How to Build an Online Platform That Will Last

Around cyberland writers are busy building their platforms. They’re working at gaining name recognition, support, followers, and ultimately readers. I personally think writers who are taking the time to build a web presence are wise. Sure, we can look at examples of successful authors who don’t mingle online, but most of them became popular in the days before the social media revolution. 

No matter our publishing choice (traditional or self e-book), there are millions of books and authors clamoring for attention. If we want to give our books an advantage, a growing web presence can help.

Kristen Lamb had a recent post in which she emphasized the importance of writers working together to help each other build their brands. Her post was titled, T.E.A.M.—Together Everyone Achieves More. She said: “Everyone does a little for everyone else and then everyone sees success . . . When we plug in with a team, we multiply efforts exponentially. . . If we focus on serving our teammates, they will do the same. Together everyone achieves more.”

Whether we call our online community our tribe, team, friends, or whatever, the fact is, when we’re networking with other writers online, we have the opportunity to help each other build our platforms. The efforts through facebook and twitter really do multiply exponentially. There is a snowball effect that’s hard to measure.

But . . . we can labor to build an online platform and then just as easily lose it. I’ve seen plenty of authors work hard at gaining followers, start hype over a new release, and generate a lot of support from fellow writers. Then, in the end, they fizzle out of cyberland.

Jill Domschott mentioned this phenomenon in a recent comment: “I watched an intriguing experiment unfold not too long ago. I saw a very young female blogger boost her blog and twitter followers by hitting on and following every blog she found. After she worked at this for months, had a few thousand followers, she self-published her novel, and many of her blog followers helped her market the book by reviewing it, etc. etc. But her book was amateurish, and so the hype soon died down. The numbers said she was successful, until the truth bore itself out. She was not offering a quality product.”

We can do ALL we possibly can to build an online platform, but the efforts won’t do us much good unless we’re building on a solid foundation to begin with. And what is that foundation?

Of course, we all know the answer. We MUST have a book that resonates with readers. Plain and simple.

As Jill said, the truth will bear itself out. We pour out incredible amounts of time and energy into networking and building our online presence. But it will be a big waste of time if we don’t spend as much, if not more time, honing our writing skills, writing book after book, and taking our craft to a continually higher level.

The best way to build an online platform that will last is to become a better writer. Deliver the goods. Give our supporters something they can truly be proud to review and promote. Provide our team with a book they can genuinely get behind and be excited to share with their followers.

Ultimately, a lasting brand is built upon a solidly crafted, well-told story. That’s the kind of platform that will survive the test of time and continue to grow.

What do you think? Have you seen authors work hard at enlarging a platform but fail to deliver on their books? Are you building your online presence on a solid foundation? Are you spending enough time working on your writing so that you'll have a platform that will last?

Why Are We So Obsessed With Our Numbers?

Whether it’s the number of followers we have on our blogs or twitter, the number comments or retweets, or our Amazon rankings or Nielsen BookScan sales figures—we writers have the tendency to obsess over our numbers.

We can deny it all we want. We can claim that those numbers don’t matter, that we’re blogging for the pure joy of it, that we don’t ever notice how many twitter followers we have, or that we never pay attention to how well (or poorly) our books are selling.

But that would be a lie (at least for most of us). In all my travels around the cyberworld, I see people all the time who get excited when they hit a milestone number. I see tweets like, “Only 1 more follower until I reach 500. Who will it be?” Conversely, I see things like, “I’m stuck at 89. Why won’t more people follow me?”

Numbers matter to us. In fact, they usually matter a lot.

But why?

Whether we like it or not, numbers are a way to measure success.

Some may argue that success is defined by each individual, that what might constitute successful blogging or book publication to me might be different for you. You might derive success simply from the accomplishment of posting regularly and connecting with a few readers. Someone else might define success by actually completing a book and seeing it for sale on Amazon regardless of how well it does.

Yes, we’ll all define success differently.

However, no matter how we define success on a personal level, there’s still a broader definition of success on a professional level.

In the professional world, in most careers, success is measured in terms of numbers. Whether it’s a baseball player’s statistics or a student’s GPA or ACT scores, whether it’s the box office sales of a movie or how fast a runner completes the 100m dash, numbers are important. We’re conditioned by the world around us to pay attention to numbers as a measure of success.

And in the writing industry, numbers matter too. In fact, most decisions boil down to numbers. It’s simply a tangible way to measure how well something/someone is doing. My publisher wants to see a baseline number of sales from each of their authors. They keep a detailed report of my sales figures down to the exact number and penny sold. The numbers definitely have a bearing on the future of my career with my publisher.

Writers do indeed need to be conscious of numbers. As much as we’d like to stick our heads in the sand and pretend statistics don’t matter, we won’t help our careers if we dismiss them. But neither should we obsess. Instead, here are a few things we can do:

Move toward a balanced approach. I personally have found a balance that works for me. I check statistics from time to time just to see how things are going and if I’m on track. I keep a big picture view in mind, but I don’t pay attention to every single move up or down.

Maintain professionalism. Refrain from posting about our numbers—either negatively or positively. In other words, don’t boast or complain. Quiet dignity is often the best way to present ourselves publicly and professionally. Save the excitement or disappointment for our inner circle.

Motivate ourselves. Let the numbers (or lack thereof) help push us to look honestly at what we’re doing and whether it’s working the way we want it to. If our numbers are decreasing, what can we do to stop the downward spiral? If they’re stagnant, we can evaluate if we’ve reached our ceiling or whether there’s still more we can do to climb higher.

Make the people behind numbers the priority. Part of the reason we should refrain from talking about our numbers is because it makes the followers/readers we already have think they’re just another number in our quest to gain more. Behind every profile and number is a real person with real struggles. We should do our best to make our current followers feel valued.

