FEAR, BLOGGING, AND THE AUTHOR PLATFORM

(Illustration by DB Burns)

Today I’m stepping out of my little author cubbyhole and plunging into new territory – I’m starting a blog! That shouldn’t be so difficult for a writer, you say. Not so! We writers (or most writers I’ve met, at least) are devout introverts, vehemently opposed to change, frightened to dip our toes into the Olympic-sized pool of life with the towering diving board, preferring instead to sit in the safety of our backyard kiddie pools with our trusty garden hoses.

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, folks, the publishing industry has changed. These days an author needs to build a platform which, believe me, can be much scarier than standing atop the high-dive on “Splash” while the audience cheers for you to execute a perfect ten.

“What is an author platform?” the uninitiated might ask. It’s simply a buzzword for social media presence. Translation: authors must be highly visible, readily accessible, and closely connected with readers and other authors via the internet. “Why?” So people will buy your books, silly. That means an author must have two, or preferably more, of the following: an author website, a Twitter account, a Facebook fan page, a Pintrest page, a LinkedIn account, Google+, Instragram, and, you guessed it, a Blog.

Jumping into the mind-boggling morass of social media can be rather intimidating for someone like me who didn’t even have a personal Facebook page until 2011. But, since publishing my first book, TRANSCENDER: First-Timer twenty four months ago, I think I’ve done fairly well at building my platform … and, surprisingly, I’ve had a ton of fun doing it. Currently, I have a website (newly revamped), three Facebook fan pages, a decent Twitter following, and a modest presence (which needs expanding) on both G+ and LinkedIn. I’ve had some wonderful help along the way, but developing an internet presence turned out to be easier than I thought it would be.

Most in the industry agree, however, that blogging is one of the best ways to interact with readers and get yourself noticed on the web. Up until now, I’ve shied away from blogging for two major reasons: First what do I write about? And second, where will I ever find the time?

The answer to the first question came from my son, sage teenager that he is: “Write about things you’re interested in, mom. Do some book reviews, and have some giveaways, that kind of stuff.” The kid’s a genius! And, unexpectedly, the answer to the second question followed naturally from the first.

Since I already spend a good amount of time nearly every day posting on my Facebook pages, tweeting, writing book reviews, and/or participating in promotions or giveaways, much of that, especially the reviews, can be captured and posted on my blog without putting in a ton of extra hours. Plus, I put in a decent amount of time searching for ways to remain inspired and to perfect my craft as a writer. The juicy insights I pick up along the way can also be readily shared.

So, those are the types of things you will see here in the future. I expect to have as much fun with the blog as I have with my other forays into social media, and I hope you will enjoy the posts to come. Thanks for stopping by. Come again soon!

Note to authors:
If you’re interested in learning more about building an author platform, this is a nice post.
Bookbaby’s Blogging 101 is a free download to get you started on the road to blogging.
Also, the World Literary Café website has many resources to help authors bolster planks in their existing platforms, (register and click the “author” tab).