Marketing

Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Laura Cross’ WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. We’re giving away a prize. Read on to see what you can win.

About Laura Cross: She is an author, screenwriter, ghostwriter, freelance book editor, and writing coach specializing in nonfiction books and script adaptation (book-to-film projects). She writes two popular blogs, www.NonfictionInk.com and www.AboutAScreenplay.com, and teaches online writing workshops. Her latest book is The Complete Guide To Hiring A Literary Agent: Everything You Need To Know To Become Successfully Published. You can download a free chapter, view the book trailer, read the full table of contents and purchase the eBook at www.GetALiteraryAgent.com.

The Supplies You Need to Build a Writer’s Platform by Laura Cross

Literary agents and publishers are looking for nonfiction writers with established platforms. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to land a book deal or acquire an agent without one. A platform encompasses the ways you are visible and attracting potential readers. It conveys your expertise and influence. Every author’s platform strategy will be unique to him or her. One size does not fit all. You must follow a path that is natural for you and your writing. However, there are five essential components or supplies you need to build a writer’s platform:

1. Understand Your Brand Image: Establish an author identity and use it consistently throughout your material. Your personal brand is how you package and present yourself to readers to distinguish and differentiate yourself from other writers.

2. Develop and Promote Your Expertise: Are you the go-to expert in your field? You can establish your expertise through:

• Professional credentials
• Writing articles
• Being featured on radio and television, and in print media
• Testimonials and endorsements
• Speaking engagements
• Teaching workshops, seminars, teleclasses, and webinars
• Hosting your own online radio show or podcast
• Creating informational products
• Being a resource for reporters, journalists, and television producers
• Sending out press and news releases
• Creating and distributing online informational videos
• Answering questions via LinkedIn groups and YahooAnswers
• Blogging and guest posts

3. Have an Internet Presence: Every potential author needs a website or blog. If you already have a web presence when you begin approaching media you will have an edge over other writers. A blog can add to your credibility, help you establish your expertise, and provide a means to capture potential readers for your database.

4. Build A List of Contacts: Publishers want to know just how many potential readers there are for your book. The number of fans you have from Facebook, followers on Twitter, connects on LinkedIn, and subscribers to your blog provide tangible figures. Producing a weekly or monthly e-zine or newsletter is an effective way to grow your list of contacts. Your website and blog can include an opt-in page to capture subscribers.

5. Engage In Community: You can network through local and regional events, national conferences and conventions, and online social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Online networking sites give you access to connections and a platform to share your writing and expertise.

Your turn: What are you doing to establish and grow your author platform?

Win: You can win a class (choose from any of the classes — Meryl is jealous because she doesn’t qualify!) or a digital copy of her book. For a chance to win, please leave a comment at least 50 words long answering her question. Or write about your favorite character in a book. You have until 11:59pm on February 16, 2010 to qualify for the drawing. The unbiased and robotic Random.org has the honor of picking the winner.

The day before a state-wide math assessment test, my husband humorously asked our oldest who took algebra at the time, “Do you remember how to add, subtract, multiply and divide?”

“I don’t know. When I do a math problem now… if the answer is simple, I think it’s wrong because it has to be more complicated than that,” she said.

That’s how many adults think. We never believe the obvious and forget that it’s possible for the answer to be a simple one.

Simplicity in Writing

A former client contacted me about a new web content gig for a company that sells products outside of my expertise. However, one of my kids LOVES this category of products. So it was an exciting opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone. She asked me to write a sample. I went to work in writing a story around the product. I studied the other products to see how much technical information to provide in an attempt to get in customers’ minds of what they want to know.

In reality, all I needed to do was capture highlights of the products and the experience of using them. After all, the web site had detailed information elsewhere. The client was delighted with the sample as well as the content that followed.

Simplicity in Quoting Projects

How are you with giving quotes to new clients? Is it a struggle? It has gotten easier for me, but I wish I had John Hewitt’s formula when I first started freelancing. His World’s Simplest Freelance Rate Formula is a simple yet effective process that works with new and experienced freelancers — no matter what you do.

For those in freelancing careers outside of writing, substitute “per word” with “per page,” “per design,” “per call,” “per marketing project” and so on. Meet John’s amazing and powerful formula:

1. Start at $20 an hour or $.20 a word. This is a fairly low level. Feel free to start higher.
2. Increase your fee by 5 ($25 an hour $.25 a word) with each successful gig.
3. When your prospects start telling you that you charge too much, don’t raise your rates for six months.
4. Try raising it again.

