Your Author Platform - Is It Ever Too Soon to Start?

 

 By Karen Cioffi

Newbies to the writing arena have many questions about creating an author platform. And, the most puzzling one is whether they need a website before they have a book published or in contract.

In fact, I’ve recently been questioned twice about whether a newbie with NO book on the publishing horizon should bother to start working on a platform and more specifically on an author website.

Both individuals felt it would be like putting the cart before the horse.

It’s important to know that this, though, is far from the case.

Creating a website at the get-go is putting the horse before the cart. It’s one of the forces that will pull you forward and help you establish your online platform, your presence and visibility.

So, the answer to the title question is NO.

It’s never too soon to begin your author platform or your author website if:

- you want to be a writer or an author
- you intend to submit manuscripts to agents and/or publishers
- you intend to self-publish a book

The time to get your online platform started is RIGHT NOW. And the foundation of your platform is a website.

Keeping up with Marketing Trends

When one author mentioned she was writing a children’s middle grade book and didn’t have a website, I responded that it was a mistake. I told her websites are an essential part of an author’s online platform.

Her reply caught me by surprise. She was advised by a well-known and respected institute for children’s writing that she should wait until she received a book contract before creating a website.

If this were 10 or 15 years ago that advice would make sense. But, today, agents and publishers want to know what the potential new author’s platform is beforehand.

The size or lack-of-size of an online platform can make or break a contract.

The powers-that-be expect you to have a website in place and be involved in social networks before you even submit a manuscript. They expect you to be a big part of the marketing involved in selling the book.

Jane Friedman, Media Studies instructor at the University of Virginia and former publisher of Writer’s Digest, advises that authors must cultivate a relationship with readers every day of your life. And she advises that you start TODAY.

Why do you need to start your online platform TODAY?

In a single word, the answer to that question is TIME. Establishing an online platform takes time.

It takes time to establish yourself as an authority in your niche. It takes time to develop a relationship with your readers. It takes time to develop trust. And it takes time to broaden your reach and acquire followers/connections.

Real life example:

One of my former clients created a website. She also created pages on two of the major social networks. She did all this way before she started to get her book written.

The results? She has thousands and thousands of followers on both social networks. I’m talking about over 30,000 followers at the time of writing this article.

You can be sure I added this information when writing the query letter for her.

Do you think this will make a difference in a publisher or agent’s view of this new author?

You bet it will.  

They’ll know she’s able and willing to help sell her books.

Since your website is the foundation of your author platform, it’s absolutely, positively necessary to get a website setup and optimized as soon as possible.

It’s from this focal point, your hub of information, that you will draw the attention of the search engines and readers. You may even catch the attention of a visiting editor, publisher, or literary agent.

Your website is also the place you will get readers to sign-up for your mailing list – further building your marketing reach. It’s the place you will begin a long-term writer-reader relationship.

Think of your author website as the launching pad of your book marketing platform.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, a successful children’s ghostwriter with 300+ satisfied clients worldwide, and an author online platform instructor with WOW! Women on Writing. For children’s writing tips, or if you need help with your children’s story, click the link above.

You can check out Karen’s books at: https://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/books/

 

 The Lazy Way to Be a Great Writer

Positive Thinking and the Writer

How to Write Vivid Scenes 

HAVE A GOOD ONE!

 WISHING YOU A HEALTHY, HAPPY, 

AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 

FROM ALL YOUR FRIENDS AT 

WRITERS ON THE MOVE!

Guided Imagery for the Writer and Everyone Else

 

The world is a hot-mess. I don’t know of anyone who’s not stressed and anxious.

Being creative, whether writing fiction or nonfiction, takes focus. And as a writer, it’s natural that at times you'll find it difficult to concentrate on writing.

With the added distraction of the world’s craziness, well…

I’ve been a subscriber to Bob Rich’s newsletter for a long time and a very recent email was titled Unfolding Guided Imagery.

After reading it and following it, I was impressed so thought I’d share his other guided imagery articles at: https://bobrich18.wordpress.com/category/guided-imagery/ 

Also, if you'd like to learn more on how to use tools of positive psychology to ease your stress, Bob runs a free 5-session online course –  you can email him about this at: bob@bobswriting.com

You might also like reading  “Two women aged 55.” You'll find it at: https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2tF

In addition to being a blogger and author, Bob is a retired psychotherapist.

-----

Bob Rich would jump off this planet because of its crazy inhabitants if it wasn’t for the tools of positive psychology. They allow us to stay calm, sane and even contented in the worst situations (though of course we need to remember to use them).

All these tools are covered in one way or another in two of Bob’s books. You’ll need to go for a hunt on his blog to find them.

-----

Hope this helps you in your writing and in your life !

Karen

Writers: Tips on Selling Books at Bazaars & Fairs

Strive Not to Be a Success,
But to Be of Value.

