Platform. Got One? You Need One.
“Platform is a very helpful thing.”
—Karlyn Hixson, St. Martin’s Press
Platform—as in Author Platform—was the buzz word that rolled off the publishing lips of every industry professional and successful author at the two-day Publish15 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
The question, from many in the audience who came to learn about how to get their books published, was, say what? As in, what is an Author Platform?
Turns out you need one before you publish your book. Before you even finish writing your book. And especially before you start shopping your book around to agents or publishers.
And most of all, you need one when you start marketing your book, whether you are self-published or traditionally published by a big house.
So What is an Author Platform?
Here it is in a nutshell, concisely provided by Karlyn Hixon, a marketing manager for St. Martin’s Press:
Your Author Platform Consists of:
- Author’s Website
- Author’s Blog or Newsletter
- Author’s Social Media Presence
- Author’s Profiles
Author’s Social Media Presence on Twitter, Google+ and elsewhere:
- Where you can share your website and blog content
- Where you can interact with those who care about your content
Author’s Profiles:
- Amazon
- Goodreads
- Google+
Your author platform is the launching stage for all the good things to come from trying to interest a literary agent in repping you, or when angling for a book deal with a sweet advance from a traditional publishing house, or when your self-published book hits the ebook sites with a ready buying audience.
For a noted industry expert’s sweet explanation of why it matters, what your author platform is, and isn’t, and how to build it, read Jane Friedman’s take.
It’s what you’ll want to have staked out well in advance: a community of like-minded supporters who care about what you care about, and what your book is about. These are the folks who stand ready to seed your nascent publishing dream, and to keep reseeding it.
“Always be focused on your one—three talking points.”
—Christopher Klim, The US Review of Books
Seeding? Reseeding? Yep, those are marketing buzz words from author, editor and publishing pro Christopher Klim of The US Review of Books at Publish15, who wants you to control your message and “always be focused on your one-three talking points.” You do understand your book’s dominant message, and that you’ll need to be active about marketing your book, right? ♣
What’s your marketing strategy for your bestseller?
Read all the posts in the Path to Publishing series HERE, gleaned from the publishing industry experts at the two-day Publish15 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
Find the sources for this post on Twitter: @klimauthor @kehixson @publish15con @austindetails
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well done – detailed and organized step by step…
Appreciate that! Thank you for commenting.
My Pleasure Jann – You have such great materials to read and enjoy. Have you considered to have your show on Radio Internet? Is, please email me your email address, I will forward the information…Thank you;
Mino
Interesting idea, and thanks for thinking of me. For now, it would take me a bit too off-target (target being finishing my novel and bring it to publication). But it’s something to think about, which I’ll do.
Very true – can’t just publish a book and sit back and wait, you’ve got to always push it!
Glad you agree, Libby, are you a published author? What are some of your strategies?
Self-published, which isn’t quite the same 😉 but it does mean you can’t rely on the publisher to help you out! The biggest difference is in getting those reviews, so other readers know what to expect. Once you’re over that hurdle, it’s much easier.
It ls a numbers game. Always has been. Sales usually do not happen in a vacuum. Anything worthwhile whether be a product or idea needs a very focused message. Your insights as noted above provide a excellent road map to start.
Appreciate the sales insight from a sales expert! Thanks for mentioning “focused message.” Always be selling.
Thanks for the concise wrap-up. I’m on a draft edit of a novel – going into year 3. Hard to think about a platform at this point, but probably good to be reminded about this part of the gnarly project.
Always be selling, as they say . . . glad to hear this helped motivate you. What genre are you writing in?
Hi Jann, I have shared this article on all of my social media channels as it’s a great resource for writers (and a compelling argument for those who are on the fence).
Bianca.
Much appreciate, Bianca. Hard to ignore the advice when I heard it issuing from every professional’s mouth over two days at the publishing conference! Glad to connect by blog with you.
Wow. Things sure have changed! According to Jane Friedman, back in 2012, social media was NOT a platform: http://janefriedman.com/2012/03/13/author-platform-definition/…but you know, I’m good with it for fiction writers!
Thankfully I’m not worrying about this because I’m not writing to earn money.
However my niece is..as a romance writer. I think some of her tweets are quite personal and may puzzle a ton of strangers…. twitter feed is hooked to her amazon.com promos of her books.
Not sure that’s the way to go either, Jean, as you’ve indicated, the tweets that are puzzling may not be that successful. I’ll note that having an author platform isn’t about earning money; it’s about being heard. And once heard, perhaps, if the gods aren’t crazy, perhaps the fruits of the labors are earned.
Thanks for the explanation about these subjects that you learned at the conference. These kinds of experiences are invigorating.
This is good. I should probably reblog it sometime. May I?
Thanks, Dan, glad you found it helpful. There are a few more posts in that series too . . . with more still to come. You may reblog this, and thanks for asking first. I hate being reblogged without permission. Am I creative-possessive? Maybe.