Platform. That's the buzz-word in publishing these days. Especially with non-fiction. Do you have a platform? Is your platform big enough? You need to work on building your platform.Any time I had contact with an agent or editor about my memoir, CRYSTAL CLEAN, I was asked these questions.
In short, platform refers to a ready-made audience for your work. Agents and publishers expect authors to have hundreds of FaceBook "friends," thousands of Twitter followers and an active blog with a substantial list of subscribers to promote their work . Without these things, the quality of one's writing almost doesn't matter. In other words, an author is expected to create hype for something that doesn't yet exist.
I've had three agents who were interested in my book and I signed with one of them, but in the end, it all came down to my lack of platform. But I still believe in my book. I'm proud of it and I think I have something to say that can help people whether they're in the throes of addiction or someone who loves an addict. That's why I'm going to e-publish the book myself. Because I believe in it.
Here's the good news: YOU can help me make my dream come true! I've started a project on KickStarter. There are rewards for donations starting at the $10 amount. Rewards include everything from getting your name in the Thank You section of the book, to free down loads, copies of the manuscript and an invitation to the book kick-off party. The money raised with go toward hiring someone to do cover art for the book and having it professionally formatted for all e-readers. Any remaining money raised will go toward speaking engagements and possibly publishing physical copies of the memoir.
I believe this is an important project. I hope you'll consider helping me build my platform and, hopefully, by contributing to help me get my memoir published. If you have any questions please ask away!
Thank you all so much for your continuing support!
In short, platform refers to a ready-made audience for your work. Agents and publishers expect authors to have hundreds of FaceBook "friends," thousands of Twitter followers and an active blog with a substantial list of subscribers to promote their work . Without these things, the quality of one's writing almost doesn't matter. In other words, an author is expected to create hype for something that doesn't yet exist.
I've had three agents who were interested in my book and I signed with one of them, but in the end, it all came down to my lack of platform. But I still believe in my book. I'm proud of it and I think I have something to say that can help people whether they're in the throes of addiction or someone who loves an addict. That's why I'm going to e-publish the book myself. Because I believe in it.
Here's the good news: YOU can help me make my dream come true! I've started a project on KickStarter. There are rewards for donations starting at the $10 amount. Rewards include everything from getting your name in the Thank You section of the book, to free down loads, copies of the manuscript and an invitation to the book kick-off party. The money raised with go toward hiring someone to do cover art for the book and having it professionally formatted for all e-readers. Any remaining money raised will go toward speaking engagements and possibly publishing physical copies of the memoir.
I believe this is an important project. I hope you'll consider helping me build my platform and, hopefully, by contributing to help me get my memoir published. If you have any questions please ask away!
Thank you all so much for your continuing support!
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