creating world class websites and copywriting that will bring you business results.
- James Chartrand is a pseudonym. James explains how the business copywriting world favored men. Women were earning the leat and men were running the companies. She also wanted some anonymity. She found it was refreshing to work ‘as a man' since people treated her with respect. Even bidding on the same jobs as a man vs a woman, she noticed the difference in the way she was treated as well as the rates she could charge. The credibility in using a man's name was immediate. As soon as she started to use James, her business improved. Men With Pens is also a masculine-styled site so the branding is consistent. It suits James' personality but is also a business-focused site. For the full story, check out this post on Copyblogger.
- On authenticity when using a pseudonym. A name is just a label you give to something. The personality can remain constant but the name can be whatever is it. The person behind James is the same so the authenticity isn't a problem. On changing my author name to J.F.Penn – read this post to find out my own full story. James and I discuss the personal attacks we have experienced from women who were angry at our decisions. The men didn't care and moved on to business and results. But James wants to change the perception – it's about being a businessperson first. Gender shouldn't matter these days but unfortunately, it still does.
- Brilliant website design and why it's so important for authors. James mentions some of her favorite authors who have ugly and terrible websites. BUT if the author is established, it doesn't matter. New authors don't have this luxury. We have to stand out in the market. We have competition. The author website is a way to connect. It's critical to make a good impression and a personal connection. You can only do this through your web presence and social media. Bring them back to reading your work, so they will read your books, enjoy them and tell their friends. Chris Guillebeau, author of the recent $100 Startup tells how it was easy for him to get a book deal as he had an established platform online.
- Website mistakes. A bad choice of colors can kill first impressions. The first thing James notices is the color blend on a site. Looking alive and that someone is there and active can give the impression that the author is doing well. You can create a “bigger” impression than where you are right now. There are a lot of color associations people make. James goes further into Color Psychology which fascinates me. Perception and mood are critical. Colors have to reflect you and the brand you're trying to evoke. A mystery might be greys and blacks, whereas a go-getting kickass non-fiction book might be red and modern white. People will judge you on first impressions so you have to get this right. (This discussion is part of why I have gone with a grey, black & white palette with JFPenn.com)
- A mistake is believing that the book will speak for itself. So the author doesn't explain anything – about themselves, the book or where it sells. The book can't sell itself. You need to provide information. Why does this book matter? Why should they read it? Treat the book like a business.
- If you have several different books, think about branding yourself. You might have wildly different types of book so focus on you as the author. The first impressions of your site will influence how “important” people think you are. You can make yourself look a lot “bigger” than you are online by a great design. How you dress your online presence makes a huge difference. Don't lie but do play up your best qualities so people can get a good impression.
- On copywriting. Fiction is about story and entertaining. Copywriting is about selling a message. It might not be for money, but it is meant to evoke action of a specific kind. It's about influencing people through words and uses sales and marketing techniques. Influence is not about being a scammy online marketer. It can be done in a professional and authentic way. It should make people feel comfortable. Your back blurb is a Product Description. This is the realm of sales copy. It is copywriting as you want people to take action and actually buy your book. For more info on copywriting, check out James' Men With Pens blog and also Copyblogger.com Copywriting 101 tutorial
- On writing fiction. James has been writing fiction for years and was originally in role-playing games. James thinks that fiction writers are great copywriters. She mentions Johnny B. Truant who was on the last podcast.
You can find James at MenWithPens.ca and on twitter @menwithpens
I love the Men With Pens site. It always offers some great content
I was surprised when I learned James was a woman, but it rally doesn’t matter. It’s sad this divide still exists, and hopefully, in time, it will fall. It is still there, though, and a large part about building a Brand is finding as many ways to leverage as possible. Finding that balance between what you offer and what other people want is a big deal.
In this case, all that was needed was a simple name change. Is there anything wrong with this?
And totally agree about the websites of authors. Some of my faves, if they have one, are awful. So sad and infuriating
Matthew (Turndog Millionaire)
Backatcha, Matthew – it’s great to have you as a regular at MwP.
For the sad part… it was. It still is. But the reaction I usually have most of all is just wondering why people in my field get so up in arms about it. It’s been so common to use a pseudonym in the author world, and for centuries!
Fascinating interview. Thanks, Joanna and James. Given my own weird name, I’ve long been interested in the subject of names (an interest often interspersed with exasperated questions to my mother along the lines “What were you thinking?!!”). I quite like it now, though, as it’s more notable for its weirdness than for gender!
Your observations on websites are very timely. I’m in the midst of revamping my site, so will take your recommendations into account!
Coming from Quebec, where French rules, I think your name is awesome – and grinned when I thought of the reactions it must get you. “No, not where you live. Your name?”
Such a brilliant site with so much useful content. Thanks for taking the trouble to do it. BWs.
No trouble at all – interviews like these are a lot of fun!
