Have Platform Will Publish

Just returned from a beautiful bicycling trip for a few blissful days with my husband through the rolling hills of the Eastern Townships of Quebec. Unpacked the bags, got a few hours of sleep, sat down at the computer, and there I was. Back at it again.

“It” is researching how to expand my “author platform,” that ubiquitous term I keep running into everytime I read about getting a book published these days. All the articles or blogs I read are talking about platform, as in, ‘If you want a publisher to take note of you, you gotta have a platform. No platform? Fugeddaboudit.” Full stop.

           

Like it or not, I have to take this platform thing seriously if I want to find a publisher for my recently-completed memoir.  But no matter how many publishing experts promise they can teach me to build my platform in three easy pieces, it makes me tired just thinking about it. People have been telling me for years that it’s easy to knit socks, tighten my abs, make strudel and dye my own hair. I know better.

I do take some comfort, however,  hearing that blogging is a good form of platform-building. I blog, therefore I platform-build.

Platform is what you use or do to make you and your work stand out and build a following. Blogging and tweeting are great ways of building platforms. Linkedin and Facebook pages are good platforms, too. I would imagine skywriting is probably even better than any of those. Hard to sustain though, I suppose. But I’m not completely counting it out yet. Note to self: google skywriters, Toronto.

“Platform maven” Christina Katz, author of Build Your Author Platform says, “Through your platform you sustain an engaging and dynamic presence among fellow writers; develop a devoted following of readers; identify and capitalize on your unique areas of expertise …”

In other words, an extensive platform tells publishers that you’re visible. That you have an audience. People already know who you are, think you have something to say, care about what you have to say, and…drumroll… may even buy your book because they like you (and what you have to say) so much.

In these uneasy times for publishers, I figure that an author platform is a little like Xanax. It will reduce anxiety and increase feelings of tranquility. What publisher couldn’t use a little of that these days?

So I’ll give it to them. It’s the least I can do. I will  build my platform, like the good people say. As some of my readers may know, I’ve already taken one piece of expert advice directed toward increasing readership in my blog,  I’ve taken what they say to mean, ‘focus young lady’. So, I’ve become more focused.

Instead of talking about 62 different subjects in 62 days of blogging as I’ve done (probably a Guinness record of non-focussed blog writing), I’ve narrowed myself down to three topics. I’m writing about my book/memoir. I’m writing about the roller coaster ride otherwise known as getting a book published, and from time to time I’ll write about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), the condition my son suffers from – brain damage caused by the alcohol his birthmother drank when pregnant with him. Besides it being an issue close to my heart, it is, not surprisingly, a major theme running through my memoir.

Speaking of focus, I’ll now get back to platform building. So how committed to this grand little exercise am I? I guess I’ll know for sure in the next few days as I decide whether to sign up for September's Writer’s Digest Premium Collection Program of books, webinars and independent study workshops called:  Build an Author Platform. 

Normally $428.97, but for me (and you), only $119.99. A 78% discount just for taking the trouble to register. Only 115 copies left.

The package marketers have pretty much got me hooked with their promises of what their package can do for me: Stand out to editors and agents! Determine what you want to get out of social media then go after it! Promote your talents and credentials in clever, continuous ways at no cost! Build an enviable author platform! Create a 6-point platform strategy!

I think I’m gonna do it, sign up that is. I’m fully aware that parting with a few bucks is probably the easy part. I’m also signing up for a lot of work once I digest the material and have to get cracking.

On second thought, maybe I should make that strudel after all.

If any of my readers have had experience taking Writer’s Digest courses or webinars, or ordered books from their Writer’s Digest Shop, please let me know what your experience has been. It would be good to share it with other readers, too. You can help me build my platform! For free.

The experts agree: no more than three blog topics

I’m not a highly focused person.

I probably don’t need to tell my readers this. All we need to do is take a look at the subjects of my blogs to see what I’m talking about:mandel bread, the Jewish biscotti; a new photography app for smartphones; spring returns to my garden; doctors say grumpiness helps us live longer; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, my son’s disability; completing my new book; the beauty of collective nouns; one minute memoirs; hiking the Appalachian Trail; Rihanna and Neil Young. Whew! What didn’t I talk about?

Sometimes my highly unfocused mind serves me well. I’m curious. I take in a lot. I’m interested in just about everything except numbers and machines, therefore have a lot of information and knowledge at my fingertips.  I’m able to make order and connections out of seemingly disparate ideas and thoughts. I have a good photographic eye because I see so much.  At the best of times, my writing reflects all that I see, smell, taste, hear and feel. And because I’m not a linear thinker, I don’t see the world from one point of view. I can bring fresh, new ways of looking at things to any discussion. I’m a godsend at parties.