Model early the attitude we want later. We can start early in our careers developing a healthy approach to watching our numbers, keeping an eye on them, learning from them, challenging ourselves with them—but not letting them control us. Hopefully the balanced attitude we develop will hold us in check later when we have even more numbers to worry about.

My Summary: We should all have our own personal definitions of what success looks like to us—and that may or may not involve numbers. But regardless of how we define success on a personal level, if we hope to have a professional writing career, then we have to accept that the professional definition does involve numbers, and usually lots of them.

My philosophy? Don’t sweat it. But be savvy.

Be honest! Do you pay attention to your numbers (followers, sales figures, etc.)? Why do you think so many writers obsess over their numbers? How do you keep a balanced approach?

My Secrets to Successfully Growing My Social Media Followings

Let’s be honest. All of us want to increase our numbers to one degree or another. When our followings go up, we gain satisfaction in knowing we’re connecting with others, that people are reading what we’re saying, and that we’re potentially growing our platforms (which is becoming increasingly important for modern authors).

But how do we grow our followings on various social media sites?

Gina Conroy, founder of Writer...Interrupted, recently sent me this email: How did you build your online presence, and did it grow after your book was published? It seems all my efforts don't generate enough traffic and follows. I took a blogging hiatus . . . and now I'm trying to build my web presence again. I don't want to keep trying and fail. What things were most successful for you?

Gina asked a lot of great questions. I’m going to break them down into bite-size portions:

Does a writer’s following grow after a book is published?

From time to time I hear people say that one of the reasons I’ve been able to develop large followings is because I landed a popular agent and got a three book deal with a major publisher.

And while having an agent and published book may give credibility to my writing advice, it’s a MYTH to think that it’s helped increase my numbers. If getting a great agent and book deal make any difference, then logically you’d expect all of Rachelle Gardner’s clients to have large blog followings, which is not the case. And logically, you’d expect all published authors with multi-book deals to have popular blogs, which is also not the case.

Sure, there may be a tiny spike in followers any time we make a big announcement, especially with an agent like Rachelle who does a great job promoting her clients on Twitter and Facebook. But . . . if we’re sitting back and waiting for an agent or book deal to give us a boost, we’ll end up disappointed.

In this business, we can’t ride coattails or expect an easy way to success. If we want to grow our followings, we just have to buckle down and do the hard work to make it happen.

What if all your efforts to grow your traffic aren’t paying off?

At first we may see our followings steadily increase. But at some point we may reach a plateau, where we don’t feel like we’re going anywhere anymore. We’re continuing to put forth the effort, but we’re not seeing the growth we’d like.

How do we push past that flat line and continue to climb?

Well, first, anytime we come back from an extended blogging hiatus, we’ll likely need to start rebuilding our following from the ground up. A faithful few friends may return, but we’ll have to work hard to regain most of our followers.

Second, if we hit a plateau, then it’s time to re-evaluate our strategies. We’ve obviously reached our potential with the audience we have, and we need to look for ways to move out of our comfort zones, shake things up a bit, think outside of the box, and be innovative.

What are some of the most successful strategies I’ve used to steadily increase my followings?

1. Provide quality content. Make each post relevant and interesting.

2. Meet reader needs. Put readers’ needs above our own.

3. Be real and open. Share personally. Be vulnerable.

4. Value followers. Interact. Answer questions. Be available.

5. Reach out. Don’t be shy. Make new friends. Follow & support others generously.

6. Be consistent. Post regularly. Be reliable.

7. Interweave all social media sites. Link to posts on Twitter and Facebook. But support others generously (and yes I mention this particular point again because it's SO important!).

8. Give it time. Don’t expect overnight success. It takes months, even years to grow followings.

9. Persevere. Keep at it regularly. Work even through dry spells.

10. Work hard. Realize it’s not easy. It won’t ever be. It’ll always be hard work.

There you have it—the secrets of my success. The bottom line is that there really aren’t any secret formulas to success. Growing our followings is a combination of a lot of factors, the most important being slow, steady, hard work.

Just like anything in this business, from getting an agent to book contract to making a best seller list, nothing comes easy.

Have you been looking for an easy way to grow your followings? Or are you willing to do the hard work that’s needed? And if so, what are some other things you’ve found helpful in gaining more followers?

How Important is Blogging For Unpublished Writers?

At some point in our writing careers, most of us will feel the pressure to blog. I’m not really sure where that pressure comes from. Maybe there are some agents and editors who tell us it’s important. Or maybe we hear that writers should develop a web presence and then we think that means we should blog. Or perhaps everyone else and their brother is blogging, and so we think we should too.

Whatever the case, many of us jump into blogging long before we have an agent or publishing contract. But secretly we can’t help wondering if blogging is really necessary for unpublished writers. After all, it’s one of the most time-consuming of the social media outlets. If we’re going to start building a web presence, does it need to include blogging?

I loved this question by Brenda: "How important is blogging for someone who isn't yet published? I think I'm spending more time on blogging than I am on writing my novel. Am I putting the cart before the horse when I blog before my book is finished?"

As always, I can only share from my experiences and from what’s helped me. My journey isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Everyone needs to forge their own unique path and find out what works for them. With that said, here are a few of my thoughts:

Blogging won’t get us an agent or book deal.

Okay, maybe one or two writers out there somewhere have actually landed book deals because of their fabulous blogs and the fact that they have 30,000 visitors a month. But. . . the majority of our blogs aren’t going to be pivotal in sealing any deals.

When I landed my agent and my book contract, my blog following was still pretty small. And my daily visitor count wasn’t even worth mentioning. Of course I made sure my blog was as professional as possible so that any interested agents or editors could see that I took my writing career seriously. But ultimately, my blog had nothing to do with getting my agent or contract.

If blogging is taking away from writing time, then we need to cut back.

