What Is An Author Platform and How Do You Create It?

Building a writing career can be a long, and at times, difficult road. And, many new authors think writing itself is the tough part, but that’s not really the case.

Writing a story that you intend to publish traditionally or self-publish has a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can create an outline as kind of a GPS to get you from point A to point B. There are steadfast rules and tricks to help you complete your writing journey.

There is an end to that particular writing journey.

With marketing, that’s not the way it works. Marketing your book is the roll-up-your-sleeves part of a writing career. It’s the ongoing job of creating and building your online presence, your author platform. And, the rules and tricks of the game are in constant motion, always changing.

While many of the rules may change, there is one constant in your author platform, and that’s visibility.

It should be noted that the definition of an author platform encompasses multiple genres and freelance writers, and even marketers who create and sell information products, so it may vary, depending on who is providing the definition. But, in regard to your author platform, web editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review Jane Friedman notes that editors and agents are “looking for someone with visibility and authority who has proven reach to a target audience.”

So, the bare-bottom basics of an author platform are: visibility, authority, and proven reach.

Breaking Down the Three Basic Elements of an Author Platform

1. Visibility

This is the promotional aspect of marketing. It’s the element of becoming known in your particular niche and building on that presence.

With online marketing strategies and Google’s updates always on the move, the face of creating visibility has changed. Today, visibility is created through ongoing connections and relationships with your target market, your audience.

2. Authority

Authority is built through ongoing communication. As an author you need to provide valuable information to your readers. Providing this information on a regular basis establishes you as an authority in your niche.

3. Your Reach

Elements one and two of your author platform help take care of number three, your reach. By using effective marketing strategies to create an online presence, such as building a website and creating your authority through ongoing information/article marketing, your reach is automatically broadened.

Other strategies you can use to further broaden your reach include:

•    Guest blogging
•    Article marketing
•    Joint ventures
•    Presenting webinars
•    Presenting workshops
•    Offering ecourses

Today, your author platform is about what you can offer your audience. It’s not about what you’re selling.

Providing ongoing ‘wanted or needed’ information builds a relationship. In the marketing arena a general rule of thumb was to offer 75 percent free, valuable information and 25 percent promotion. Now, it's recommended offering 90 percent free, valuable information and 10 percent promotion.

It’s this ongoing author/reader relationship that will build your author platform and help sell your books, other products, and services.

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning author, ghostwriter, and online marketing instructor for authors and writers. You can check out her e-class through WOW! Women on Writing at:
Build Your Author-Writer Platform

MORE ON BOOK MARKETING

Being Social can Bring Extra Promotion
Guest Blogging – Advantages for the Hosting Site
Book Marketing – To Niche or Not to Niche

Writing and Online Marketing Focus for 2013

Can you believe how quickly 2012 flew by? Of all the things I’ve learned this year, learning the importance of focus is by far the most important.

This is something you should be looking into for 2013.

While it can be that you have a number of different areas you’re involved in, you need to pick and choose to be ‘master’ of one or two. It’s this focus that will enable you to attract customers or clients. It’s this focus that will motivate you to take the necessary steps to reach your goals.

So, how do you focus in on who and what you want to be known for?

This is interesting, because it can change as the years come and go. For example, I started out as a children’s writer, and while I still love this aspect of my writing, I have evolved into a freelance/ghostwriter (specializing in business incentive and health writing) and an online marketer (specializing in creating and building an author online presence).

Finding my focus, I’ve been taking action steps for the past couple of weeks to revamp my websites to reflect what I want to be known for. I’m still working on my ‘signature’ tag.

What about you?

Maybe you're a writer for children. Maybe you're a technical writer or business writer. Maybe you're a freelance writer. Maybe you're a ghostwriter. Maybe you're all these things.

To help determine your area/s of focus you need to write down the questions below and answer each one (write your answers out):

•    What writing arenas are you involved in?
•    Do you find yourself leaning toward one or two more so than the others, if so what are they?
•    Can you effectively market yourself in these areas?
•    Are you writing and marketing as a hobby or to earn an income or a supplemental income? If your goal is to make money, write down how much?
•    Did you have a writing/marketing goal for last year? Did you reach it? If not, why?
•    What does success mean to you – what does it look like?
•    Do you really want success? If so, is there anything blocking your path to it (often we sabotage our own success)?
•    What do you want to be known for?
•    What can your new ‘signature’ tag be for 2013?