What a cool post this is. My first time hearing of James or Men with Pens but I’m supremely impressed and I have nothing but respect for her and her venture. The world could use more strong women like this. Bravo
Aw, thanks, Katie! Glad you enjoyed the interview.
Hi Joanna and James, thanks so much for working together on this podcast! I’ve been a long time fan of both your works, and many issues that you discussed today, especially the “anger” that some women show towards the pen name issue, truly resonated with me. I’m a newbie on the circuit, and a chick writing under a penname (I’ve gotten some interesting feedback as my website is quite cutesy, lol!), so I really love when this issue comes up. The higher level of respect you received, the acceptance of your rates, and how those things changed along with the changing of your pen name was powerful. It’s a very real reality and hard decisions have to be made to ensure the success of your business endeavors; I salute the both of you for doing so. And also, don’t worry about the angry haters out there… I think that many people see the world in terms of how it “should” be, rather than in terms of how it actually “is”, which in certain situations can be the kiss of death for business. I don’t think it’s necessary to sacrifice the success of your businesses at the altar of the obligation to appease others’ moral leanings. Part of being a strong, successful, and savvy woman is knowing how to play the game… you two ladies have clearly got the game on lock. Bravo. 🙂
Thanks Colby – and thanks for your ongoing support of our sites. It is a bit of a game out here but I think playing it with authenticity is the key – whatever name you use!
It really is sad that people think that women are less able and therefore should be paid less to write. At least I assume that’s why they want to pay women less. Of course, it’s very ironic that the best sellers of recent times have been from women – Twilight, The Hunger Games, Fifty Shades Of Grey and of course, Harry Potter. As I keep telling people: It’s the 21st Century, move with the times or become irrelevant in your 50s timewarp.
I completely agree with you on that one, sir. I guess in some ways people will never let go of some stereotypes like women not being good writers or business.
Hopefully times will change for the better but right now men seem to dominate the idea of being authentic.
Thanks for the post Joanna and “James”. 🙂
Joanna, I SWEAR we are cosmetically connected. I haven’t listened to your blog in a couple weeks and decided on Tuesday of this week to create a website. The site I was using was my blog but I thought fiction readers didn’t really care about my “Daniel Fast,” “I Love Michelle Obama,” “Self Publising Gems,” posts. Even though I find them fascinating cause they are my thoughts, readers want to know more about my protaganist, Alcatraz, and less about my random (and they are random) thoughts.
So I visited wix.com and created a free website solely dedicated to the purpose of revealing Alcatraz. I gravitated towards different shades of grey and black for the site and I am madly in love with it. Now I am listening to you talk to Men with Pens on color scheme and author branding and I’m just like “OMG! Really? I am on the right track!” LOLOLOL. So now I have my book series as my website and my name as my blog. Anyhoo, keep up the wonderful interviews I am so being blessed by your work!
Hi Aleshia, I’ve had several emails on the color psychology aspect of the discussion so brilliant that it was useful for you too! I have also used the grey/black and white spectrum for my new site. It’s great to be in love with our work 🙂
Absolutely awesome podcast… After 10 years in investment banking (95% populated by men!), I can testify that, unfortunately, women are still discriminated and not taken as seriously as men. That’s the sad truth and it does make me angry. As far as changing your name to switch gender, well, we (women) all have a part of man in us. I guess if you write some genre (like thrillers), you can use that influence. If some women have a problem with that, well, tough… I write romance and I think the genre would have A LOT to gain if more men were writing it.
Thanks Marion and I understand that about banking. I worked in IT for 13 years and it was predominantly male, especially those women who had stuck around more than 10 years since many leave to have kids. I also worked with men from different cultures who had a very different view of what women were about. I still consider the initials to be more gender neutral than male, so we shall see!
Excellent and fascinating interview – thank you so much for taking the time to put it together.
For an added bonus, James and I are both featured in an article on Forbes.com about gender in publishing – fantastic!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/worldviews/2012/06/08/creative-penning-how-women-write-in-todays-male-dominated-genres/
congratulations! Next to JK Rowling…
yes, very cool – plus a link to my book as well! I shall watch the sales spike (with hope!)
Okay, I’ll try again after internet has kicked me out more than once. I loved this podcast: its content and its message. I recognized ‘James’ as Canadian long before the end by her accent (Until now I did not believe we had an accent) and I am proud of her achievements.
Unfortunately, the truth is that de-sexing names allows more readers, especially in your thrillers. I learned a lot and this is a reason I look forward to your posts. Thanks.
I know of an author who had to withdraw a piece when a male editor insisted on publishing her full name–he was a proud feminist and didn’t approve of women hiding behind pseudonyms or initials.
No amount of logic would make him see that (a) taking the choice away from her, (b) making the choice for her because he thought he knew better, and (c) taking away a choice he wouldn’t take away from a man, added up to an action that was not at all feminist or pro-woman.