Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing

Building an Author Platform: Traditional Tips for the Self-Publishing Author

June 25, 2009

In today’s changing publishing industry, writers and authors must understand the importance of building an author platform in order to reach commercial success, whether planning to publish traditionally or self-publishing through a company such as Wordclay.

Your “platform” as an author (or any other kind of business-minded person, really) is a combination of your connections, your reputation, influence and visibility in the marketplace. This is an important aspect for the success of any self-published author, and has become a necessity for traditionally published authors as well.

Literary agent Rachelle Gardner posted an article on her blog called “The Dreaded Author Platform. ” Here are a few excerpts that provide her intimate, traditional-publishing-world perspective on the importance of platforms:

“… Publishing just ain’t what it used to be. Gone are the days when publishers were solely responsible for the marketing of a book.

Today’s audience is more segmented than it has ever been before. People have more options for their leisure time than ever before … It’s harder than ever to attract people to books. The way to do it is increasingly through personal connection, and that means YOU, the author, making connections with your readers.”

As an author,  it’s up to you to market your book. Of course, many self-publishing companies offer useful book marketing services, but it is up to you to take the initiative to develop a marketing plan and invest the time and money to follow through.

Gardner continues in the article to explain how authors can and should utilize the Internet:

“The Internet has leveled the playing field … It doesn’t cost money. It doesn’t require special skills, besides the ones you already have: those of being a writer. What it DOES take is time. Marketing yourself as an author will cost you a serious investment of time.”

The bottom line is that becoming a successful author isn’t easy; it doesn’t just happen. Gardner’s post and others like it shed light on a common misconception that publishing traditionally will automatically provide a free ride to the top of the bestsellers list. Traditional and self-published authors alike must market themselves and their books to succeed.

Only you can decide how much time, research and effort that you are willing to put forth to sell your book, and it is a decision will surely be driven by how badly you want to reach your goals.

-Angie

P.S. Here are a few more helpful articles on the subject of building author platforms:

• Build Your Author Platform: 10 Tips from a Pro
• How to Start Building Your Platform

Entry Filed under: Marketing, Self-Publishing. Tags: author platform, Book Marketing, Self-Publishing, traditional publishing.