Yes, if we’re spending more time on blogging than working on our books or stories, then we need to cut back. As I mentioned, blogging won’t garner us book deals. Only a stellar story will do that. So, if we’re not putting our best energy and effort into our novels, then we may be working at building a platform we won’t ever get to use.

Notice I said cut back, not stop. If we’re seriously pursuing publication, then we’ll want to have a “home office” in cyberland, and for many unpublished writers a blog is that place (instead of a website). If we’re trying to maintain a professional blog, then sporadic, inconsistent posting won’t help.

I suggest picking a schedule, posting it on our blogs, and sticking to it. Some writers choose once a week and others twice. Because my writing career is at a hot spot, I’ve decided to continue with posting three times a week. But I honestly don’t think there are too many of us that need to post more often than that.

Blogging can promote community, but we have to know when to jump in and how deep.

I didn’t start my blog until after I’d been querying for many months. Before that I was content to observe from the sidelines and absorb all I could. In hindsight, I’m glad that during those growing years, I could focus solely on writing books and learning the basics of how to craft stories.

I personally think that when newer writers jump into blogging too soon and too furiously, they risk the chance of burning out. They’re trying to juggle the unnecessary pressure of building a platform too early in their careers instead of focusing on building their writing skills.

~My Summary: A well written book is THE most important thing for a writer’s career. We hear it all the time, but I’m currently learning that firsthand. Early reviews of The Preacher’s Bride are beginning to show up throughout cyberland. So far those favorable reviews are helping push my book into the spotlight in a variety of ways (book clubs picking it up, front page spots, etc.).

My blog won’t influence those reviewers. Only the book itself can do the impressing. Let's make sure to keep the horse before the cart.

What about you? How important do you think blogging is for unpublished writers? Are you feeling unnecessary pressure to blog, perhaps even burnout? What can you do to make sure your writing stays top priority?

If you want an additional opinion about blogging, agent Mary Kole at Kidlit.com recently had an interesting article: Do Unpublished Writers Have to Blog.

3 Tips for Cultivating an Online Brand

Why are you using social media sites?

Obviously, some writers use blogging, twitter, and facebook for fun and nothing more. But a large majority are joining sites as a way to begin developing a web presence.

No matter where we're at in our writing journeys, we can start to broaden our web presences by using social media more strategically (see Monday's post). Part of the strategy involves cultivating our online brand.

Real life brands, like Godiva and Starbucks, make us think of heaven, whereas Hershey's and Folgers make us think earth—as in dirt. (Sorry, couldn’t resist!)

An "author brand"  refers to the type of book and the reading experience people will expect from us when they pick up one of our books. Our name becomes our brand—either favorably or unfavorably.

Justine Lee Musk in her post The Online Art of Developing Your Author Brand takes branding a step further. She says this: "For better or worse, an ‘author brand’ – that shared mental imprint people think of when thinking of a certain author – is no longer defined by the books she releases every now and then and the interviews she gives . . . but also by the writer’s online presence. And that presence is constant, and constantly accessible, because whatever you do on the Web tends to stay on the Web."

In developing a web presence, writers should begin to think about their brand—how others are perceiving them. What impressions are we forming? When people see my avatar and name throughout cyberland, what do they think? How am I establishing myself? How are you establishing your name?

Those early formations are the ones we’ll want to continue to build upon, so we need to make sure we’re laying a solid foundation with branding right from the start. Here are just a few ideas for helping us with social media branding:

1. Use Our Author Name

Kristin Lamb had an outstanding article last month titled “The Single Best Way For Writers to Become a Brand.” She emphasized the importance of writers using their names versus cutesy titles like “chocoholic” or “caffeine junkie” both of which I considered using by the way. Okay, so not really.

But, Kristen Lamb says this and I agree with her: “There is only one acceptable handle for a writer who seeks to use social media to build a platform, and that is the name that will be printed on the front of your books. Period.”

Why? Because if we’re building a web presence under the name “chocoholic” and an avatar of a double layer fudge cake, it’s not going to help us when we get that book contract and want to promote our name and book. We’ll have to scramble to form new impressions and may confuse our followers with the change. Why not start off with the real thing from the start?

2. Use a Professional Picture

Any author photo is better than the double layer fudge cake picture. Well, maybe that’s debatable. But the point is if at all possible we should use a real picture of ourselves in our avatars.

If we’re trying to establish a web presence as a future author, then we want to put ourselves forward in the best possible way. This is a business where we’re communicating with industry professionals, and if we want them to take us seriously, then we have to take the business seriously first.

I suggest getting a professionally taken picture if feasible. I had a friend who runs a photography business do my first photo shoot last year—which I did before I had an agent or book contract. I had another photo shoot done this year by a high school senior who’s very talented in photography. Neither were very expensive.

The point is, we should try to use a favorable photo of ourselves. If you’re not, why aren’t you?

3. Build a Compelling Image

I’m all for honesty on social media sites. We shouldn’t set ourselves up to be somebody we’re not. But because people are forming impressions of us every time we post or comment, we need to work at establishing positive and distinctive images.

First and foremost we need a level of professionalism, especially since we’ll be rubbing avatar shoulders with industry experts. But second, we need to keep in mind people will form opinions about us that might be hard to break. I have branded certain authors as witty, snarky, smutty, helpful, giving, complaining, inconsistent, shy, boastful, etc. Maybe those are the impressions they wanted to give, maybe not. But they're the ones that stick.

As readers connect with us online, they too, will develop their impressions of us. They'll be able to stay connected to us between books, and get an inside view of what we're working on along with the myriad of activities that make us personable and likable. We won't just be selling our books. We'll be selling ourselves.

How are you doing with your cyberland brand? Are you doing all you can to get off to a good start? Are you mindful of what people are already beginning to associate with your name, picture, and image?

Learning How to Use Social Media Effectively

Does marketing via social media outlets really help sell more books? Writers are spending time on Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other internet sites with the hope of marketing their books. The question we all keep asking is this: Is the time cost-effective?

