12 Things You Can Do to Build Your Platform in 2012

The New Year always brings renewed commitments. For writers, that usually means something along the lines of “I promise to commit more time to my writing,” or “I will complete my novel (memoir, short story collection, poetry chapbook) this year,” or perhaps “I’m going to do more this year to market my work.” If that last one resonates with you, read on for some tips on building your platform this year.

I recommend you do one every month, and I will be writing in detail on each at the beginning of the month from now on. By the end of the year, you’ll be better positioned to sell your work, or at least answer the question, “What is your platform?” when an agent asks.

1. If you haven’t already, start a blog. Yes, I know. Everyone and his dog has a blog. But it’s one of the fastest ways to build a following. (See Why Should Writers Blog?, Jan. 13.)
2. Engage social media. It doesn't have to be Facebook, though Facebook is the social network with the most users. There are a number of sites for writers that offer ways to promote your work. Check out redroom.com, shewrites.com, fictionaut.com, and the new Writers Agents and Editors Network site founded by super-agent Jeff Herman and his wife, Deborah. Even goodreads.com – which is focused more on readers – offers promotional pages for authors.
3. Speak out. Become an expert in your field and go out and talk about it. If you’re a nonfiction writer, offer to speak to groups who are interested in the topics you write about. Give a free lecture at your local library. If you write fiction, offer to do a virtual chat with book clubs. The more you speak, the more you’ll be seen as having expertise in writing. And if you’re not comfortable speaking, sign up for a local Toastmaster’s course. I guarantee it will bring returns in spades.
4. Teach a class. Do you have a community college in your community? Admittedly, education dollars are more limited than in previous years, but teaching a local adult ed class is a great way to become better known in your community (and to sell books!).
5. Volunteer. With a school, a writing program for kids, anyplace where you can offer insight and information to young writers. This is so important! We are responsible for bringing up future literati. Take it seriously.
6. Review others’ books. On your own blog or on reader sites like Goodreads or Amazon. This is another opportunity to give a little and gain a lot later.
7. Self-publish an e-book. It is becoming simpler by the day. If you have a novel or nonfiction book that’s complete, well-edited and ready for prime time, pay a little bit of money to have a great cover designed, format it so it reads well, then make a .pdf file and upload it to Amazon’s self-publishing service. You can’t lose.
8. Send out a monthly e-newsletter. This is one way to keep you and your book in front of people who don't do social media. There are several really good services and they are not expensive (I’ve used both ConstantContact.com and Ratepoint.com). The advantages are worth the investment of time in learning their platforms and designing a pleasing template.
9. Join a writers organization. I recommend national organizations, like PEN Center USA, the Authors Guild, the Writers Guild of America, West, and others. Each has different criteria for membership, but if you qualify, belonging is well worth the nominal yearly membership fee. I belong to both the Authors Guild and PEN Center USA. The free legal and contract advice alone is worth it. 
10. Launch a virtual book tour. There are two kinds: You can do a phone or Skype meeting with a book club or a media personality. Easy peasy. Or you can set up a virtual book tour where an interviewer asks you questions in a closed teleseminar. There’s a great explanation of both here.
11. Add value. It's not just about you. If you’re using social media, pass on some information other writers can use. A link to a particularly good article on self-publishing or how to write a query letter. What to ask an agent if you are offered representation. Ways to structure a novel. Whatever you can offer in the way of added value, do it. And refrain from the obvious sales job. People don’t like to be pitched on social media.
12. Pay it forward. (With thanks and a nod of the head to my friend Catherine Ryan Hyde, who wrote the book Pay It Forward.) Listen, if you want people to help you, you have to help others. If you’re in the position to help a new writer, do it. A little friendly coaching, taking time to offer some sage advice over coffee, whatever it is, it’s time well-invested. You never know when that person may be in a position to help you and your career. Believe me, people remember. Pay it forward.

