Building an author brand that doesn’t feel like a costume: part one

Most of us became writers because we wanted to hide. We wanted to stay safely tucked behind the keyboard, letting our prose speak for us while we remained comfortably invisible.

But then we finish a manuscript and realize the industry has changed. The word “platform” starts appearing in every query guide and agent blog. Suddenly, we’re told we need to be marketers, influencers, and “brands.”

For a long time, that felt like being asked to put on a costume that didn’t fit. I didn’t want to be “salesy.” I didn’t want to shout into the void of social media. But I’ve recently realized that branding doesn’t have to be a mask—it can be a mirror.

Why I chose my name over a company name

When I first started thinking about my online presence, my instinct was to hide behind a business name. It felt safer, more professional, and less… vulnerable. But as a Life Transition Coach for over 20 years, I know that people don’t connect with logos—they connect with souls.

I decided to lead with Carol Despeaux Fawcett rather than a generic company title because my writing is deeply personal. If I want readers to trust me with their time and emotions, I have to show up as myself—”Gaga” to my two precious grandsons, poet, Airbnb hostess, entrepreneur, and recovering “divine janitor” included.

Finding your “stars and soil”

The breakthrough for me came when I stopped trying to look like a “professional author” and started looking at what I actually loved. For my book, and for my life, that theme is “stars and soil.” It’s the intersection of the celestial and the grounded.

But it’s also something more: It’s a recognition that magic is actually real.

We often think of magic as something confined to the pages of an urban fantasy novel or a supernatural movie. We relegate it to the “stars.” But I’ve learned that magic isn’t just “made up” fantasy. It is woven into the very “soil” of our daily lives. Whether it’s the way a garden heals a broken heart or the synchronous moment a story idea clicks during a walk, we can create magic every day if we’re simply open to it. Once I leaned into that truth, the branding stopped feeling like a costume and started feeling like home.

The power of authenticity over “aesthetic”

I used a gorgeous photo my son took of the local mountains and water as a background for a recent pitch event. It wasn’t just a graphic—it was a vibe. Because it came from our life, it carried a weight and a personal history that a stock photo never could.

This authenticity goes deeper than just photography. For many years, I ran a part-time energy medicine practice where the “miraculous” was a recurring part of my work week. While I’ve moved on from that business, I haven’t moved on from the energy itself. I still lean into that “knowing” every single day.

I’ve realized that I don’t have to keep my past as an energy worker in one box and my future as an author in another. In my current manuscript, my protagonist navigates the world in much the same way I do—tuning into the unseen and trusting the magic that lives just beneath the surface.

When you build your brand out of the magic you find in your actual life—your own history, your specific interests, your unique “vibe”—you don’t have to “try” to be consistent. You don’t have to worry about staying “on brand.” You just have to be you. You are bringing the real parts of yourself into your stories, and now, into your marketing.

Journal prompts for finding your authentic brand

Before I share the practical “how-to” in the next post, take a moment to look at your own creative landscape. Grab a notebook and ask yourself these three questions:

1. What is your “recurring miracle”? Think about your life outside of writing—like my experience with energy medicine. What is a specific skill, interest, or “knowing” you have that naturally finds its way into your characters or your world-building?
2. If your manuscript were a photo, what would be in the frame? Forget stock images for a second. If you had to represent your story using only things from your own backyard, your own bookshelves, or your own history, what would they be? This is your “soil.”
3. Where are you still hiding behind a “costume”? Look at your current social media or website. Does it feel like a professional mask you’re putting on, or does it feel like a window into who you are? What is one “safe” business choice you’re ready to trade for an “authentic” human choice?

I’d love to hear below any “juice” or ideas you get from the prompts.