Build Your Platform, No Wood Needed

An annual book fair called Book ‘Em North Carolina brought more than 75 authors and publishers together February 22, 2014, in Lumberton, NC at Robeson Community College. I attended the conference and attended presentations by experts in writing and publishing. A subject discussed often by several of the participants on different panels was the need to build a platform.

This platform is not a raised area that’s higher above the floor level. It’s not a type of shoe. It’s not a list of principles used by a political party. It’s not a part of a deck attached to a house. The platform that authors need is a combination of methods to publicize their books. It’s advertising.

Social media are ideal methods of creating an author’s platform. The sites most often mentioned at seminars are Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Linkedin and Pinterest. These are only a few of the social networks available, and more are appearing all the time.

The sites are similar to each other in the ways you can publicize your books, stories and yourself. Presenters at this recent conference mentioned that you should use only sites you appreciate and use comfortably. Otherwise your efforts will appear strained.  

One participant at the conference talked about the need to use a blog and a website.  Once you generate some interest in your writing, a website and blog tie it together by offering ways to buy your book. The same author mentioned she often hears from budding writers that the creative part is what they want to do. Selling their books is not fun, they say. Well, talking about you book is both fun and interesting to your audience. Promotion is a natural sequence to writing short stories and books.

Offering a sample of your book on a website is an effective way of creating interest about your work. It will stretch your creativity and offer you feedback from your readers. Most importantly, you will sell more books. I rotate samples of my book, “The Device”, on my personal website in an effort to share my writing with site visitors.

Successful writers mentioned the advantage, some call it a need, of a website and blog to tease readers about a book that is not ready for print. Writers plant seeds about their upcoming books months ahead of time. This is when a sample of a short story or an interesting section of your novel will encourage readers to look for the book after you offer it for sale. Obviously, a site such a Facebook can go a long way to publicize an upcoming book.

This publicity, called advertising, is often required by publishers. After submitting your work to a publishing house, the exciting callback from the publisher often includes a question about how you will help in the advertising. Publishers want us to be responsible for part of the promotion of the book by using websites, blogs and social media sites.

Building your platform is necessary and fun. The best part is that you won’t need wood or nails to build it. I promise you won’t hit your fingers with a hammer.

I briefly touched on the changes in the publishing industry though this is a complex subject to explore in a future blog. Check my website at www.joevlatino.com. Thanks for your attention and keep writing.