I won’t begin to quote the many articles I’ve read that recommend avoiding a per hour charge. Some cases may call for it — and I do work per hour for several clients. Why no per hour charge? Let’s look at an example.

A client asks for a quote to blog for him. For an ongoing project, charging per page would be wise. Here’s a very simple example why this works better:

1. Your hourly fee is $50.
2. You write a blog entry in 30 minutes, which is $25 if you charge per hour.
3. Charge $50 per blog entry and you’ll come out ahead.

Of course, not all entries will take 30 minutes depending on the subject and length. But you can see how a per blog entry works better than per hour.

Update: A Twist with the Youngest Child

My six-year-old brings home a math pack every Thursday. It consists of games and puzzles related to math. The latest one required he pick one of the word problems to solve. Then three of us (11-year-old joined us) create a solution using words, numbers and pictures and share it. We had to list how our solutions were the same and how they were different. A great lesson because it shows there is more than one way to solve a problem.

The 11-year-old took the easy way out and simply wrote, “7 – 3 = 4.” So our only option for the “same” was that we all used numbers. My six-year-old didn’t like that. “It’s too obvious. It’s too easy,” he kept saying. Really, the simple answer was the only answer.

I started reading The Little Prince and it makes a references about how children look at things differently from adults. Much like this theme. The narrator drew a picture that looked like a hat. It was a python swallowing an elephant, but adults could not see that. The Little Prince did.

What I learned from my daughter: Sometimes the answer is a simple one.

What problems have you come across where the answer turned out simple?

This entry is part of Middle Zone Musings: What I Learned From… Children groupwrite project.

Image credit: Zsuzsanna Kilian

I avoid in-person events as much as possible. It’s not because I’m an introvert. It’s not because I look hideous. (Although we should know better than to let our looks get in the way of meetings.) It’s because I’m deaf. Most people understand me when I speak. It’s the other side — the more important part– of the conversation that’s a problem for me: Listening.

It’s true that the average lipreader catches only one-third of what people say. Try reading every third word in this post or another and see how much you understand. I can usually fill in the gaps, but not always. “My name is [mumble]” is a biggie. I might ask the person to repeat once, but no more. In a book club meeting, someone mentioned that reading the book and seeing the movie version was not a good movie. I asked the name of the book. Missed it. Repeated once and missed it again. Gave up.

While this sounds innocent and no big deal, it is. People judge you when you don’t catch things because it makes a person look obtuse or not smart. With online marketing, I don’t miss a single thing and I catch every name and title. What you see of me online is all me without the barriers or presumptions. Writers can do more than just publish content to market themselves. These work well and take up whatever time you put into it.

1. Create a web site with a personal URL. It’s easier and cheaper than ever to build and update a web site. Using blogging applications like WordPress and Tumblr work well. They also have a lot of free and low-price templates available. A customized design adds a personal touch to your brand, but sometimes people don’t have the funds available right away. You can work it out so the only cost you incur is the yearly fee to buy your own URL. writer.blogspot.com hurts the professionalism. You have a lot of options for creating a web site using a blog app. Whether you should blog or not is a different discussion.

2. Set up social media profiles. The web site and blog is your home on the Internet. Social media sites give you a meeting place. Many, many social media sites exist. Forget that. Don’t let it faze you. Pick two or three and completely fill your profile on those sites. Currently, the biggies are LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. That can and will change. Remember MySpace was hot? I have a page that receives updates from my blog and Twitter account, but I don’t visit it. I’ll set up accounts on other social media sites, but only on a “come across it” basis. Usually I get an invite from a colleague and join up then. I fill in the profile as much as I can.

3. Join conversations. It doesn’t matter where. I go to blogs and leave comments, participate in scheduled Twitter chats, respond to people’s Facebook messages and reply and retweet tweets. Some people love to talk in forums. Notice this says “join conversations,” not “give soliloquies.” People who talk to no one in particular or don’t acknowledge other people’s existence are not listening or becoming a part of the community. The only folks who can get away with this are celebrities.

4. Do the guest thing. Invite and ask. Invite others to be a guest in your blog or community, and ask if you can do the same for others. You’re reaching two new audiences: the other person’s audience and the other person. The other person has a following and will ask people to check out the guest post in your community. Most guest posts come with a byline, which means link juice for your site and getting your name out there.