Recently Agent, Chip MacGregor had a guest post by Rob Eager, President of Wildfire Marketing. Eager had some interesting thoughts about whether social media really helps sell more books. He gave the impression that social media won’t help us more than traditional marketing efforts, and he had an example of an author who hadn’t sold significantly more books as a result of his blog.

In fact Eager even went as far as to say: “If online activity doesn’t create a lot of book sales or some form of significant revenue, then it’s time to re-focus on other marketing priorities . . . I am not against social networks. Rather, don’t make them a prime area of marketing concentration. Social networks may help raise awareness, but if that awareness doesn’t create direct book sales then it shouldn’t be a top priority.”

In light of statistics that show greater percentages of the population are using social media (read this previous post for fascinating statistics), I found Eager’s views puzzling. The more I pondered his words, however, I came to the conclusion that any medium of marketing whether traditional or online needs to be done with savvy and intentionality or it won’t be effective.

The fact is that writers can have dismal sales as a result of traditional marketing too. We’ve all heard the horror stories of book signings where no one shows up, or radio interviews that make an author look like a bumbling amateur.

Traditional or online—the key is learning to be a smart marketer.

I disagree with Eager when he says we shouldn’t make online media our prime area of marketing concentration. I don’t claim to be a marketing expert—far from it. But if the large majority of the population is hanging out online, I’m guessing online marketing will become the primary way we reach our audiences. If so, rather than giving up or downplaying social media, we need to learn how to use our sites better, so they will create more book sales.

How can we use social media more effectively? Here are just a few things I’ve learned. Be ready to chime in with your ideas.

1. Don’t forget the “social” in social media. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: It’s not about US. Cyberland is not the place to continuously brag about our awesome accomplishments and our five-star book reviews. Rather, it’s a place to build relationships, chat with people, give to others, and connect in real ways. And as we all know, building relationships takes work . . .

2. Give it time. Don’t expect to make it work overnight. I’ve spent the last year and a half building strong followings. Those friendships often lead to more. But the reality is that it won’t happen all at once or without effort, which leads to the next point . . .

3. Be aggressive. Don’t be passive. We have to make the effort. We can’t sit back and wait for people to “talk” to us. We have to step out of our comfort zone, visit new blogs, and chat with new people on Twitter or Facebook. If we’re generous with our followings, we’ll find more people following us back. And that leads to the next point . . .

4. Reach out. Don’t be cliquish. I see authors, especially on Twitter who never socialize outside a certain circle of friends. They only chat with their best friends and they never move beyond the same 350 followers they’ve had for two years. It’s no wonder social media isn’t helping them sell more books. Sure, we’ll have those we’re closer to. But if we want to be effective, we have to broaden our base, have an ever-widening circle, and be open to new friendships.

5. Don’t make it all about sales. The cost-effectiveness of social media can’t be measured only in terms of book sales. As I’ve worked hard to broaden my web presence, I’ve reaped many other benefits: growth as a professional, knowledge of the industry, interview requests, connections that will help in promotion, etc. The direct sales benefits might not be easily calculated, especially in the short term. But down the road, hopefully the effort will pay off.

If you have time, and you haven't seen this funny video (thanks Rebecca!), it just goes to show that traditional methods of marketing can be utterly ineffective too. It's not necessarily what we do, but how.



What about you? Have you seen authors who aren’t making the most of social media? What should they be doing differently? What other ideas do you have for how any of us can use social media more effectively?

Social Media: Giving Without Expecting Anything in Return

I had a painful sore throat that lingered for weeks. I was exhausted. My children had one illness after another—croup, bronchitis, the stomach flu, high fevers, sinus infection. They only had to be in the same room with each other and the germs would jump with glee off one child and run over the next. All of this within six weeks.

I was on the phone cancelling yet another activity when my friend said, “I’m bringing you a meal and I won’t take no for an answer.”

I stammered, “Oh, I think we’ll be okay—“

“I’ll be over this afternoon. ”

Later she delivered a huge pan of Mexican lasagna, homemade applesauce, and freshly baked blueberry muffins and cookies. And to top it off, she’d stopped by Dairy Queen and picked up small blizzards for each of us.

As I spread out the meal on the table, my daughters looked at everything in amazement and said, “That was really nice of her to give us a meal like this. We’ll need to give her a meal sometime in return.”

“Yes, we can do that,” I started. But then I realized I had a teachable moment not just for my daughters but for myself too. “Actually, Mrs. M. gave us this wonderful meal without expecting anything in return. She wanted to do it because her gift is showing mercy to those in need.”

“Just like your gift is writing?”

“Yes. And when we’re using our talents to serve others, we enjoy doing it without thought of reward or payback from others.”

My friend used her gift sacrificially in a way that said, “I want to give to you, not from what I can gain, but because I truly care about you.”

Her example made me pause and evaluate if I’m using my gift of writing to serve others without thought of reward. In a day and age when sales numbers matter and statistics make or break future book deals, is it even possible for writers to give without secretly hoping it will profit us?

Of course when we write with passion and pour our souls into our books, we give a piece of ourselves. Whether it’s inspiration, hope, or just plain entertainment, we’re giving something through the tales we spin.

But can our giving go beyond that? Are there other ways we can give to our readers—without expecting increased book sales or accolades or anything else in return?

In a recent Marketing Webinar I attended, writers were encouraged to think about how we can incorporate giving into our marketing and publicity. In the internet age we may be able to initially attract readers to our blogs or websites. But what do we have that will keep them there and then foster them coming back? Here are a few ideas:

*Make a fundamental shift in our attitudes. We can start to look at our marketing more in terms of connecting with our readers and giving them something of value without thought of how it benefits us. In other words, we can’t make our social media sites all about us and our books, but should work at shifting the focus to our readers and what they want or need.

