So, you’ve written a book, or plan to. Now, what? Well, it’s time to put yourself out there. Because making yourself visible gives you the ability to attract and grow your audience before your book is even published. The more you’re seen and your voice heard, the more people will begin to pay attention. So, when your book does come out, they’ll care. This is visibility is known as an author platform and there are several ways to build your author platform, and I’ve written about this often, as well as the importance of establishing a strong author brand. But in this post, I want to focus on writing beyond your book as a way of building an author platform.
The Benefits of Building Your Author Platform Through Writing Beyond Your Book
By writing and publishing often, you prove that you’re more than just the author of a single book. It can be a big part of building your author platform and establishing a strong author brand. Why does this matter? Well, depending on your genre and focus, writing and publishing outside of your book builds your visibility and trust, which can lead to growing an audience. Maybe it will help establish your authority? Perhaps it will prove you’re a writer worth reading?
Because no matter how good your book is, it’s very difficult for an unrecognized someone to come out of the woodwork with a single book and expect people to care. This is the reason to start building your author platform now. And publishing outside of your book is just one of the impactful ways you can do this.
You probably know that name recognition sells books because readers are more willing to take a chance on a book written by a familiar name. Publishers know this and that’s why an author’s existing audience factors into their publishing decisions. You, too, can use name recognition to your advantage by building your author platform through publishing your writing beyond your book.
As I mentioned, you can build your author platform in many ways, but by publishing your writing beyond your book you’re gaining visibility in specific ways. This visibility grants you:
- Name recognition
- Visibility as a writer, not just an author of a single book
- Trust and authority
- The ability to grow an audience
How to Start Publishing Your Writing to Build Your Platform
Now, this may sound daunting if you’re unsure where to start or aren’t already an established writer. But, luckily, you don’t need to be published in likes of the New Yorker or Forbes to grow your visibility. As you build your author platform in other ways, and if you have a roadmap, opportunities to publish will arise.
Begin with A Strategy and Research
Building your author platform by publishing outside your book will require a strategy and some research. And it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you stick with it. Remember, you’re playing the long game. I should mention though, that it’s never too late to begin this, but the best time to start is today.
- Have an End Goal. Are you aiming big? Do you actually want to be published in a major magazine? Where do you want your voice to be heard? Follow the steps on your roadmap to get there.
- Start small. Publish on your own blog regularly. This allows you to hone your voice, your writing skills, and to see what your audience is engaging with or not.
- Become part of a community. Join writers groups, professional organizations, subscribe to newsletters, and go to conferences and festivals. Network.
- Seek guest blogging opportunities. Research your audience and who they read and the newsletters, etc. they subscribe to. Follow those influencers and authors. Engage with them, exist in those spaces and form relationships. This opens the door for opportunities.
- Research relevant, smaller publications. Begin searching for the magazines and journals your audience reads. Note the ones where your writing fits. Track their submission periods and guidelines. You can use a spreadsheet to keep track of these periods and the articles, essays or stories you want to submit.
- Consider writing competitions. There are countless writing contests and competitions that run year round for everything from poetry and microfiction to essays and other nonfiction. Winning these types of contests offers recognition, publicity and opportunity.
Put Yourself in the Spotlight
When building your author platform your goal is to be as highly visible as possible. Because visibility leads to more visibility. Whether you’ve managed to gain an audience on social media, or gotten traction through your newsletter or blog, this all leads to more opportunity.
Seek publicity from local papers, industry magazines and even podcasts. Put yourself in the spotlight.
Be prepared for all this publicity by crafting a compelling elevator pitch, knowing your mission statement and perfecting your messaging strategy. Write a bio in preparation for all this as well. These efforts are all part of building a strong author brand and platform.
Building Your Author Platform Takes a Village: Community Support
The good news is, there are many free resources available to indie authors that build community, alert you to submission periods, and offer education. Here’s a list of some good resources to start. When you become part of, and give back to, the community you aspire to be recognized in, opportunities and support come your way.
Seek out opportunities, and don’t be shy.
Do you struggle with writing outside of your book? Because writing essays and articles is much different than writing fiction, for example, you may need to focus on honing your writing skills in this style. But remember, practice makes perfect.
Though it’s ideal to start building your author platform before your book ever comes out, it’s never too late to begin. Writing and publishing beyond your book is just one way to increase your visibility and establish trust and authority, but it’s a powerful way. People revere published writers, no matter the genre or topic. The title holds clout. It means people listen to you and value what you have to say. So, where do you want to be? What do you want to be known for? And are you ready to take that first step?
Want to share some of your published writing outside your book? Drop a link in the comments!