5. Link to your site and accounts. On your web site, link to your Twitter and other IDs. In your email signature, link to your web site and important IDs. Make sure everything points everywhere else. Do you have an email newsletter? Put your links there, too. This covers all your bases. Those who prefer email updates, RSS feeds and social media IDs.

These five I do on an almost daily basis. It works because I have a comfortable workload. You can do much more with online marketing, but other online marketing tools take more time. Some people do videos. Some do podcasts. Some do webinars. Some do email newsletters. Doing a video or podcast requires thinking about the goals, writing the script, recording and editing before you can publish. With social media, you have control over how much time you spend.

What online marketing tools work well for you?

Image credit: Karl-Erik Bennion

I had a whole box of party favors leftover because I overestimated the number of kids attending. I contacted the company to ask if I could return the unopened party favors for a refund. The company said to keep it, and they’ll issue a refund. Sure, it may cost more for me to send it back and for the company to deal with the return. But to me, the company surprised and delighted me. I have made more purchases after that.

My daughter is a hostess and waitress at a nearby eatery. She had a great day until our family dined there. We were her last customers and she messed up our order. We did not complain. Instead, we told her it was OK and we know mistakes happen. Nonetheless, our drinks were free.

I’ve posted other customer service experiences. In looking at how I land new clients, I find the majority come from word of mouth recommendations. That tells me customer service must play an important role in my career as a writer. I represent me and what you get is me. Customer service is more than just doing great work with a smile. Customer service is also a marketing tool.

I believe the following actions make up the customer service element of a writer’s business:

1. Provide excellent results: You can be the nicest and easiest person in the world, but it won’t save you if you repeatedly submit poor quality work. The client will give up. This isn’t the same thing as perfection. I could keep perfecting this post, but I had to stop and let it go.
2. Meet deadlines: Are you on schedule? Late? Or constantly asking for deadline extensions? Good writers plan ahead so they don’t fall into the last minute trap, which could lead to sacrificing quality.
3. Listen: Let go of what’s on your mind and listen to what the client says so you can understand. Don’t be in a hurry to share your thoughts and experience. It’s easy to miss what the client really wants. Respond by reflecting on what the client said instead of turning it around to make it about you. I received an article request from a client, but the client didn’t like the direction the article took. Several colleagues reviewed the article request and the article. They all agreed I met the request. It doesn’t matter if it was the client’s fault or mine. I collected more information from the client and rewrote it. (See #7.)
4. Make it easy to work with you: Are you easy to work with? Do you fight every edited word? Are you listening to the client’s preferences and styles? Do you follow the client’s process? Are you accessible? Some of the busiest authors are also the most accessible. More accessible than plenty of unknowns.
5. Stay cool: No matter how the client behaves or acts, your attitude and response to the client should never burn bridges. Even if you go separate ways, the client can still talk about you. Sometimes your personalities and styles don’t mesh. It happens. One client wanted web content that didn’t reflect content standards. It was better to separate than to give the client what he wanted. What he wanted wasn’t what I could deliver. Furthermore,  I would not have enjoyed the work, which brings us to…
6. Enjoy the work: Do you hate the work? That will affect your attitude and everything else about the project. Maybe you need to let go. It’s OK to work toward assignments you love and enjoy. Your passion will shine through and make a difference in your outlook, which in turn affects service. I find I procrastinate more on work that I dread. I’m lucky that’s not an issue anymore.
7. Fix mistakes: Problems happen. We all make mistakes. Really. It’s HOW you handle those mistakes that can make the difference between great and lousy customer service.
8. Respond quickly: How quickly do you return calls and emails? Even if you’re swamped, at least acknowledge you received the message and will get back to the person.
9. Solve problems: Do you work to help clients with their problems? Find another or better solution? Some people try to push their solutions on the clients to make it work rather than adapt to clients’ needs.
10. Be honest: A client overpaid me. I emailed the client to let him know and subtracted the overpaid amount in the next invoice. Yes, it’s hard to be truthful in some situations. Telling the truth can do less damage than telling lies and getting found out. Besides, you feel better about yourself. It also creates goodwill.

Regarding perfectionism, Christina Katz said it better than I could. “I’ve given up the tireless quest for perfection for a looser, friendlier style of working with myself and others. I also no longer worry, inordinately, about what other people think of me. I don’t fret about whether they think my service is or isn’t up to snuff. Instead, if my service isn’t momentarily the greatest–because I’m human, so of course this happens from time to time–I apologize and move on,” she says.

