You've put all your blood, sweat and tears into perfecting your manuscript only to have it rejected by an agent, and not even read by a publisher! You ask yourself why? Your story has everything it needs; a gripping plot, witty dialogue and intriguing characters, so why will no one take it on?
The buzzword going around in the publishing world at the moment is 'platform'. The author platform.
Existing authors have them, most new authors have them, and even many of the publishing employees themselves have them! So what is an author platform and what makes it so important?A platform is how you can get seen in a noisy world. It is a prominent level you are promoting yourself on to provide yourself with a name.
Think of it as the soapbox of the new age. Your way of getting your name out there into the community, and becoming more popular. This can be done mostly through digital outlets such as writing a blog, developing a Facebook or Tumblr web page devoted to your subject, or a Twitter page. But also through physical events such as demonstrations, presentations and speeches.
A friend of mine is an example. She is writing her first novel and knows that she has no hope of being noticed by a publisher, simply because she has no prior experience - she is an 'unknown'. She has come to realise that she needs to prop herself up on a platform.
So, to overcome this problem she is creating herself an author platform.
She works as a nurse and the theme of her first novel revolves around mental illness. Therefore she has set herself up on a weblog which focuses on mental illness in order to reach out to a community who may be interested in her story. People who are showing enthusiasm about her subject are also expressing interest in purchasing her book when it is finished.
So now when she takes her finished manuscript to a publisher, along with a list of potential customers, the risk of the publisher taking her on is reduced and her work suddenly becomes so much more appealing to them!
The buzzword going around in the publishing world at the moment is 'platform'. The author platform.
Existing authors have them, most new authors have them, and even many of the publishing employees themselves have them! So what is an author platform and what makes it so important?A platform is how you can get seen in a noisy world. It is a prominent level you are promoting yourself on to provide yourself with a name.
Think of it as the soapbox of the new age. Your way of getting your name out there into the community, and becoming more popular. This can be done mostly through digital outlets such as writing a blog, developing a Facebook or Tumblr web page devoted to your subject, or a Twitter page. But also through physical events such as demonstrations, presentations and speeches.
A friend of mine is an example. She is writing her first novel and knows that she has no hope of being noticed by a publisher, simply because she has no prior experience - she is an 'unknown'. She has come to realise that she needs to prop herself up on a platform.
So, to overcome this problem she is creating herself an author platform.
She works as a nurse and the theme of her first novel revolves around mental illness. Therefore she has set herself up on a weblog which focuses on mental illness in order to reach out to a community who may be interested in her story. People who are showing enthusiasm about her subject are also expressing interest in purchasing her book when it is finished.
So now when she takes her finished manuscript to a publisher, along with a list of potential customers, the risk of the publisher taking her on is reduced and her work suddenly becomes so much more appealing to them!
About the Author:
If you're interested to learn more about creating an author platform or even novel writing go to http://www.howtowriteabookadvice.net
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