Personally I
see an author’s platform as a form of a stage, a place where the author can
stand and be seen by the people she wants to buy her book. This gets confusing
to some who erroneously think the author platform is about marketing and sales.
Actually my
analogy of a stage isn’t very far off. Every author needs “someplace” where
readers (and potential readers) know to come to hear the latest news about the
author’s work. Readers also want to learn more about the author’s expertise on
a subject (particularly important for non-fiction writers). Many publishers
want to know IF the author has a platform before they invest their money in
publishing a book. Your platform needs to be built AND maintained.
The platform
is the place where the author does get to promote her work but posting to
social media sites or sending out random emails by itself does not constitute a
platform. Platforms can START with websites, networking, a blog (remember that
is DIFFERENT than a website) where you showcase your talent, communities you
belong to… In an overly simplified explanation, your platform is similar to a
brick-and-mortar store rather than simply hawking your wares in hand on a busy
street corner.
Let’s
discuss setting up your website as a mainstay of your platform:
Use YOUR
name (or as close to it as possible) for your domain, do not use your book’s
title or some quirky phrase — folks who search online for you will search for
your name and limiting the site to a book title is just that, LIMITING. The
default for searches on domain names is “.com” so unless you can’t find a name
close enough to your own, .com is a safer option.
Find a
web-HOST for your domain, there are many inexpensive options that provide user
friendly formats so that you don’t have to be a programming engineer to design
or maintain it. My personal favorite is WORDPRESS, but I also maintain a blog
on BLOGGER. Both are easy to use and inexpensive. WORDPRESS seems to offer more
themes and plugins. There are also services where you can pay someone to
maintain the site for you, however I have heard lots of complaints about some
of these so do your research before you invest your money; the cost of these
services can vary, so again, do your homework first.
Every
website should consist of multiple PAGES:
Your HOME
PAGE is the landing page and the first impression you are going to make on
someone who searches for you. An ABOUT ME or BIO page should offer personal
info on you as a writer, BUT this info should be relevant to your writing; in
other words we don’t need to know details about your wild college party days
UNLESS that is the subject matter of your books (if you are writing
non-fiction, DO include whatever makes you an expert in the topic).
You should
have a BOOK page so that readers can learn what books you’ve authored and where
they can get them; If you have multiple books it’s a great idea to have a
master page listing them (with brief blurbs) and click-thru options to each
individual book where you have more detailed info, buy links, and click-thru to
reviews, awards, etc. And be sure to make yourself accessible to your readers
with a CONTACT ME page, depending on how you are notified of comments be sure
to check this often and RESPOND.
Other useful
pages to include on your website would be: an EVENT page where you list
upcoming appearances (online or in person); a MEDIA page where people can have
more info about you including awards and honorable mentions, downloadable
author pic and book covers, and things a reporter might want to know about you
for an article; a blog if you don’t maintain a separate one; and a list of your
social media sites like FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads,
etc. Don’t forget to include an invitation to an email list for special
announcements NOT spam.
Writing
Exercise: Write a
BRIEF author bio, include enough info so that your readers get the feeling they
know you, but remember to include items that are relevant to you as a writer.
Writing
Prompt: Make a list
of at least ten words that describe what your name means to you — it can
be literal (translation), or just a feeling you get from the first and last
name.
Challenge
Assignment: Write one
to two sentences blurb for EACH of your books that could go on your main BOOK
page; then write a short paragraph for each book to go on the individual book
page(s). If you don’t have any of your own books then choose five or six books
you recently read.