How do you provide great customer service?

Image credit: Shlomit Wolf

Yee haw! (I’m a Texan, I can do that.) Happy to do another Middle Zone Musings “What I learned from…” project. This time, we share our favorite posts of 2009. I put this together based on what I thought were most valuable to you based on your feedback.

7 Traits of Bad Twitter Followers: The things to do if you hate Twitter.

50+ Writer Uses for Twitter: Who knew there were so many things you can do within 140 characters?

50+ Writers Uses for Facebook: Facebook can do more than connect you with friends and family.

Short, Powerful and Favorite Books: If you crave reading a book without a lot of time, these are the ones sure to fulfill your reading desires.

How to Join Twitter Chats: And videos to help. One of my favorite things to do… connect with intelligent individuals and participate in conversations without barriers.

How to Manage Your Time with Social Networks: Writing is a lonely business and it’s very easy to fall under the hypnotic trap of social media.

Twitter Success Means More Than Numbers: Stop asking, “How can I get more followers.” It defeats the purpose. I know plenty of folks with about 200 followers who are great tweeters.

40+ Writer Uses for LinkedIn: You can do more than just connect with people.

Watch What Your Blog, Post and Tweet Online: Many times I’ve thought about tweeting something and then I’d back off.

27 Most Used Applications in a Writing Business: I was surprised how well-received this one was. I guess we all like to peek into people’s work.

10 Commandments for Writers on Using Social Media: I had fun with this one. Wish I were inspired more often.

How Muscle Memory Affects Writing: I found some old English papers from college. Eww! It does show me I write faster and better thanks to years and years of practice. And I am still practicing!

Applying the Pomodoro Technique in Writing: This technique can range from simple to full-blown. What I like about it is that you can just focus on the 25-minute, break, 25-minute aspect. It works.

How to Create a Twitter Profile for Writers: A couple of tips that some of us experienced users may not think about.

Wanted: Missing Gingerbread Pal (click for story)

Ah… kids get out early today as we begin winter break. We don’t have anything planned except a couple of trips to Grandma’s in Fort Worth for the younger set. Maybe play some board games. 5th grader has to work on his science project. I imagine there will be movies and board games happening during the break. What about you?

Please vote for your top 25 books on writing.

Brain food…

• How to Track Freelance Job Leads Via Spreadsheet: Excellent and simple set up.
• Top 100 PR Websites and Resources Part 1: News websites, business, PR & marketing and social media [Link: Sarah Evans]
• Top 100 PR Websites and Resources Part 2: PR corporate sites, PR newsletters, news distribution, PR software and communication misc.
• 36 Twitter Tips for Book Publishers: “Tweet your way to successful title and author promotions.”
• Flashlight Worthy: “Handpicked books on hundreds of topics.” I could spend hours on this site.
• Reflections on, Takeaways from #eBookSummit: Guy LeCharles Gonazlez has done a lot of reporting from conferences and we stay-at-homers appreciate it.

And for fun because we’re allowed… FailBlog edition (most links from the I Can Has a Cheezeburger crew)

• Very Demotivational: When you need to get off your high horse.
• This is Photobomb: Where photojackers of the world unite.
• Autocomplete Me: “Feeling luck just got weirder.”
• Poorly Dressed: Note to self, stick with sweats and tees. Can’t go wrong… can you?
• 10 Real Houses Inspired by Cartoons: Simpsons, Flinstones, Hobbit…

Image credit: Web Treats Etc.

Twitter gives writers a wonderful place to meet, discuss favorite topics, receive support and learn about great resources. Your tweets are number one in attracting your followers. However, writers still need a good bio because many Twitter users don’t follow someone who lacks a bio or creates a useless one.

A bio does the “first impression” thing for you unless you have no photo. No photo is the first thing that turns away many people before they bother to read the bio. Your Twitter bio gives you a 160-character short ‘n powerful opportunity to share your experience, build your credibility, identify your writing genres and highlight your personality.

Let’s get to work on building an effective bio in Twitter for writers.

What do you do? Are you a technical writer? Author? Business writer? Editor? Who are your readers/clients? Some people search by job, industry and publication type. If I were to do a search for you — how would you want me to find you? These answers will give you the keywords to include in your bio.

