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09/13/2010 • 10:01 AM 1

Author Platforms: “Resistance is Futile!”

Cover of "Get Known Before The Book Deal:...

Cover via Amazon

It used to be that writers didn’t have to have a platform. Now they do. Resist at your peril because (cue weird Borg voice):

“Resistance is Futile!”

There are too many ways our attention is fractured. You must appear in more than one medium to gain attention for your main medium, your book.

What is a Writer’s Platform?

There are many routes to take, but the anchor of your media empire should be your blog. From your blog, all the other branches of your interests expand. If you don’t have a blog, people won’t find you.

Why is a platform so useful?

I once ran into a fellow who was trying to sell me something. I asked for his website address. He looked at me with resentment and said he wasn’t convinced a website was necessary. All his competitors had websites so I could compare my buying options at my leisure. This poor guy thought he could make a living off impulse buys. People don’t buy most items on impulse anymore. With a search engine it is very easy to research your purchases and buy when you feel you are ready. More and more, people are buying online. In an age of Ferraris, this guy was still in the buggy whip business.

But what about platforms for authors specifically?

If you aren’t published yet, your agent or publisher will want you to have a blog, preferably one that’s already established. Even better, a popular blog with a lot of subscribers anxious to buy your book. Your publisher will have a publicist. In my experience, you’re crazy to depend on the publisher’s publicist to do that much for you. Even publishers have recognized this and are putting more and more of the promotion and publicity duties upon authors. Increasingly, publishers are about their distribution network and less and less about everything else.

What are my platform options?

Podcasting, vlogging, Twitter, teaching, guest blogging, public speaking, teaching, subscriber newsletters, Facebook, Linked In, Four Square, media appearances, magazine articles, and radio interviews.

All of the above starts with blogging.