*Look for opportunities to give without expecting anything in return. Most of us can smell out the scent of selfish giving—especially those sites that offer us something in an effort to promote themselves. I’m usually hesitant to participate in book drawings or other giveaways that are clearly self-serving, but I'm much more likely to join in when I sense a "no-strings-attached" attitude.

*Find unique and practical ways to give to others. Actual book giveaways are the most popular. But there are other possibilities: resource lists, links to helpful sites, encouraging advice, inspiration. Some websites offer reader pages that include games, quizzes, extra information, etc. The point is to begin to be on the lookout for how we can serve and minister to the needs of our readers.

My friend’s example of selfless-giving is one I’d like to imitate in my writing. It’s one we’d all do well to imitate in any situation. I’d like to get to a place where I can honestly say, “I want to give not from what I can gain, but because I truly care.”

How about you? How hard or easy is it to give without expecting anything in return? Have you ever considered the concept of giving in your marketing efforts? What other ways do you give or have you seen others give on social media sites?

Social Media: How Much is Too Much Self-Promotion?

Writers are expected to help in the promotion of their books. In the age of “Books-a-Million” why wouldn’t we want to make all the effort we can to help our books stand out from the other millions of books?

But how much is enough promotion? And how much borders on too much?

We’ve all seen others work at promoting not only their books, but their blog posts, articles, links, etc. If you’re like me, sometimes you might wonder if a particular author is trying too hard. There are times when I wonder how others perceive my self-promotion and whether they think I’m too pushy.

That’s the thing about promoting ourselves. It’s about US. We’re tooting our own horn on what we’re accomplishing or writing. And it feels a little strange to actively attempt to bring attention upon ourselves when we’re accustomed to living humbly and in relative obscurity.

Recently the Bethany House marketing and publicity department sent me a questionnaire. It read: As a department, we strive to do the best we can to publicize and sell your book. In order for us to do this the most effectively, we’ve come up with twenty questions that will help us get to know you and your book a little better.

Even though the questionnaire took some time and deep thinking, I was excited to fill it out, knowing I have a group of people who are willing to help me sell my book. It brought to mind a couple of concepts in relation to self-promotion:

Self-promotion is always better when you get others to join your effort.

When someone tries to sell you something, are you more likely to take them seriously when they say “My book is great”? Or when someone else says, “Her book is great”? Which statement has more credibility?

I’d much rather have Bethany House publicizing my book, getting out the word, and shining the light on me, than me trying to do it all on my own. Likewise, I’d prefer to have supportive friends who get behind me and spread the word about my book.

When we get others to join us in promoting our books, blogs, or whatever it is, we take some of the pressure off ourselves. In the process we gain credibility because the “shout out” isn’t just coming from our own mouth.

Pre-publication is a great time to begin forming relationships with people who will someday genuinely be excited about spreading the word about our books. I’m sure we can all think of those who’ve befriended us once their book was almost out, and we felt as if they were “using” us for their promotion. Instead we ought to spend the early months and years joining the writing community, getting connected, and forming real friendships.

Self-promotion is always better when we’re able to strike a balance.

If all we do is promote ourselves and our books or blogs, eventually that’s going to come across to our followers. Yes, the social media outlets are the place to “sell” ourselves, but if that’s our primary focus we’re likely to turn others off.

Instead, we should look for ways to promote others too. I mentioned this in my post about Twitter Etiquette. Twitter is a great way to help point the spotlight on others, particularly when they have a helpful or inspiring blog post. I’m sure Facebook can operate in the same way.

Also, we should find ways to give back to the writing community. Whether through helpful advice, links, critiques, contests, or encouragement, we can be working to make this writing journey less about us and more about others. In other words, we're trying to strike a balance.

My summary on self-promotion? It’s a necessary part of the writing business. But like anything else, we should strive to do it professionally and with humility.

What do you think? Have you ever been turned off by someone’s self-promotion? How much is too much? And how much is enough?

Marketing Woes. What's an Author Really Suppose to do?

I admit. I'm the first to copy a good idea when I see one--or at least think I should copy it. When a few blogging friends were making book trailers, I was sure I needed one. And when others have done vlogs or podcasts, I began to wonder if I should too.

It's easy to compare our efforts with what others are doing and measure up short, isn't it? We don't want to be left behind in the competitive race to make ourselves and our books stand apart from others, so we keep adding tasks to our marketing endeavors.

That brings us back to the questions we raised in the last post: What really works? What should we do before publication? Where should we focus our limited energy and time?

First, platform-building is more important for non-fiction than for fiction. We'll usually buy a parenting book, personal growth book, or whatever, from someone we already like, versus someone we don't know.

Second, we need to have an idea of what type of publishing house we're targeting. For non-fiction and fiction alike, the type of publishing house makes a huge difference in what's expected of us.

If we're self-publishing or going with a smaller press, then the burden of most, if not all, the marketing will fall upon us. We will have to look for every gizmo and gadget that can help push our names and books into the far reaches of the public eye. We may have to work just as hard at selling our book as we did at writing it, if not harder. We have to be prepared to use every possible avenue for marketing, and the more the better.

Because of the extreme marketing efforts required for self-publishing or small press, we hear about it, we see our friends' hard work, and we often begin to think this hype is the industry norm. Those of us pursuing traditional publication get ourselves worked up with the marketing frenzy. We rush around and try to do what everyone else is doing, getting frazzled in the process.

But, what is truly necessary for those pursuing traditional publication with bigger houses? What will the marketing department do? And what is the author's responsibility?

When I sat down with the Bethany House Marketing Team, I quickly realized I'd bought into the hype, into believing that marketing my book was mostly my responsibility. After only a few minutes of talking with the Team, they straightened out my misconception.

They will have much more influence than I ever could. Their sales team will get the book into big bookstores, big box stores, and to distributors. Their publicity already has established connections with pertinent magazines and media. Their publishing house name and reputation will take my book far beyond the reaches that I, as a no-name author, ever could.