You’ll need to think about these questions. It might be helpful to actually have someone ask you each question and quickly give answers. Sometimes this helps you get a glimpse of what’s going on subconsciously.

Once you have your goals in sight, write them down, be sure to include to increase your online presence and mailing list. After they're in place, you’ll need to keep those goals front and center and read them every day. The reason for this is our ‘intention’ can quickly be sidetracked if we don’t continually keep it insight and in mind. Also, reading your goals every day reaffirms your commitment to achieving them.

With your goals for 2013 in hand, write down action steps to get there. It’s advisable to have a yearly calendar with goals to reach each month. Then prepare a weekly writing/marketing plan to achieve those monthly goals. Again, you need to keep those goals and action steps visible. Remember: ‘out of sight often really does mean out of mind.’

~~~~~
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Karen Cioffi

Author Online Presence and Book Marketing Ecourse:
http://karencioffi.com
Karen Cioffi Professional Writing Services
http://karencioffifreelancewriter.com/karen-cioffi-writing-services/

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Each year, the days, weeks, and months seem to go by faster and faster, and so it's been for 2012. This time of year it's good to be reflective and determine if you stayed on the path you intended. This is good for life and also for your writing and marketing endeavors. Tomorrow, I'll have a post about your writing and marketing focus. For today, I'd like to simply say HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We at Writers on the Move wish you a safe and happy New Year and a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2013!

Telling Your Story

Finding Expression in Pain

We all have a story to tell. And writing our story can be therapeutic for us and our readers.

You may have faced some real difficulties or a tragedy in your life. That doesn't mean you have to write a tell all or self-help book. You may not want to openly discuss a specific situation. The pain from sorrow or loss can be told in many ways. It may be through the intricate details of a novel filled with suspense, the main character is like you, and your emotions find direction through the character's emotions. Or maybe poetry is the farthest thing from your mind, and yet out of nowhere, the flowing, soothing words are written with the ease of a conductor leading an orchestra. 

Let your writing naturally flow from your soul and see where it takes you. You will discover comfort as your emotions are finding expression, and readers will benefit, too.

I have personally faced a tragedy in my life that helped me find a writing style that I didn't know was in me: allegory. I didn't have the desire to get down to the business of writing a book on the topic at hand. Instead, I found myself describing what I was feeling indirectly with shadows - not light. It helped me to write in an abstract way about the pain.

Of course, this is nothing new. Yet, the encouragement I hope to give you is not to confine yourself with always being predictable in your writing. The abrupt circumstances in our lives can abruptly change us and that's not always a bad thing.

Let the gift you have flow out of your soul and make new paths for you and your readers! Because even in life's storms, there is beauty.

 ~~~

Kathleen Moulton has a passion to bring hope to hurting people of all ages who are facing disappointment, discouragement, and loss. You are invited to read When It Hurts - http://kathleenmoulton.com

Article photo courtesy: PictureWendy / Foter / CC BY-NC

Hearing Voices

Do you hear voices? You should. It is important to hear the voice of each and every character in your story.

            Each character is an individual, and as an individual speaks, thinks, and acts differently from the other characters. After all, that is what gives them individuality, makes them their own person. Otherwise, they would all sound alike, flat and boring. It is up to you as the author and their creator to bring your characters to live and give them substance. In other words, you have the duty to your readers to make your characters sound like real people.

            How do you breathe life into a character? First I would suggest taking note of the people around you, the ones you know and don’t know. Watch them for gestures, facial expressions, favorite words they use frequently. Do they sigh frequently as they talk? Do they have a habit of laughing at times that do not call for laughter? Do they frown a lot or have a twitch? Is there a favorite word or phrase they interject often such as “oh,gosh” or “good gosh a mighty?” Does the person have a quick temper or is he/she a mouse?

            Next get your character profiles for each character and study them. Once you have an idea of your character’s personality and background, you need to figure out how you can reflect the character’s personality, education, social background, birth place, gender, and even job-related way of talking. Have their grammar match education and slang match age and lifestyle.

