Comments on: The Violent Truth of Branding

By: JulieF

JulieF — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:02:04 +0000

Well Bob, I called it a ‘lie’ in the conversation with her.

I feel that if you-or anyone else- participated in forums and made friends, it was lying. No matter how it is sugar coated. It’s not branding, it’s not ghostwriting, it isn’t even a pen name is some creates a life and promotes it online with the intent to deceive.I find it distasteful.

If, as you say, you were entirely professional and did not interact on what would be considered a personal level-that’s a different story. I think what my friend is having trouble understanding is that I see farther than the ‘brand’ and ‘ghostwriting’ here. I’m viewing it on the part of…

Let’s say a good friend of yours came out after 3 years and said they were someone else, that your ‘friend’ was just a character they put together? It would hurt. You’d be angry or sad, even if this person was online.

That’s IF the writer went outside of the professional bounds, mind you. That’s my whole point in the argument when I say/said I think it’s wrong and lying.

By: Bob Younce at the Writing Journey

Bob Younce at the Writing Journey — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:27:25 +0000

@JulieF – The pen name and the gender-switching that often accompanies it has a long history. I’m not demanding you should approve of it, just pointing out that it wasn’t my idea originally and that it is a mainstream and accepted practice.

How far did I *personally* take it? Not especially far. As far as the Bronte sisters did, or as far as they would have, had they had access to the Internet.

I wrote, I blogged, I did business. I participated in a couple of online discussion forums for moms. I didn’t make any “close friends” – it was almost entirely professional. I was certainly friendly, and interacted with some folks who would probably have considered me a friend.

So, I’ve told you my story – tell me about your argument with your friend, and how does my experience apply?

By: JulieF

JulieF — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:16:42 +0000

Bob,
I am trying to settle an argument with a friend. Just how personal did you get with this ‘brand’. Personally, I don’t think highly of what you did. NOT my business to condemn, but I’d like to find out if you actually made friends as this woman you pretended to be. How deeply did you get INTO the persona?

I’m a roleplayer, so I know just how real someone can become when they want to after years of RP practice.

By: A New Take on an Old Business | Business Tips for Writers

A New Take on an Old Business | Business Tips for Writers — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:13:55 +0000

[...] time writing as a work-at-home mom (that’s another story altogether, which you can read at Freelance Folder). I’ve done just about every time of freelance writing work since then, too. Since I picked [...]

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[...] is an amusing blog post on Freelance Folder by Bob Younce called “The Violent Truth of Branding” that lists the following violent truths about branding (which are slightly modified for you, my [...]

By: 05/29/2008 Writing Jobs and Links | PoeWar.com Writer's Resource Center

05/29/2008 Writing Jobs and Links | PoeWar.com Writer's Resource Center — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:10:15 +0000

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Wed, 28 May 2008 18:08:43 +0000

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By: Jacqueline

Jacqueline — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:15:10 +0000

While not a freelancer, I’ve just been giving branding some thought and this post was very helpful. You really can’t tell what will definitely work in advance, you’ve just got to go for it. I like that you brought out that even failures have the potential to move you closer to success – exponentially. As a Christian, I realize the power of truth and totally agree with what you say about “violent truth” and the power it contains. Great article!

By: Lois K

Lois K — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:54:20 +0000

Bob, I love the fact you didn’t let gender stand in the way of making a living. Kilt or not, if the writer be true to himself, let it be. I personally don’t care if you were an alien with little green antennae on your head, I would still look for and read your articles. Thank you for always writing good material first.

By: Susie

Susie — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:33:06 +0000

Very interesting post Bob, I am quite new to freelance writing, and have been thrown into it with no skills, so I research whatever it is I need to write about, and I ask alot of questions. I don’t even know if I have a branding style yet, thats yet to come. Your advice is going into my knowledge databank.

In answer to the question you put out there, if you had the knowledge, what is wrong with it. You are most likely not alone by any means in having done that. We never know who is truly on the other end of the computer.