It’s the age old question. “How does one get a job if one doesn’t have experience? How does one get experience if one doesn’t have a job?” Much the same conundrum exists in the fiction writing and publishing industry. How does one build an author platform before being published?
Many writers have taken advantage of social media to build an online author platform and develop an online following so that when a book is accepted for publication, there will be many people eager to buy it. There's no need to wait to become a published author before developing a writer platform.
Develop a Personal Author Brand
The first step in developing a writer platform is choosing a niche. Staying focused on the genre, style, or voice will help readers know what to expect from a writer. Using social media for writers is free and doesn’t have to be complicated, but it may be time consuming. Developing a brand and sticking to its focus will make a writer more efficient at promoting his or her brand.
When Stephenie Meyer is mentioned, vampire books come to mind. Norah Roberts? Romance. Dean Koontz and Stephen King? Horror. John Grisham? Legal thriller. Readers associate authors with the genre in which most of their work is written. They know what to expect from each author because of branding. Even before publication, a writer can decide on a genre and use that as part of his or her personal branding.
Blogs for Writers
Start a blog and post regularly to build followers. Keep the blog focused on the personal author brand and make the posts relevant to it. Although a great deal of advice online says to diversify, when building an online platform, focus is the key. Posting regularly will help ensure readers return or subscribe.
Blog as a guest on other sites or leave comments on other blogs. When leaving a comment, staying positive and professional is important. Everything that is posted online is available for anyone to see, perhaps even future prospective agents. Write posts and comments with that in mind.
The writer’s blog may be used in many ways, but essentially, it becomes an online resume. Most authors have a page of writing clips, including fiction contests or awards they have won. Some writers post short excerpts from published pieces, and many post articles about the writing process. Others use it as a means to allow followers to get to know them. Some writers have created blogs for the main characters in their books. However it is used, consistency is important, which keeps the focus.
Twitter for Writers
Twitter is used for short social comments, announcements of new posts, book deals, and interesting things to share. Twitter “tweets,” as they are called, may be seen by anyone in the Twitterverse. When just starting out, read the Twitter guidelines to learn etiquette, tips, tricks, and where to find groups. Twitter chats for writers are growing more popular every month.
Other Social Media for Writers
Facebook and MySpace are used in professional as well as casual networking. Fan pages may be set up on Facebook for promoting an author’s writing. It can also be a place to connect with more immediacy than a blog.
LinkedIn is another online social media site, this one geared strictly to professional connections. Building a network here is a way to develop contacts both online and in the real world.
These are only some of the ways that writers use to connect online with readers and fans. Authors are very creative, and they think of new ways to interact and develop a following every day. The things to remember are to use social networking to develop an author brand, and to use that brand to build a following. Then, when an agent asks how a writer will help promote a book, the evidence will already be there.
Read more about online branding and marketing in these two articles:
Using SEO and Social Media Marketing Together
How to Create a Media Advertising Campaign
Suzanne Pitner - Suzanne Pitner is a teacher and published writer. A member of RWA and YARWA, she writes fiction as Suzanne Lilly.
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