I (Am Trying To) Live In a Yellow Submarine

And some author branding advice from Brandon Sanderson.

Last year at my favorite writing conference, I went to a class where Brandon Sanderson talked about branding, marketing, and the absolutely explosive record breaking success of his kickstarter. While fully acknowleding his own privelege and, in his words, “survivorship bias,” he gave us all the tips he possibly could, and said something that really clicked.

He said that part of the reason the kickstarter worked so well is because he has been deliberate about making “prolific” a part of his authorial brand, which meant that secretly writing four massive fantasy novels during the pandemic was basically the most on brand thing he could have done. It absolutely delighted and made sense to his audience. It worked.

(He also said that he doesn’t feel particularly prolific, but his main competition is George R. R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss, so…)

The reason this clicked for me is because it brought branding into the realm of personality, values, and theme, as opposed to something like genre, characters, or format. I want to write all the genres! All the age categories! All the formats! So the only real connective tissue is…me, I guess? Which feels weird? (But after taking

Russell Nohelty

Marketing Ecosystem test and seeing that I’m a Forest means it’s not that weird).

Maybe this wouldn’t have been such a revolutionary concept to someone else, but it was to me. The idea that I could build something based not on narrowing the projects I wanted to do, but on the voice and values those projects already had in common, was really refreshing and freeing. And of course it got me thinking—what do all the things I write have in common?

Enter, the yellow submarine.

I realized that everything I’ve written and want to write has a very important thing in common: they’re all about Joy.

Specifically, the kind of Joy that sometimes only comes after digging through layers and layers of hard. The kind of Joy that surprises you, and lives in the most unexpected places.

The kind of Joy, one might say, that is a bit like trying to make a life in a happy yellow submarine while navigating depths of hard, daunting, dreary, nighttime blue. I could easily argue that this is sort of the theme of everything I’ve ever written.

And like any theme or values system, this gets pushback. There is a lot of often very valid talk about rose colored glasses and toxic positivity. But that’s not exactly what I’m talking about here. I don’t think Yellow Submarining* is pushing things under the rug, or refusing to acknowledge problems and difficulty. I think it’s refusing to give in to despair in the very face of those difficulties. It’s believing that there is light and oxygen, somewhere, even when it’s feeling hard to see and hard to breathe. It’s the opposite of nihilism, and the hill I will always die on.

All of us have themes and worldviews that come naturally to us, that we believe in fiercely, and this just happens to be mine. Building a platform/brand on this theme could very well sound utterly exhausting to someone else, and that’s totally fine! This is my theme anyway and you can’t take it ;)

Just kidding…but for reals, my point is that if the thought of building your creative brand (whatever the heck that really means) on something more like value and theme feels freeing to you, then go forth! And I’d love to know what your core theme is. What’s the value hill you will always die on?

And my other point is…the color YELLOW is awesome!

10 Yays for Yellow!

1. The Recording Studio

Of course we have to start with the song itself…written mostly by Paul McCartney plus some Lennon, for Ringo to sing. It was intended as a simple children’s song, which is maybe why I like it so much. “According to McCartney, the idea of a coloured submarine originated from his 1963 holiday in Greece, where he had enjoyed an iced spoon sweet that was yellow or red, depending on the flavour, and known locally as a submarine.” The history of this song is fascinating and worth checking out. And listening to…

2. Van Gogh’s Yellow Period

“Over the years, there has been much speculation about Van Gogh's yellow obsession. So much so, that it was even suggested he ate yellow paint to help raise his spirits. However, there is no hard evidence to prove this theory. In fact, according to the Van Gogh Museum, it's probably quite the opposite—it's believed the artist tried to poison himself by eating paint.

Let's take a look at some of the theories behind Van Gogh's "yellow period"...”

Van Gogh and his yellow were a big influence in The Nightmare House.

3. What Do Yellow Flowers Represent?

As you might expect, in the language of flowers, yellow means abundance and happiness. But there are a lot of different types of yellow flowers, everything from yellow roses to marigolds, each with a slightly different meaning.

4. Yellow Fever

If only there was a brilliant middle grade/young adult novelization of the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793….Oh wait! There is! By the deservedly celebrated and award-dripping author Laurie Halse Anderson. Check out Fever 1793 if you haven’t already.

5. Why Can Yellow Also Mean Cowardly?

There are a surprising number of theories and a big helping of *idek* when it comes to the connection between yellow and cowardice. There are at least half a dozen possibilities of where the phrase “yellow-bellied” came from. In early Christian paintings, yellow was even associated with Judas Iscariot!

6. Picture Book Corner!

There are some really adorable Yellow books out there. For poetry and rhyme fans, check out I Love You Like Yellow. For books about nature and seasons, check out Yellow Time. And it’s not necessarily about yellow, but the cover is yellow and also some of my favorite picture book art of all time:

7. The Color Yellow Song!

For the really littles learning about colors, I’ve got an absolute treat:

8. Chapter Book Yellow!

How about a fantastic chapter book I’ve absolutely loved that has a yellow cover?

9. Middle Grade Yellow!

And how about Middle Grade? Sharon Creech is a touchstone author for me.

10. Teacher Resources:

Teachers, librarians, and homeschool parents, I’ve got some fun yellow themed activities, decorations, and lesson plans for you and your students!

• Yellow Brick Road classroom decor bundle for grades 2-4.

• Yellow Journalism Thinking Skills activity for grades 5-12.

• History of the Yellow River Valley for grades 5-10.

Thanks for coming along everyone! If you’re a teacher or librarian or just interested in children’s literature, I’ve got lots of resources and goodies over on my website. And I’d be honored if you shared this with someone who you think might find it entertaining or useful.

Thanks for being awesome! Onward!

-Sarah

*Yes there is absolutely an hallucinogenic interpretation and background to this song, too…obviously that’s not what I’m talking about, but just wanted to make that clear XD

Links include Amazon Affiliate links where I may make a small commission.