In other words, anything that I can do to help generate sales on my book will be insignificant compared to what they are capable of doing together as a marketing and sales department. Now, does that mean I don't have to do anything? That I can sit back and kick up my feet?

Absolutely not. As we said in the last post, writers must participate in the marketing process. It's just good business to do whatever we can to help boost our sales. But I don't have to do everything. I don't even have to do most things.

What Bethany House marketing encouraged us to do was focus on what we like and what we're good at. For me, that's this blog. For one of the other debut authors that means putting energy into her website. She doesn't need to start a blog--it's not something she's interested in or wants to devote energy to. For others that might mean public speaking, teaching courses, making local connections.

The bottom line is this: If we're heading toward traditional publication with bigger houses, we need to take the pressure off ourselves to do everything, to stop worrying about having to copy what every other writer is doing. Instead we need to find our unique marketing strengths and cultivate them. That's where we'll truly shine.

Have you gotten sucked into the trap of trying to do everything or in copying what others are doing? What are your strengths and what are you doing to cultivate them?

The Number One Marketing Strategy For Writers

Everywhere we turn we find advice about what we should do to market ourselves and our books. Some of it's confusing, even contradictory.

One agent might say, "Every writer serious about publication should have a blog." Perhaps another says, "If blogging's not your thing, then don't worry about it."

Book trailers, branding, websites, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, twitter, facebook, linked-in. . . the list keeps getting longer. And we keep getting more and more overwhelmed.

What really works? What should we do before publication? Where should we focus our limited energy and time?

These are the questions I've mulled over for some time now. And so, when I sat down with the Bethany House Marketing Team during my recent trip, I was very interested in getting their perspective on what an unpublished author like myself should do to help in the process of promoting myself and my book.

In other words, if we're unpublished but looking to begin building a name for ourselves and our future books, what should we do?

Of course we all want to help in the marketing process. None of us are under the illusion "good" books automatically generate their own sales. We're competing with millions of other "good" books along with the ever-growing electronic industry which threatens to pull readers from books altogether.

Therefore, it goes without saying we must be active participants in our own marketing. We can't afford to sit back, twiddle our thumbs, and hope our books sell. If we want to give them the best shot at succeeding, especially after investing so much of ourselves into them, we have to be willing to do whatever is necessary.

The problem, however, is that we often jump head first into the marketing frenzy. We try to do it all--keep up with our writing projects, blog, twitter, facebook, make a book trailer, update a website, etc. It doesn't take long before we find ourselves sinking in the murky marketing waters--overwhelmed, confused, tired, disillusioned, and ready to head back to the safety of shore.

Many of us are crying out, "Help! I'm drowning! Just tell me what I REALLY need to do to have a successful writing career. What's absolutely necessary? What will help my marketing efforts THE most?"

In the next post, I'll attempt to answer these questions. But for today, I want to end on an encouraging note, something Bethany House Marketing reiterated to me: Make sure our primary focus always remains on writing great books.

If we're not keeping our writing THE priority, then maybe it's okay to doggy-paddle back to shore, drag ourselves out of the marketing frenzy, and give ourselves a break. Perhaps for a time we need to focus only on writing and editing, without all of the distractions and pressures of blogging, facebook, twitter, etc.

I admire some blogging friends who've done this very thing. They've either stopped blogging or cut back in order to make their writing more of a priority. It takes courage to pull out of the waters, dry off, and rest from the sidelines. I'm sure when they wade back in, their writing will be better because of the break.

I personally didn't enter cyberland until my writing was ready for querying. I stayed on the shore and watched for quite a while. I protected my writing time, honed my skills, and learned self-discipline. When I finally took the plunge, I knew I was ready for the next phase of my writing career.

The number one marketing strategy is writing a book that can captivate the hearts of readers. Without that, we won't get too far, even if we do everything else right.

Have you ever been overwhelmed and confused by all of the demands placed upon writers today? How do you keep from sinking? And how do you keep your writing a priority?

5 Easy Ways To Market Before Publication

From all of your comments in the last couple of posts, I think we all agree authors can benefit from beginning to build their platforms before publication.

Blogging friend, Patricia Woodside, emailed me an excellent summary of the whole platform building effort: There are stages to being an unpublished writer. Not everything is prudent in the earliest stages, but we don't have to wait until contracted either.

In other words, if we're newer to the writing journey, we may need to put most of our energy and time into learning the craft and improving our stories. But as we move further along, it doesn't hurt us (and may even benefit us) to start laying a foundation for marketing.

I liked how Susan Reinhardt put it: As a pre-pubbed novelist, I look at platform building the way I viewed my hope chest years ago. I'm putting things away in my writing trousseau for future use.

Many of you also said balance is critical for platform building in the early stages. We're easily swept away in the numbers game, whether trying to gain more blog followers or facebook friends. When that happens we end up spending more time networking than writing.

So, my friends, how can we keep platform building in it's proper place?

Here are 5 Easy Ways to Market Before Publication:

1. Build Name Recognition: Getting our names "out there" can be as easy as joining online writing/reading organizations, participating in local writer's chapters, attending conferences (and volunteering to help at them), or writing shorter pieces for magazines. Patricia Woodside gave me the link for this article: How Unpublished Authors Can Build Name Recognition. The article gives several other excellent ideas.

2. Develop A Web Presence: When we think of web presence (read previous post here), most of us think of the blogosphere. While blogging is an important way to connect with others and stretch our internet presence, it's also one of the most time-consuming. I'm finding that I can make just as many, if not more, connections on Facebook and Twitter. Both take less time and are easy ways to keep in contact with friends.

3. Maintain Professionalism: We never know who may stop by our blogs or read our comments/tweets. If we're actively querying and connecting with agents and editors, we need to be prepared for a potential visit. Several agents visited my blog before I was offered representation. Some of you have had agent visits too. Keeping our cyber "homes" tidy and our communication professional are simple but effective ways to showcase ourselves in a positive light.

