While I did go to school and get a degree in Media Technology and Graphic Design in Northern CA (Hartnell, Monterey County) I’m largely self taught. Most of my learning actually happened on the job, I got an internship at Marketing company almost right out of a high school, and they put me on every job possible as the assistant inhouse designer. I was there for a few years, then I had the luck of having friends who worked in entertainment, specifically in set design and fashion styling, I was able to learn lot from them about branding individuals and styling/designing concepts. That experience helped me land a job as a visual artist and merchandiser at Forever 21, Urban Outfitters and Macys before I started doing freelance design. I got to design floor displays and store graphics and create style directives for womens/juniors fashion. After that I worked for a video production/manufacturer as a marketing coordinator for 5 years designing branding and marketing campaigns while building my design business, so its mostly been 15 years of on the job training, I also try to get into professional workshops and study for certifications every year to help me stay updated on all the software and practices I’m constantly learning!

 What kind of degree(s) do you hold in these fields?

I have a degree in Graphic Design, and currently working towards a BA degree in New Media Marketing.

What part of the workshop are you looking forward to presenting most and why?

I really want to break down what branding and marketing is and how they are both easy to do at any scale. Indie authors wear so many hats, and sometimes the final piece of the puzzle, the marketing, gets convoluted because there’s no clear brand identity, nor is there a clear plan other than just to sell a book once its done. I want to share how authors can create longevity over their indie careers and grow as indie publishing grows so they can stay relevant.

What’s your biggest success story with an author?

Hmm…its a bit of a tough question…My measure of success is this: if I’ve stayed true to an author vision and a books story, then I have succeeded, lol. I don’t keep track of peoples book sales, though I know several have been in amazon bestseller lists. However, I do have a few books in mind that I had to pay special attention when creating the graphics and “brand” for I felt these were especially successful:

Tammy Blackwell THE TIMBER WOLVES TRILOGY

I rebranded Tammy’s first book, DESTINY BINDS and after that I was blessed that she chose me to do the rest she wanted her covers to be mysterious and unique so we worked together to create silhouette styled covers that weren’t photography based.

Heather Lyons THE COLLECTORS SOCIETY

Heather has an existing marketing plan that she was working on with her publicist so from her covers to her trailer, I needed to make sure I stayed within the guidelines of a something that felt magical and paid homage to fairytales, but was still easily recognizable as more adult. I designed the fonts and the series logo for her as well as the additional artwork I knew she would need for promotions.

Ty Drago THE UNDERTAKERS REBRAND

The Undertakers series moved to a new publisher so they needed the title branding and supplemental art to be updated, yet still similar to the original release of the series. I designed the title art and the jacket design to stay reminiscent of the original books, but still look fresh.

Currently I’m doing a branding case study with Eva Pohler. Alongside Indievisible.com, I am rebranding all her books and working on a new campaign that will enhance the amazing marketing that Eva already has in place. You can follow along on Eva’s blog or on the Indie-visible Blog on how I use the elements I’ll be sharing the the workshop to update her branding and streamline her marketing efforts its a long term branding project that I’m excited about because people will actually get to see how it works in real time.

Real measurable success happens overtime, while tweaking the branding and the marketing methods. Its not instantaneous. First having a plan of action and then revising accordingly is essential, and authors get overwhelmed and frustrated with figuring out how to do that. My workshop is specifically aimed at teaching authors how to execute a marketing plan and keep their branding consistent.

What does the Dream Like a Boss package include?

The DREAM LIKE A BOSS Giveaway (opening March 20) includes a full length trailer, book branding for up to 3 books, a 6 month marketing plan with all graphics included, An author logo Author website and consultations through out. It includes a planner that will itemize marketing goals, track progress and tasks, creating a design/plan for merchandising and so much more!

Why should authors take advantage of the workshop?

Consultations and packages for branding and marketing can get fairly expensive. Into the thousands of dollars range. Over several books you can’t afford to keep hiring someone or taking blind guesses. I designed the workshop to teach authors (In two hours) how to produce practical results like increased readership, visual consistency and yes, even better sales. The workshop basically offers indie authors a crash-course/guide that explicitly outlines what to, when to and how to market/brand each book release they have I’ve spent a year specifically designing the Indie Book Branding Blueprint and included FREE resources so that authors can feel like they are still in control of their whole publishing process and budget I’m just so excited to pass on what I know and what I’ve learned from working in marketing the workshop packs in so much in so little time, I think authors should take advantage of the fact they don’t have spend hours or even weeks hunting for all the answers!

So, so awesome!!!  Special thanks to Victoria for answering these questions!  Excited?

The workshop is available for just $80.00! The 2-Hour Intensive condenses 3 weeks of information from Whit&Ware’s Book Branding Blueprint Program (reg. $225).Purchasing the workshop also qualifies you for a %25 discount from the regular Blueprint program should you choose to enroll after UtopyaCon.

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More about Victoria Faye:

When I first imagined my brand and design company, Whit&Ware, I knew I wanted to partner with my clients to help them define and chase even their smallest dreams because I value the importance of having someone on your side who believes in you and can help bring those dreams to life through solid branding, marketing and design.

In my 10+ years as a designer and marketing professional, I have learned that when dreams are defined, they clearly communicate who you are, they attract believers in you and your brand, and ultimately, they help you thrive and inspire others.

As Whit&Ware, I am committed to helping every client define their dream for those purposes exactly. It’s why I so often ask – how do you want to dream out loud today?

For more information on Whit & Ware’s Book Branding Blueprint, please visit: http://main.whitandware.com/bookbrandingblueprintworkshop/ or http://main.whitandware.com/main/blog/

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Phrase part two: make the most

AND don’t forget to visit the other official utopYA bloggers this month for information on the other workshops, and the special event going on Friday evening.

Here’s the schedule:

Week 1 – Jo Michael’s Blog hosts C.J. Redwine’s discussion on her Query Letter Workshop
Week 3 – The Paisley Reader hosts Regina Wamba’s discussion on her workshop for graphic designers and photographers
Week 4 – Book Junkie: Not so Anonymous  will be talking about the special Friday night event, will have a list of Saturday signing authors, and will be giving away a spot at the signing

Special thanks to Jo Michael’s for coming up with such awesome questions for Victoria!