@merylkevans Twitter bio

My keywords are writer, editor and games. (I do game reviews.) I built my bio around these keywords and added a touch of my personality: “Content maven aka writer, editor and bookwormette who plays with words and games (www.thegamezen.com) in between PTA work and refereeing the kids.” you can add another URL in your bio, but it won’t be clickable in Twitter.

Remember your bio can affect your landing on someone’s Twitter list. I use people’s bios to decide where they belong in mine.

Think about your “Location”: While most writers can work from anywhere, we still need to put thought into our location. Though I only have two local clients, I’ve had lunch with someone I met in Twitter. If you don’t live in a major or known city, you may want to add the closest one. For example, I’m in Plano, so my location says “Plano, Texas, north of Dallas.” Doing this can help you get on location-based Twitter lists like my Dallas-Fort Worth list. I also debated the use of “Tx” vs “Texas.” Some people use “Tx” to represent “Thanks,” so “Texas” it is.

Click to view larger

Some of you may not be aware your location shows meaningless numbers as UT: 12.345678, -234.5678? Twitter applications like Ubertwitter allow users to set the location based on where they are. Can you figure out where the person is located in an instant? (You can enter these coordinates in Google Maps to find the person’s location, but how many people bother?)

What kind of link do you have in “Web”? Are you using a short URL service (bit.ly, ow.ly, is.gd, etc.) in your URL? Most of us think it’s spam, so we don’t click such links when they appear in “Web” even though we do it all the time in tweets. Use a regular URL.

If you have more than one Web page, where should your “Web” link land? Sometimes I want to learn more about the person. Sometimes, I want to go straight to a blog, if they have one, to take our conversations to a deeper level. Some people create a landing page specifically for Twitter, which is where my link goes. Still, I wonder if pointing to my blog would be a better idea. What do you think? If you don’t have a web site or blog, then use your Facebook or LinkedIn ID.

Don’t stress out in trying to write a perfect bio. Many people keep tweaking their bios as they become more experienced with Twitter. My own bio is probably the fourth version. So go and write a bio without worrying about these details; it’s better than nothing. You can also read other bios for inspiration. Here’s a first draft to get you started in writing a decent bio.

“Writer who covers X topics for [magazines, newspapers, web sites or whatever to give people an idea of what kind of publications you write for]. When not writing, I [what you do that lets you throw in more of your keywords.]”

Just be yourself. That’s what makes you stand out. There’s no one like you.

Important note for new Twitter users: Create your profile first. Tweet second. Follow last. Twitter users see blank pages or those with one or two tweets as a spammer or someone not taking Twitter seriously. Follow AFTER you create a bio, upload an avatar photo and write a few tweets. Tweet for at least a week or so before you start following people. If you follow before your account is ready, you’ll miss out on follow back opportunities.

What do you look for in a Twitter profile?

Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Fiona Ingram’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. Fiona, author of The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, joins us all the way from South Africa. We’re giving away a book — not Fiona’s as her popular book went fast. Read on to see what you can win.

About Fiona Ingram
“My story-telling career began at age ten!” She entertained my three younger brothers and their friends with serialised tales of children undertaking dangerous and exciting exploits, which they survived through courage and ingenuity. The never-ending story was called “Gruesome Gables,” and it certainly was gruesome! Haunted houses, vampires, and skeletons leaping out of coffins were hot favorites in the cast of characters. Although she doesn’t have children, she has an adopted teenage African child, from an underprivileged background who is just discovering the joys of reading for pleasure. She lives in Johannesburg and has been freelancing for 15 years. Visit Secret of the Sacred Scarab and Fiona Ingram’s web sites.

How Writers Can Do Faraway Marketing by Fiona Ingram

I am a South African author with a successful children’s book published in the United States. It has been an enormous challenge for me to become known in the U.S. while living so far away. An author platform and marketing plan are vital and should include a mixture of traditional and online marketing.

However, given the distance problem, many “real” author events are impossible for me in the U.S., such as book signings, author readings, speaking at meetings/groups, etc. I have focused on maximizing all possible online opportunities instead.

When I began, I had a vague idea that marketing was important. I just didn’t know how much! Many writers feel all they have to do is write. That’s the easy part. Marketing is the hardest part of getting your book noticed. Here are some of the best steps I took in my book promotion.