Terzanelles and Villanelles and Blazons, Oh My

It’s been weeks since I wrote about my master’s degree journey, so I thought I’d let you know how it’s going and what’s new. I’m making progress! This second semester (out of four) has been intense in that not only am I doing specific writing for monthly packets due to my professor, but I had to complete a field study (more on that in a minute), a 10-week online translation seminar (I’m in week three), and a five-page critical paper (yet to be tackled).

And, I’m in the middle of moving to a new house this week, as well. Yeah, I know, I’m nuts.

If you’ve read any of my earlier blogs about my master’s degree program, you know I’m in a low-residency master of fine arts in creative writing program through Antioch University in Los Angeles. Low-residency means I spend 10 days at Antioch’s Culver City campus every June and December, and work online with a professor the rest of the time.

My emphasis is creative nonfiction, and my thesis will be my completed memoir, which I’ve been working on for about three years. This semester I decided to do something called “genre-hopping,” which means for one semester you can “hop” into one of the other emphases, which are fiction, poetry and a new one: writing for young people. So I hopped into poetry.

I was placed with a faculty member who is particularly demanding and requires his students to write in specific forms, trying them out and then discussing the poems extensively with the others in our mentor group. I had a goal of working primarily with the poems I had already written, so at first I was a little – okay, a lot – disappointed. What do I know? It turns out I really like writing in form. Sestinas, ekphrasis, sonnets, villanelles, terzanelles, postcards, prose poems, blazons, fugues. There is a virtual cornucopia of poem forms out there, and I am starting to dig them! There is almost a mathematical puzzle to many of them, and while I am no math genius (far from it), I appreciate the challenge. So I’m having fun, in spite of myself.

As for the field study, this is a requirement based on one of the tenets of the Antioch University mission, which is to engage in and promote social justice with your writing. You are supposed to do an internship with a nonprofit that incorporates your writing and helps the nonprofit in some way. I have been helping to establish an after-school interactive arts center in Santa Barbara, where kids will be able to drop in for workshops/instruction on any number of art forms for free. We are targeting at-risk youth, but the center will be open to all students, from ages 6-18. For my field study, I developed the writing program for the center. It took several months, but I finished it last week and mailed it off to my professor.

The online translation seminar has also turned out to be an interesting, challenging and fun experience. We are given a poem or short prose each week in another language and have to translate it into English. No, you don’t have to know the source language to do this (though I think it probably helps). So far we have translated a poem by the French poet Pierre Reverdy and a piece of a myth narrative written by the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano. We are given the poem or prose in its original language, a short bio of the author and a glossary of all the terms in the piece. Then the trick is to translate the poem in a way that captures the intent of the poem but also makes sense as a poem in English. Again, it is somewhat akin to a puzzle, and I am enjoying it a lot.

As you can see, I’ve been busy, hence the few postings here. I’ll try to get back to a more regular blogging schedule. Or maybe not.

Self-publishing Might be for You

As the publishing world continues to morph and change in response to economic and technological pressures and opportunities, self-publishing - for some writers - becomes an attractive option. In fact, the longest chapter in my book, Navigating the Rough Waters of Today's Publishing World, Critical Advice for Writers from Industry Insiders (Quill Driver Press, 2010), is about self-publishing. Print-on-demand technology and the explosion in e-books makes self-publishing a more viable option than traditional, especially for authors who already have an established platform.

When your book is accepted by a traditional publisher, the publishing house provides certain services, including editing, cover and content design, production, distribution to booksellers, and some—often minimal—level of promotion. The publisher not only pays you an advance of some amount, but also assumes all the costs of editing, designing, producing, and distributing, the book, as well as spending money marketing it. As the author, in this scenario, you are paid royalties. All other profits go to the publisher.

If you self-publish, you pay for the privilege upfront but get to keep 100 percent of the profits on any sales. However, the cost can range from several hundred dollars to more than $10,000, depending on the type of self-publishing you choose. And that should be dictated by the kind of book you’ve written, your skills (of lack thereof) in producing a published work, and what your goals are as an author.

