Why I Completely Rebranded My Author Business

When Reader Expectations Changed Everything

I normally don't talk about my struggles publicly, but I've been going through something that I feel is important to share.

This might help other authors in similar situations or explain the changes you've seen in my brand recently.

When Race Became the Focus

When I started my publishing journey on TikTok and released Night Shade, I began showing my face. Soon after, I received comments about the color of my FMC's skin—a Black woman—and my own skin tone, as I'm also part Black.

Initially, the comments were positive. People felt seen because the main character looked like them. I loved that.

But then came other comments.

People said they were only reading my books because the FMC was Black, POC, or BIPOC. Or they were only reading from me because I looked like a Black woman.

To some, that might sound supportive. It's not.

I write paranormal romance—contemporary mostly, but paranormal nonetheless. I advertise and promote my books as paranormal. Reading something solely because of someone's skin tone (fictional or not) isn't actual support. What happens when you don't like 700+ year-old vampires?

The Lane Problem

Soon after, TikTok exploded with people stating authors should "write in their lane"—if you're Black, you should only write Black characters, and writing white ones meant selling out. If you're white, you should only write white characters.

At first, I didn't think this would affect my books much. I figured since I'd shared information about book two (where neither character was Black, though one was POC), everything would be fine.

It was not.

To date, that book is still my worst-selling novel, even though it's better written. When it released, I received comments and emails telling me people wouldn't read it because it wasn't a BIPOC FMC or BWWM (Black woman/white man).

I thought it would eventually go away, but it hasn't. In fact, it's gotten worse. My third book has a Latin FMC with dark skin, and that book sells on par with my first, while my second still doesn't.

The Hard Truth

I don't think people understand how much that hurts.

They don't see the countless hours spent behind the scenes writing these books. And somehow, even in fictional worlds with vampires and magic, race remains an issue.

I'm not alone. I've asked several times in different author business groups, and others have experienced the exact same thing.

Making the Hard Decision

Recently, I received a critique from five different incredible authors about my whole author brand. Their advice? Remove all traces of race from my author brand.

Change my logo to just text. Change my book covers. Remove my books from the Interracial/Multicultural Romance genre—even though they are—because it was causing too much chaos.

And the sad thing? They're right.

We read books to escape, to remove ourselves from this world and enjoy someone else's story. But some things don't change. People have preferences, and regardless of what I've done, how well I've done it, or the effort I've put into it, all of that is mute against someone's preferences.

Moving Forward

This realization brought me down considerably. But I knew I wouldn't stay there forever.

I've made all the changes that were advised to me. I cannot and will not continue fighting a battle I won't win on my own.

Here's what's changed so far:

• My logo (which I'm obsessed with)
• My book covers for Chronicles of The Otherworld
• My overall branding approach

Remember This

For anyone reading this, remember you're enough. You don't have to be everyone's cup of tea. You don't have to conform to everything.

You get to choose how to resolve things you don't like in your life.

For me, after dealing with this for more than a year, that means changing my covers, blurbs, genres, etc. But I'll never take down my books, change anyone's skin color, or remove myself from publishing.

I love what I do, even if others don't like how I do it. That's my compromise—that's me prioritizing my peace right now.

I urge you to do the same whenever you need to.