What Is Your Author Platform?
The term author platform is popping up all over the place, but what exactly is an author platform? Essentially, your platform is based on your expertise. For nonfiction, this relates to the topic of your books. In some cases, your platform is obvious. For example, you’re a registered dietitian and former athlete who writes books about sports nutrition. If you write about a topic that doesn’t offer specific credentials (let’s say you write travel books about the Pacific Northwest), you can still develop a platform. You’ll just demonstrate your expertise in a different way.
Some authors have a different challenge — they write about multiple, unrelated topics. This used to be a challenge for me. My main area of expertise is technology, particularly anything related to the web or online marketing/PR. But I have a wide variety of interests and didn’t want to be pigeonholed. If this sounds like you, it’s still critical to develop a platform based on your main expertise. Having a platform doesn’t mean that you can never do anything else. But you should choose one area of focus, design all your communications vehicles (website, blog, etc.) about this focus.
What about fiction authors? Your platform, obviously, should focus on your genre. It’s even better to focus on a smaller niche. For example, get known for knitting mysteries, literary novels set in pre-WW II Europe, urban chick lit, etc. Even if you do write outside your niche from time to time, having one will help differentiate you from all the other novelists in your genre.
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Second Edition of The Web-Savvy Writer Now Available
The second edition of The Web-Savvy Writer: Book Promotion with a High-Tech Twist
This edition contains extensive updates plus lots of new content about the ever-changing world of online book promotion. I cover the basics, such as author websites and Amazon promotion, and then delve into blogging, podcasting, social media, virtual book tours, book trailers, and more.
Tags: book marketing, book publicity, online book promotion, The Web-Savvy WriterRelated Posts
Book Promotion 2.0 Video
To celebrate the release of my latest book, The Web-Savvy Writer: Book Promotion with a High-Tech Twist, Second Edition, I created the following trailer. Hope that you enjoy watching it, and that it inspires you to create a trailer for your own book!
Tags: book marketing, book publicity, online book promotionRelated Posts
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The book called "brilliant ... indispensable ... and a must read" by publishing and publicity experts!
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About the Author
I'm a freelance writer and author specializing in business technology.