• I opened a marketing folder while still at manuscript stage, and began researching to familiarize myself with all online marketing possibilities. I collected notes on everything and gradually formulated a plan of action. I began with industry e-zines and newsletters, which offer a wealth of information. Many book publishing and author marketing companies offer free newsletters, as well as links to more sites. I learned everything I could about publishing, getting books into bookstores, approaching agents, getting book reviews, upcoming book competitions, blogging, online marketing, podcasts and online interviews, keywords for internet listing … the list is endless.
• A press kit is vital. My publisher produced a professional kit and sent it to all interested/relevant publications. They also sent out online press releases.
• A good author web site is possibly the writer’s best online marketing tool. List your social web sites, include book info/reviews and perhaps a first chapter, a cover image, radio or video interviews, a book video, a contact email and press material. From here, you can launch your blog or fan club, set up Twitter and put your website on many social sites simultaneously. Showcase your work on author sites as well (e.g. Authorsden and Jacketflap).
• Giving away books is another excellent strategy. Depending on your reader target market, contact libraries, schools, local bookstores, book clubs and reading groups and offer them a book. I have sent books through my publishers to anyone interested in reviewing the book. They get to keep the book, and I get a review for my author site.
• Write articles on the art of writing, your genre, or just the publishing process. You can add these to your personal web site, as well as your book web site. Also, load them onto Google and sites that accept articles. I have written several articles, as well as adapting my guest blog posts on child literacy to articles.
• I got Googled! Get a Google Alert to notify you every time something comes up about you and your book, link other sites back to your own to increase your ratings and give you credibility, set up a Blogger alert, join Google’s Library page, keep track of your site’s performance with Google Analytics and much more.
• Discover amazing Amazon: This is the largest online book site and you need to be on it. Amazon will also review your book if you approach them; you can also put up other reviews on your book.
• One of the best steps I took was an online book tour or blog tour. Virtual book tours are a fantastic promotional tool for authors to connect with readers through book blogs. Tours usually include a minimum number of tour stops on a variety of blogs, and can include a book image, a review, links to the author’s website and blog, and purchase information. Blog hosts usually also link back to other internet outlets, thereby increasing your coverage.
• Book Competitions: Competitions broaden your author profile because people in the industry will read your book. Even if you don’t win, you may get a Finalist or Honorable Mention, and that’s the kind of detail to put in your press release.

Do not stop marketing: Even when your book is out there, don’t stop spreading the word! Do something every day (either online or physical) to continue your marketing thrust. Remember — marketing doesn’t sell books … marketing gives you exposure and exposure sells books.

Win: Since we’re on the topic of children’s books, we’re giving away a copy of Book by Book: The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs by Cindy Hudson. To win, leave a 50+ word comment by 11:59pm December 9 about a favorite children’s book and why it’s your favorite or an experience with children’s books. The unbiased and robotic random.org will pick the winner.

Welcome to meryl’s notes blog (this here place you’re lookin’ at) in Plano, Texas. We’re honored to be a stop in Therese Walsh’s WOW! Women On Writing Blog tour. I first met Therese in Christina Katz’s first ever #platformchat on Twitter. Since then, I’ve enjoyed getting to know her and learning from her and her Writer Unboxed site. Here’s a bit about Therese Walsh. (Stay tuned in this post if ya wanna win this book!)

About Therese Walsh

Therese Walsh’s debut novel was recently released by Random House (Shaye Areheart imprint). The Last Will of Moira Leahy is about a woman who lost her identical twin about a decade ago, but reconnects with her former life after purchasing an artifact from her past. Through interwoven narratives, we see Maeve Leahy as she was and what led to the tragedy with her sister, Moira. We travel with her in the present day as she unravels the truth about the artifact–who’s following her and leaving her notes — as layers of her past are peeled away and the course of her future is forever altered. Therese is also the co-founder of one of the Writer’s Digest best sites for writers, Writer Unboxed. You can learn more about her and her novel at her website: ThereseWalsh.com.

Developing Your Fiction Platform by Therese Walsh

In today’s world, platform is an important consideration for a debut novelist. Our technology-centered world is a noisy one, with so many things to do, to hear, to see, to read. What will set us apart? How will we gain notice? We’d all like to believe that our work will be enough to garner its due attention and propel us into a contract and then onto the NYT’s bestseller list. And it happens. To some. The rest of us have to work at it.

So how does a fiction writer go about developing a platform, anyway? Is it even possible? Yes, it is, and in several ways. Platform can be built broadly, as in the more widely you’re known, the greater the number of people you can potentially reach. It can be built specifically, through efforts you might make to tap into your core audience. And it can be strengthened subtly — almost unconsciously — as how you present yourself online says something about you and, through you, your writings.