Why, exactly, do you want your book published? Do you seek attention? Do you want to use the book to support other work, like speaking? Is it because you want to leave a family history for your children and grandchildren? Perhaps you’re tired of banging your head against the traditional publishers’ doors and you have a well-thought-out plan for promotion and marketing. Or you may have expertise in a field that is too narrow for a larger publisher to consider, for example, how to repair electric razors.

If you write fiction, you should first exhaust all efforts to get an agent and win a traditional contract. But if all efforts fail, by all means consider self-publishing. There are some wonderful stories of self-published books that were picked up by traditional publishers and became best-sellers (Christopher Paolini's Eragon is one example), but honestly, that's rare.

Self-publishing makes more sense for a nonfiction title that has a particular niche and whose author has the resources and ability to spend a lot of time marketing it.

Online POD Publishing

The newer print-on-demand companies that operate online and often refer to themselves as publishers, such as iUniverse and Lulu, offer most of the services of a traditional publisher either on an a la carte basis or in packages for which you pay a fee.

If you have a memoir or family history you want to produce in limited quantities for family and friends, this is a good option. Since you can produce one book at a time, there’s no need to print and store a large stock of books. Each book can be printed as it’s ordered online. This is also a good choice if you are a hobbyist and want to produce a limited number of informational or how-to books that you want to sell online.

But beware. Most people in the publishing and entertainment industry consider books published by iUniverse and Lulu and similar publishers as substandard.

Subsidy Publishing

If you make a living writing for other publications but want to produce a nonfiction title to either subsidize your primary work or establish credibility as an expert in a particular area, subsidy press publishing is a good option. This is also a good choice for business and inspirational speakers. A book confers instant credibility for speakers, who then can sell them “from the back of the room” at speaking engagements.

A quality subsidy press is a good place to start. Under a typical co-publisher agreement with a small press, the author pays all the major production costs, including typesetting, printing and binding. The publisher provides editorial services like editing, proofreading and jacket copy; production services like design and typesetting; marketing services like press releases, brochures, sending out review copies, sales and fulfillment; and distribution to bookstores and online retailers.

The print run is typically short, in the five hundred- to two-thousand-copy range. All copies are the property of the author, who receives a royalty of, say, 60 percent of all net receipts on book and subsidiary rights sales.

Unfortunately, this rarely turns out to be a money-making venture for the author. You have to have a very good reason to see your book in print.

Traditional Self-publishing

Before online POD publishers appeared, self-publishing truly meant the author published the book on his or her own, from typesetting to arranging for printing and distribution.

This is a good choice for writers who produce how-to and self-help books, histories of obscure people or widgets, or books that have a very narrow but perhaps healthy following, for example people who collect antique clocks.

It’s also a good option for writers who publish in newspapers and magazines but want a book to increase visibility. The key is know-how.

If you decide true self-publishing is for you, read The Self-Publishing Manual, Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual Vol. 2 (parapublishing.com). Poynter believes the current revolution in publishing will permanently alter the playing field, empowering writers and allowing them to put their work directly into the hands of the reading public.

But this kind of self-publishing is not for the faint of heart. If you have the design, production and printing experience and knowledge, go for it. You should also read Morris Rosenthal (fonerbooks.com) and Aaron Shepard’s (newselfpublishing.com) books on the process.

Rosenthal’s book, Print-on-Demand Book Publishing: A New Approach To Printing And Marketing Books For Publishers And Self-Publishing Authors, provides exhaustive information on the process of print-on-demand publishing.

Shepard’s book, Aiming at Amazon: The NEW Business of Self Publishing, or How to Publish Your Books with Print on Demand and Online Book Marketing on Amazon.com, explains in great detail how to use Amazon to sell and distribute your book.

Whether you self-publish fiction or nonfiction, be careful with whom you do business. Mark Levine’s The Fine Print of Self-Publishing compares 45 self-publishing companies, from online services to lesser-known quality subsidy presses. It also tells you what to look for in a self-publisher, explains contracts and pinpoints specific companies you should avoid.