                                           Albert Einstein

By Linda Wilson

This holiday season I joined with two other children’s authors to share a table at two holiday bazaars held at local high schools. It was my first time. I learned a lot, had loads of fun, and am thrilled that I’ve found a good way to sell my books in person. Up until now, I’ve been working on a marketing plan to interest readers online on social media sites and elsewhere, and to be honest, I haven’t even scratched the surface. While I continue to market my books online, I have decided it’s worth it to pursue marketing locally as well.

Here is a list of the items to consider:

• City permit and/or state license: Check to see what permits and/or licenses are required in your area.

• Books: Order copies in advance.

• Square: Google “Square Reader” to see if your phone works with a free reader. All three of us used Squares at the fair. We did run into a problem, though, of having on-and-off service because we were situated in the middle of the building. Sales were made by stepping close to the door or outside. To advertise that you accept Square, fit a square sticker that comes with Square into a frame to display on the table.

• Change: Make sure you have enough change for cash sales. Note: Keep track of purchases and which books were sold.

• Take your favorite pen: Purchasers seemed delighted to receive signed copies, so you might have a favorite pen you want to take specifically for this.

• Table: Check to see if you need to take your own table. About two tables, 40x40, which we brought, gave us the room we needed for our display.

• Tablecloth and small decorations for the season.

• Stool: Having a higher perch than a chair enabled me to sell while seated. The others using regular chairs had to stand and sit frequently throughout the day.

• Sign-up sheet and pen: Each purchaser can sign their email address so you can send them your newsletters.

• Posters: Foam-backed posters are available at Staples of your book covers at a low cost.

• Poster stands and an upright stand: These stands help advertise your books and the upright stand on the table allows customers to see the books easily. Also, we made stacks of books set in neat rows across our areas.

• Price sign: A colorful way to advertise the price of your books is to make cut outs with bright, neon paper. I made my cut out a star design with a bright pink background and a bright yellow star inside the pink star, with the price written in bright purple marker.

• Misc. marketing materials: Bookmarks, pens, stickers, etc. I created my own To-do pad by splitting 3x3 post-its pads into about three sections, adhering my business card to a business-card-size magnetic card that I bought at Amazon Prime. The business card adheres to the magnetic card, then I taped the back of the magnetic card to the section of post-its with strong double-sided tape. On the top post-it I stamped an illustration and a quote from my first book in bright red. I bought the stamps and ink from RubberStamps.net. I gave the To-do pads to purchasers.

• Candy: Put candy out in a colorful dish.

• Item to donate: You might be asked to donate an item for a silent auction.

• Cart or suitcase: You will accumulate more than you can imagine, especially if you need to take your own table and chair/stool. Both my author friends used heavy duty collapsible folding wagons (available on Amazon Prime) to carry their items in and out. I used a suitcase and they shared their space for my larger items. In the future, I plan to invest in this type of wagon. We still made more than one trip, but the wagon made it easy.

•Lunch and snacks: Think of what you’d like to have to eat and drink. It’s a long day with few breaks.

I learned a lot from my fellow authors who have sold their books together for a while. The best part of it is that it was fun being with them. It turned out that our books covered pre-school to adult. So, when someone showed an interest, we would ask if they were looking for a book for a certain age child and what they liked to read, then we could direct them to the books we thought were most suitable. Quite a few adults were interested in the books for adults, and some made purchases.

The best part was meeting my readers face to face. To see their eyes light up when they heard about my books and enjoyed looking at the illustrations made my efforts in writing for children rewarding beyond measure. I came home bubbling over with enthusiasm to dig into my next project . . . and my next fair.

Happy Holidays!

Linda Wilson, a former elementary teacher, has published over 150 articles for children and adults, several short stories for children, and her books, Secret in the Stars: An Abi Wunder Mystery, and A Packrat's Holiday: Thistletoe's Gift, which are available on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/author/lindawilsonchildrensauthor. Secret in the Mist, the second book in the Abi Wunder Myatery series, and the picture book, Tall Boots, will be out soon. Visit Linda at https://www.lindawilsonauthor.com. 

Subconscious Programming Can Help You Reach Your Writing Goals

by Suzanne Lieurance

When you have big writing goals you wish to reach, your conscious mind is usually onboard with these goals, no matter what they might be.

Your subconscious mind, however, might need some convincing.

And it's actually your subconscious mind that steers the ship, so to speak.

In her book Thinking Write: The Secret to Freeing Your Creative Mind, Kelly L. Stone says we all have the power to program our subconscious mind to get what we want.

She even says there's a formula for this.

The formula is:

genuine intention + repetition + burning desire = subconscious programming

Let's take a closer look at the first element in this formula—genuine intention.