            Don’t forget dialect. This could reflect the area of the country from which the character comes. Foods they eat can show where they were raised or simply show an idiosyncrasy. Be careful, though, not to overdo dialect. It could cause your reader to stop reading your book.

            Be sure to match all the elements to your character. Body language (yes, it is an unspoken voice), thoughts, and speech should all match. Otherwise you could give your reader the impression your character has multiple personalities!

Faye M. Tollison

Author of: TO TELL THE TRUTH

Upcoming books:  THE BIBLE MURDERS

                             SARAH'S SECRET

Member of: Sisters In Crime

                   Writers On the Move

www.fayemtollison.com

www.fayetollison.blogspot.com

www.fmtoll.wordpress.com

www.booksinsync.com

All Best Wishes to Writers Everywhere

I have borrowed today's poster  from one of my favorite writing and marketing sites.  Copyblogger is always innovative, always has helpful content and is never afraid of really teaching its readers how to improve  writing and marketing skills to achieve success.

Nothing is more irritating than the teasing promises made by marketers who then go on to upsell a second /third/fourth piece of magic information that you must have to achieve that five/six/ten figure income.

Yeah. Right. But sadly that's not how it works. 

It works like Christmas. The secret lies in the loving--loving what you do--and the believing--believing you can do it.



Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

The most appealing writing conveys a message, comes from the heart. It speaks to the reader and fills a need.

Think about the writers you love. Ask yourself why they appeal.

Then forget the pie in the sky dream of a six figure income. Just write for the love of it.

Belated Thanks 

I have had a wonderful year thanks to the kindness and support of everyone here and in my other writing communities. I have read so many wonderful books and short stories, won awards and even wonderful gifts in blog give aways.

Here at last is the long promised summer  photo of my dearest Woody bookworm with two of his favorite mystery reads. .

Woody the bookworm with two Jill Paterson mystery novels

 Woody is a lovely eco-friendly bookmark creation of the talented Elysabeth Elderling.
He loves reading real books but, as you can see from the rolling eyes, is not so good at having his photo taken.

The Celtic Dagger and Murder on the Rocks introduced me to a new Australian detective series. So many thanks to Jill for providing me with the new stories--another blog win--wow!--, new settings, and a new sleuth to keep looking out for..

  Season's Greetings

Wishing us all the happiest and healthiest of New Years and may our writing dreams come true.

Christmas snow

And more snow

   Anne Duguid is a senior content editor with MuseItUp Publishing and   her New Year's Resolution is to blog with helpful writing,editing and publishing tips at Slow and Steady Writers far more regularly than she managed in 2011.

Missing in action with a broken arm and worse, broken internet when trees felled the line in the November storms, she's hoping to do better in 2013.

Looking Back on 2012 and Looking Ahead to 2013

One year is coming to a close and another is about to begin.  I made two lists to help me see where I have been and where I would like to go.

What I accomplished this year:

1. Wrote a post for the Writers on the Move blog every month
2. Attended three different day-long workshops and conferences
3. Attended SCBWI meetings
4. Participated in two online writing conferences
5. Read books, magazines and blogs on writing
6. Enrolled in two online writing classes
7. Participated in NaNoWriMo
8. Joined two online writing clubs
9. Worked on picture book
10. Learned about critiquing

Currently I’m reading a book written by a member of my local writer’s group before it’s published. She is in the revision process.  This will finish out 2012.

What do I hope to accomplish next year?

I went to the Diy MFA website, http://diymfa.com/writing/write-it-goals-sheet, and downloaded goal sheets to assist me in this process. I tried to print my copy in color but it printed in black and white. It’s still serviceable but not as pretty!

A partial list of my writing goals: (I’m still working on this.J)

1. Learn Scrivener (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php)
2. Participate in NaNoWriMo (http://www.nanowrimo.org/)
3. Attend online conferences and in-person conferences
4. Blog for Writers on the Move
5. Attend more SCBWI meetings and events (http://www.scbwi.org/)
6. Work on picture book
7. Read the stack of books that has been sitting in my home office, some of which are on writing
8. Have professional photo taken to use for author platform

What did you accomplish this year? What are your writing goals for next year?  I hope you find inspiration in my 2012 and 2013 lists.

Debbie A. Byrne has a B.S. in Mass Communication with a minor in History. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and is working on her first children’s book.