In the end, nonfiction writers can benefit from self-publishing more than - at least for now - fiction writers. But the publishing world changes every day, and more and more already successful authors are turning to self-publishing platforms like Amazon, Scribd and Smashwords. As always, know what you want to accomplish and do your homework.

(I'll be offering consultations on self-publishing at the A Room of Her Own biannual Writers' Retreat at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico from Aug. 8-14.)

Last Call for Memoir Workshop

I have just one spot left in my workshop on memoir this Saturday. Are you writing a memoir? Do you know the best way to present the information? What is the story in your life? Join us this weekend for an exploration that will inspire and motivate you. See the workshops page for details.

Writers Conferences to Jazz You

I've put together a list (not exhaustive) of nationally recognized writers conferences for those of you who are considering attending a conference between now and early next year. Here's the list:

June 2011

Bear River Writers’ Conference, Petoskey, MI – June 2-6, 2011 www.lsa.umich.edu/bearriver

Writers’ League of Texas Agents Conference, Austin, TX – June 10-12, 2011 www.writersleague.org

Nebraska Summer Writers Conference, Lincoln, NB – June 11-17, 2011 www.nebraskawriters.unl.edu

Wesleyan Writers Conference, Middletown, CT – June 16-20, 2011 www.wesleyan.edu/writers

Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Santa Barbara, CA – June 18-23, 2011 www.sbwriters.com

Jackson Hole Writers Conference, Jackson, WY – June 23-26, 2011 www.jacksonholewritersconference.com

July 2011

Antioch Writers’ Workshop, Yellow Springs, OH – July 9-15, 2011 www.antiochwritersworkshop.com

Tin House Summer Writers Workshop, Portland, OR – July 10-17, 2011 www.tinhouse.com

Taos Summer Writers Conference, Taos, NM – July 10-17, 2011 www.unm.edu/~taosconf

Writers Retreat Workshop, Hindman, KY – June 17-26, 2011 www.writersretreatworkshop.com

Stonecoast Writers’ Conference, Freeport, Maine – July 17-23, 2011 www.usm.maine.edu/stonecoast_wc

Napa Valley Writers' Conference, St. Helena, CA – July 24-29, 2011 www.napawritersconf.org

Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, Fort Bragg, CA – July 28-30, 2011 www.mcwc.org

August 2011

Pacific Northwest Writers Association Summer Conference, Bellevue, WA – Aug. 4-7, 2011 www.pnwa.org

Willamette Writers Conference, Portland, OR – Aug. 5-7, 2011 www.williamettewriters.com

Write by the Sea, Star Island, NH – Aug. 6-13, 2011 www.joycemaynard.com

Bread Loaf Writers Conference, Middlebury, VT – Aug. 10-20, 2011 www.middlebury.edu/blwc

Book Passage Travel Writers Conference, Corte Madera, CA – Aug. 11-14, 2011 http://bookpassage.com/travel-food-photography-conference

Cape Cod Writers Center Conference, Cape Cod, MA – Aug. 14-19, 2011 www.capecodwriterscenter.com

Sun Valley Writers Conference, Sun Valley, ID – Aug. 19-22, 2011 www.svwc.com

September 2011

Southern California Writers Conference, Los Angeles – Sept. 23-25, 2011 www.writersconference.com

October 2011

Women Writing the West, Lynnwood, WA – Oct. 14-19, 2011 www.womenwritingthewest.org

Surrey International Writers Conference, Surrey/Vancouver, BC, Canada – Oct. 21-23, 2011 www.siwc.ca

2012 

San Diego State University Writers Conference, San Diego, CA – January 2012 www.ces.sdsu.edu/writers

Southern California Writers’ Conference, San Diego – Feb. 17-20, 2012 www.writersconference.com

Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Chicago, IL – Feb. 29-March 2, 2012 www.awpwriter.org/conference/2012awpconf.php

Desert Nights/Rising Stars Writers Conference, Arizona State University Piper Center, Phoeniz, AZ – March 12 http://www.asu.edu/piper/conference/

Las Vegas Writers Conference, Las Vegas – April 2012 www.lasvegaswritersconference.com