We all have thousands, if not millions, of thoughts each day.

If we acted on each and every one of these thoughts, we could end up in a real mess.

Fortunately (for us), in order to make something happen we first have to convince ourselves at a subconscious level that we really want it to happen.

So how do we convince ourselves at this level that we really want something to happen—that we have a genuine intention?

Well, by taking baby steps.

By breaking down our larger writing goals into a series of smaller, more easily attainable writing goals.

Here's an example.

If you tell yourself—I want to write a book—that will seem too overwhelming to your subconscious mind, and it will react with a thought like—Yeah, sure you do. You've said that before, and you've NEVER written a book. You can't write a book. It's too difficult.

But, if you tell yourself—I'm going to write just one page every day and see if I can make it into a book—then your subconscious mind says—Okay. Go ahead. You can do that.

Once you start writing a page a day and you continue doing that for a while, you begin to convince your subconscious mind that you can do something even more difficult, so you raise the bar.

You start writing three pages a day, for example.

So, here's how to start programming your subconscious mind, so you eventually reach your writing goals.

Today, just follow these three steps:

Step One

Be sure you've set a genuine intention for the day.

That is, you really do want to accomplish what you say you want to accomplish today.

For example, it really matters to you that you get that next chapter of your novel written or that short story started.

Step Two

Make sure today's writing goal is just a baby step to a larger, more lofty writing goal.

That is, it is something you know you can accomplish.

Don’t tell yourself you’re writing a novel, for example.

Tell yourself you’re writing the first scene of chapter one.

Step Three

Now, get to work on whatever it is you have a genuine intention to accomplish today.

That's it.

Try it!

For more writing tips and resources for writers, visit writebythesea.com, and don't forget to get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge!

Suzanne Lieurance is the author of over 40 published books and a writing coach and certified life coach.

Season Wishes

 

We want to thank you for being loyal followers of our blog.

WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY 

A HEALTHY AND HAPPY

HOLIDAY SEASON!

How Writers Can Use Strange Holiday Experiences

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

The holidays are full of surprises and changes from the normal routine. Often we are with family that we rarely see or other people which take us out of the routine experiences. It's refreshing and good in many ways. Other times it brings challenges and even strange experiences.

I've had a few of those strange experiences during my holidays. There is no need to give you the specifics as I attempt to be diplomatic yet reach my point. When I have these different experiences, I'm committed to learning from them and growing through the strangeness until it is resolved in the best possible way.

If you write or want to get published (or have been publishing), I want to suggest several action steps with these experiences.

First, in your own private way, write down the incident, the feelings and the dialogue, Maybe you pick up an ink pen or pencil and put these words into a journal or open a file on your computer and type in the thoughts. I prefer the computer option since my handwriting had detoriated the point that people tell me they struggle to read my printing. Hey, I understand those comments because after the fact, I struggle to read my own handwriting. While the concepts are fresh you write the information. I've found time tends to blur the details of these experiences.

Next, look for places you can plug these incidents into your own writing life. For certain stories, you may have to changed the names or let family members read the stories and gain their permission before you publish anything (online or in print).

For some stories, I'd encourage you to go ahead and create the articles. Choose a potential publication or audience as you write so your completed article is an appropriate length in terms of word count and focus which means you lead the reader to a single point or message or takeaway. Then polish that story and write a query letter related to it. Some magazines will only look at a completed article if they have first seen the query letter and expressed interest. Other publications will read the completed article. It is your responsibility as the writer to research the publication and understand their needs and preferences.

Some of the most popular and widely-read articles that I've ever written in my years in publishing come from these personal experience stories. Many magazines prefer first person stories for certain sections of their magazine or maybe even a regular column. Again it is your responsibility as the writer to locate these opportunities.

Seasonal stories are always in vogue for magazines. As a magazine editor, I recall the challenge of finding enough stories connected to holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas or Easter or Valentine's Day or Fourth of July. Immediately when they happen is the best time to write these stories. You have several months to polish them before sending them out to the appropriate publication.

If you don't want to use them in a magazine article, then save the stories and weave them into a nonfiction book project or totally disguise the details and use them in a fiction project. You can even use a single incident in a magazine article (or two), a nonfiction book then as the spark of an idea for a short story and finally as an incident in your novel. The possibilities are endless.

I hear many authors bemoaning the limitations for their writing. Instead be aware of the boundless possibilities--if you capture the stories and proactively use them in your writing.

W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written for over 50 magazines and more than 60 books with traditional publishers.  Jim Cox, Editor-in-Chief  Of Midwest Review wrote in the December issue, "If you only have time to read one 'how to' guide to getting published, whether it be traditional publishing or self-publishing, "Book Proposals That Sell" is that one DIY instructional book. " He lives in Colorado and has over 190,000 twitter followers. 

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