But sometimes my lack of focus does not serve me well. While I’ve always known this, it really hit home this week when I started browsing the web about what makes a good blog. Besides getting repeatedly lost during my search because everything that popped up fascinated me, I learned this. The experts agree. If you want to attract a good following, a blog should be focused. At most, it should not cover more than three topics. Better one or two. That’s it. One is good, two okay and three if you must.

Well, blow me down.  I’ve written 62 separate blogs, and guess what. Except for one or two repeated themes about writing, photography and food, all my other blogs were on different topics.

According to the experts, I’m everywhere and nowhere. I’ve been fortunate though. My blog readers seem to enjoy the all-over-the-place approach I’ve taken, They see my entries as good reads. They’re not particularly concerned that whatever it is I’m going on about one day will be different from what I blather on about the next. They, like me, probably lack focus.

But I can see that this approach has its shortcomings. My blog is not a go-to stop for people interested in learning about a particular topic or subject matter of interest to them.

Though I might write an entry about housecleaning, aficionados of bacteria-free zones aren’t going to come back to me again and again. They’re not interested in my next day’s entry about making the perfect chicken soup (the secret, by the way, is parsnips in the stock). They’ll go to a blog they know will provide the inside scoop on getting rid of mildew on bathroom tiles, or recommends green alternatives to Mr. Clean.

I might write about the glories of baking soda too, but there’s no guarantee when, and of course if, I’ll ever get around to it.

Note to self:  find more green alternative to Mr. Clean for cleaning tile mildew. Then blog.

I’m too hit and miss. No one has a clue what’s coming next in my blog, so they’re hardly breathless waiting for next installment. I understand that. I don’t have a clue what’s coming in my next blog, either. Not good when you’re looking for followers.

Well, all this is about to change. Wish me good luck, because I’m about to make a big about turn with my blog based on the experts’ advice . Knowing myself, however, there is absolutely no way on earth I’ll be able to blog about one, or even two topics. I might as well be in prison.

So I’m bound and determined to try to focus my blog on three subject matters only.

It hasn’t been easy narrowing down what these three will be, but I’ve done it. I’ve come up with three.  Three rather B-R-O-A-D subjects, I might add. I need all the leeway I can get.

So here it goes. Since I’ve recently completed writing my memoir and the next step is getting the book published, I’ll be blogging about my real life experience of getting my book published. It will include a good hard look at the pros and cons about self-publishing as well as going the traditional publishing route, which involves finding an agent or submitting manuscripts directly to a publisher.

Both looking for an agent and/or a mainstream publisher is more complicated than most people realize.  I will have no problem filling up blog entries about the process. It’s going to be one bumpy roller coaster ride for me considering the state of the publishing industry these days, and my plan is to take my readers along for company. It may be enlightening.

Topic #2 will be about the book itself. I’ll include excerpts and things I learned during the six years it took to write it, including writing tips editors taught me along the way.

I’m up to Topic # 3. Much, though not all of my memoir is about raising our adopted son Michael, who at age six was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He is permanently brain damaged by the alcohol his birth mother consumed when pregnant with him. Though Michael is 24, much of my life is devoted to helping him find a place in the world. I’d like to write about Michael, FAS and one of its major symptoms, ADD. I’ll also write about the struggles raising a special needs child, and how, as a mother, I try to live my life with as much joy an courage as I can muster in the face of our family’s struggles.

There you have it. I’m sure blog experts would be taken aback by the long-winded paragraphs I’ve created to tell you what Topics #1 – 3 are. They were probably thinking of subject matters that could be described a little more succinctly, like skydiving, perfect picnics fare or how to become a billionaire, for instance.

Clearly, they have no idea what it’s like to be unfocussed. I’m not only proud of coming up with three blog topics for myself, but being able to describe them in a mere 260 words.

Now, all that’s left is sticking to my plan. I know it won’t be easy. What do I do with all the other thoughts and ideas swirling around in my grey matter?

You know what’s going to be the hardest thing about staying within bounds of these three topics?  Sticking to one of the topics in each blog rather than infusing a little of topic one two and three in each posting.

You have no idea how hard it is to stay focused when it doesn’t come naturally.

Never mind. Honest and truly, I’m going to give it a few months and see how it goes. All thoughts, comments and suggestions from readers are welcome, even encouraged. I’m going to need all the help I can get.

Just don’t get me off topic, okay?