Аннотация: The modern book market is oversaturated. More than 100 thousand new books are published annually in Russia. Mass literature is becoming a commodity, texts are being standardized, and the key factor in a reader's choice of a book is increasingly not its content, but the recognizability of the author's name. Using the examples of three contemporary writers — Alexey Salnikov, Victor Pelevin, and Alexander Tsypkin — the study analyzes various strategies for building a personal brand. The models of a multimedia brand (Salnikov), a myth-brand based on anonymity (Pelevin), and a brand formed in social networks (Tsypkin) are examined. For beginning authors, three stages of brand building are identified: self-analysis, creating a recognizable style, and promotion on social networks.