Becoming Widely Known

This, from a recent Washington Post article:

(Many authors) “are actually selling their book long before they sell the book,” says Richard Pine, a literary agent for three decades and co-founder of InkWell Management. These people, he says, are establishing who they are and what they have to say and are building an audience years before they actually have a book on the shelves.

Kathleen Bolton and I started Writer Unboxed — a blog meant to empower other writers with craft posts and through interviews — in January of 2006, which marks the beginning of our online-platform effort. We became better known individually as the blog became more successful, and as we reached out to other writers, and as they mentioned us on their own sites, and as others linked to us, and so on.

You don’t have to use a blog, or rely on one exclusively, to get your name out there. Other avenues to a potential readership involve social networking efforts on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads and the like. The bottom line is that you should do something — and ideally you should do many somethings — to get your name out there. The more avenues you have to becoming known, the better for you in the long haul.

Finding Your People

Though becoming known on a large scale is important to your platform, it’s also a little like taking an ad out on PerezHilton.com: Yes, you’re reaching many, but only a fraction will care enough about what you have to offer to click through and buy your book. Honing in on the people who very likely will care becomes important.

Case in point: The Last Will of Moira Leahy is a book about twins — the story of one woman’s recovery following the loss of her twin, but also the story of this woman and her sister when they were young girls, and how they grew and changed and became separate. I knew that I needed to put forth an effort to become known by the twin community in particular, so I reached out. I sent galleys. I sent emails. I connected with people on Twitter. I waited to see if these people would choose to support my work. Luckily for me, most of them did.

I made a great ally in Shelby at Double Up Books, a bookstore dedicated to all-things twin. Shelby is not only carrying Last Will in her store, she truly believes in it and even tweets about it on occasion. I’ve gladly added her store to the buying options available on my website, and I buzz her as often as I can too. (Buy from Shelby!)

Presenting the Right Face: Yours

What kind of face do you present to the world, and does that face correspond with what you write? One of the best examples I’ve seen of matching a public face with published work is via thriller novelist JA Konrath. JA’s novels (e.g. Cherry Bomb) have been called “brisk and breezy” and laden with “offbeat humor.” JA’s personality is clear when you read his blog, A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing — which, by the way, is packed with helpful information. His Facebook posts and tweets are also frequently hilarious. Brisk, breezy, offbeat humor – that’s JA, all right. He is the perfect poster child for his work.

Through online conversations at Writer Unboxed and elsewhere, I hope you’ve sensed my passion for empowering others. You’ve seen my posts on unboxed writing and the importance of polishing your prose. You know I love words and the occasional punny joke. You know I’m detail oriented and that I love a strong visual image. What you know about me sets up an expectation as to what you might find in Last Will — and, though I’m admittedly biased, I’d like to think it won’t disappoint you.

What are you doing to develop your fiction platform?

Write on, all!

Win: To win a copy of the book, please leave a comment at least 50 words long that answers the above question. Or you can write about twins, triplets, multiples. You don’t have to be a multiple. Maybe you had a good friend who was a twin. Or share how you feel about Kate Plus 8. You have until 11:59pm on November 18, 2009 to qualify for the drawing. The unbiased and robotic Random.org has the honor of picking the winner.

Congratulations to Rich for winning a copy of No Limits.

One Halloween long ago...

Articles with valuable advice…

• Are you a freelancer writer or journalist entre-preneur? Great words for thought. I consider myself a small business that provides writing services. Writing isn’t all I do — I still have to do marketing, networking and all that fun stuff.
• How to Work ON Your Business, Not IN it: Step back… breathe… think…
• It Takes All Kinds: How does a really bad book keep selling?
• The World’s Greatest Marketer: How a woman’s powerful plight turns her into a strong marketer and what we can learn from her.

And for fun because we’re allowed…

• @tweetsofold: Follow @tweetsofold for fascinating and funny headlines from old timey newspapers.
• Is It Normal?: We all have questions (not me, of course — heh) that make us wonder whether we’re normal… but we don’t have the courage to ask. Now you have a place to find out.
• 25 Inspirational Pumpkin Carvings: Death Star is most impressive — can’t believe pumpkin didn’t cave.
• Top Ten Mouthwatering Museums: Chocolate… Do not view on empty stomach unless you don’t mind raiding the nearest pantry or convenience store.