4. Start Getting Writing Noticed: I'm not advocating that we should post chapters of our books online. I personally don't think that's safe, nor do I think most blog readers want to take the time to critique the work in a blog post. Instead find critique groups, crit partners, or beta readers. Hire an editor. Enter contests. These are all helpful ways to not only make friends and get feedback, but to also possibly gain the attention of published authors or agents/editors.

5. Build Genuine Friendships: This is the best way to begin building a platform. I'm going to absolutely LOVE going into a bookstore, picking one of YOUR published books off the shelf, and taking it to the counter. You know what I'm going to say when I give the cashier my money? "I'm lucky. I KNOW the person who wrote this book." I'll just smile at the cashier's amazement and say, "Yep, she's one of my friends."

Yes, you are my friends. And more important than the marketing are the relationships we form with one another. The sales, the money, and all of the platform in the world cannot compare to the treasure we have in genuine, loving friendships.

Thanks for being one of mine!

Can you think of any other easy ways to market before publication? And which from my list are you already doing?

When Should We Start Building A Platform?

Platform didn't help me get a book contract. The story and writing clinched the deal.

However, we will need a platform at some point--it's inevitable in today's market. So, when is the best time to start building one?

If we're just starting the journey, then we ought to focus the large majority of our time improving our writing. We can use blogging and other social media to help us grow. But we shouldn't worry about attracting large crowds to our blogs and racking up followers. If we don't have a saleable story, then we'll just waste precious writing time.

Yet, for many of us, publication is looming closer. We've spent many years taking our writing to the next level. We're actively querying, getting requests for partials or fulls, and we're starting to get positive feedback from agents and editors.

Tina Russo of Seekerville asked an excellent question in the comments of my last post: What about platform for getting your manuscript an invitation to be read? As in out of the slush pile?

In other words, if our writing is good enough (remember not perfect!), and we're attempting to get the attention of agents and editors, will platform help us?

I'm no expert, but I'd have to answer: Absolutely! An agent might be more likely to pick up a manuscript from an author they "know" through social networking versus a complete stranger. In that case, platform could definitely give us an advantage. But in the end, only the book itself can land an agent or book contract.

All that to say, if we've started seriously pursing publication, I think it's wise pull out our hammer and nails and add them to our writer's tool box. I know some fiction authors wait until they're published before they start any marketing efforts. However, I personally think that into today's tough market, once we're nearing publication, we should begin building that platform little by little.

An article by the Washington Post from Sept. 2009, titled On Web, A Most Novel Approach, discusses the brutal realities of modern marketing:

"Publishers actively market and promote big names, but for thousands of writers it's a figure-it-out yourself world of creating book trailers, Web sites and blogs, social networking. . . Being an author has become much more of an ongoing relationship with your audience through the Web rather than just writing a book and disappearing while you write the next one. . . You have to be out there in the online world, talking and participating."

Maybe we won't get far with the platform before publication, but we can at least lay a foundation. In the Washington Post article, 60% of respondents in surveys say the decisive factor in purchasing a book is that they are already fans of the author.

Obviously the statistic applies to published authors. But I think it's applicable to unpubbed too. It's never too early to begin to build genuine connections. I'd be much more likely buy the book of someone who is already my friend than from someone who befriends me in order to sell their book. How about you?

Today, I'd love to hear where you're at. Do you need to pull back from cyberland and focus more on your writing? Or do you need to pull out the hammer and nails and start building? And what do you think: Can having even a small platform work to an unpublished author's advantage in the agent/editor hunt?

Does Platform Really Help an Unpublished Writer?

If we read agent blogs long enough, we're sure to come across the word "platform." According to my wonderful and lovely agent, Rachelle Gardner, platform is: The means by which YOU will help sell your book by your presence in the media and/or the public sphere, or at least within the audience you hope to reach with your book. (Taken from: Let's Talk About Platform).

In other words, platform is all of the ways we're attempting to build our readership. Nowadays, writers are encouraged to begin their platform even before they're published. From what I understand, non-fiction writers must have a platform--the bigger, the better. Fiction writers are not required to have one, but it is considered a plus.

Last week, I blogged about some of the reasons Bethany House picked up my book (click here to read). In response, Joanne asked a great question: How about platform in addition to the writing? Do you think that plays a significant part?

In other words: Did my platform play any part, even minor, in helping sell my book to Bethany House?

My answer: Platform had absolutely nothing to do with landing me a book contract.

Of course, as part of the book proposal that Rachelle initially sent to Bethany House, I stated a number of the ways I planned to help market my book once it's published. I mentioned blogs as well as my website (which is still in the works). My editor may have briefly looked over this part of the proposal and said to himself: "She's off to a good start."

But I'm fairly certain the STORY and WRITING sold the book, because in reality, my platform is non-existent. My blog and my web presence are still much too small to have had any influence in selling my book. Even if they were much larger, even astronomically higher, I don't believe they would have made a difference.

I'm convinced that for fiction, publishers look at whether they can sell our books. Story and writing trump platform every time for unpublished writers. Even published authors, with platforms much, much bigger than mine, struggle to renew contracts.

If we don't write quality, entertaining books that attract readers, then all of the platform in the world won't help us. We can have hundreds of blog followers and facebook friends, but if we haven't crafted a book they'll want to read, then we're really just spinning our wheels, dare I say, even wasting our time building a platform at the sacrifice of time spent on writing?

I didn't enter the cyberworld of networking until just this year. Before that I spent years focusing on honing my craft and creativity. In hindsight, I'm glad for those years of uninterrupted, uncluttered writing, without the pressure to build a platform.

There comes a time, however, when we need to jump in an start thinking of the future and building that platform. But we shouldn't put that pressure on ourselves until our story and craft are ready to sell. More about that in the next post. . .

