Want to Profit as an Author? Think About Sponsorships

Bacon says knowledge is power. Ms. Isenberg says brand knowledge is power. But what, precisely, is an author's "brand"? What does it profit a consumer goods brand to associate (and pay for that association!) with an author's brand? After all, Ian Fleming never charged for these gems in 007 in New York: And then what about the best meal in New York - oyster stew with cream, crackers, and Miller High Life at the Oyster Bar at Grand Central? No charge for Major Smythe's pre-suicide reveries in Octopussy: "Major Smythe gave a groan of joy. He sat down on a hard piece of rock and his mind went orbiting through Bentleys, Monte Carlo, penthouse flats, Cartiers, champagne, caviar and, incongruously, but because he loved golf, a new set of Henry Cotton irons. "What might have been the market value to the Miller Brewing Company for mention in an English spy story? Most likely, no one ever asked."