Today, I'd love to hear your opinions. Do you think the emphasis placed on platform for unpublished authors is over-rated? Have you felt the pressure to build a platform yet?

*Update: Make sure to check out the comments! My agent left her opinion there!

Balancing It All

Let's get back to the question we asked at the beginning of the week. How do we balance blogging and writing?

We've realized we can't throw out the blogging (as we're sometimes tempted to do). We can make blogging work more effectively for us (as we talked about yesterday). But how do we keep blogging from taking over our writing time?

What about all of the other technology that interferes with writing time? Checking emails, Facebook, Twittering? They are just one click away from our fingers, screaming at us, pulling our attention away from our stories. How do we ignore all of this clamoring?

I'm still struggling with this very issue. So today I thought we could share practical ideas on how to set limits on blogging and other internet activities so that we still have time for the most important writing.

Here are just a few ways I've tried to balance it all:

• First thing in the morning when I check blogs, I give myself a time limit. After my time is up, then I start my morning writing.


• Throughout the day, I try to respond to comments on my blog and check other blogs, only when I have spare time (family and home responsibilities come first).


• During my other writing time (usually during nap time and after kids are in bed), I try not to check email or blogs. I try to stay focused on my writing.


• I write most of my weekly posts on the weekends and then I only need tweak and change as needed during the week.


• I prioritize whose blogs I visit: I visit my regular follower's blogs first, then sporadic followers, and visit new blogs occasionally.

I think it all comes back to self-discipline; sometimes we have to tell ourselves NO, STOP. In a society where boundaries are flux and self-control is old-fashioned, saying NO to ourselves can be one of the hardest things we learn to do.

If we call ourselves writers, then we must write. We may have to say NO to a lot of things in order to write, including blogging.

What are practical ways you've learned to balance writing and blogging and other social networking? Since I'm still learning, I would love to hear your advice!

Effective Blogging

Yesterday we talked about the fact that agents and editors are putting more and more importance on blogging and other internet connections as ways for writers to build their platforms.

If we're planning to blog to build connections, then how can we blog most effectively to achieve that goal?

I follow quite a number of blogs and I know many of you do too. Let's consider for a moment what kinds of things make a blog attractive to a reader:

• They're not too long, have short paragraphs, and are easy to read.


• The content applies to something we're dealing with.


• They contain a question that we can comment about.


• They may offer words of encouragement.

Can you think of other things that make a blog attractive to a reader?

As I was considering which blogs are most attractive to me, I realized I like the blogs of people that I sense are genuine. Here are a few ways I think bloggers can be genuine:

• If someone leaves a comment on your blog for the first time, take the time to go over to their blog to thank them and leave a return comment.


• If someone signs up to be a follower on your blog, take a few minutes to go to their blog, and sign up to follow theirs (if appropriate).


• If someone leaves a comment on your blog, attempt to give a personal response to let them know you read what they said and appreciate their input. (or email a response)


• Get to know the people in your blogging community personally; show genuine interest in them and the things in their lives.

What are other ways you believe bloggers can be genuine in their networking?

Author, Karen Witemeyer summarized the need to be genuine last week in one of her comments on Rachelle Gardner's blog. She said:

So many new writers who are focused on the goal of "getting there" see networking as trying to win the favor of big name authors, the top editors, and the most prestigious agents. And as charming as they try to be, it is obvious that genuine concern is lacking. Those we are trying to impress can sense that we only want to be in their circle to further our own careers. Instead of trying to smooze these big names, form relationships with people who are at the same developmental stage as we are on this journey. The relationships will be genuine and as the success of the group grows, you will find a network already in place. And beyond that, you will have true friendships that will last a lifetime.

So, what do you think? How can we blog most effectively? Here are my questions again: What makes a blog attractive to a reader? How can bloggers be genuine?

Tug of War

So how much time does everyone REALLY spend on blogging compared to writing?

The tug of war was won by writing. Many of you mentioned spending about 2 hours writing and 1 hour blogging. Some (like me!) do more. Nearly everyone alluded to the struggle to keep blogging from taking over their writing time.

I think I can summarize your comments from yesterday by saying: the battle is ongoing; blogging still pulls us one way and writing the other.

When I started getting serious about looking for agents and pursuing publication of my novel, I quickly realized that many agents have blogs and also highly encourage writers to have one. Here are a few recent quotes from some agents I follow:

Rachelle Gardner: Publishers and agents are still looking for great stories. If you've written a wonderful novel, everything else is icing. However, I think fiction platform is going to become more of an issue simply because of your competition. More and more, we're going to see first-time novelists who already have a high-traffic blog or other means of attracting readers.

Wendy Lawton: I noticed when our agency began blogging that there were several writers who left regular comments. Brilliant. Don’t you think we take note of those writers who are doing the hard work to find out who we are and what we’re thinking? Also, I’m following several very interesting writers on Twitter. I’m getting to know them long before they send me work.

Chip MacGregor: Right now the way to create buzz is through the internet; we're seeing authors build an entire readership through their blogs, and clearly the social networking tools of Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace are reshaping the way authors build a platform.

Obviously agents are looking at how well new writers use the internet to network. Thus, most of us are trying hard to make new connections and build a readership long before we have a book on the shelf.

In some ways blogging seems like it has become a popularity contest. Has it ever felt that way to you at times? We're being pushed to try to get noticed and to make a name for ourselves before we're published. Supposedly the more popular we become, the more sales our book will generate.

Yet, how does this push toward popularity line up with the idea of living humbly? Seems like I need to make a big push for ME, and I'm not sure how to reconcile that yet with my desire to push God's fame.

So, what do you think of all the hype? Do you think blogging and other social networking will really help your career in the long run? After spending hours and hours at blogging, how big of a difference do you think it will make once your book is published?