Crash Course for Nonfiction Authors

I hope you’ve had a chance to review Part 1: A High-Level Overview of Your Publishing Options. If not, jump to it using the link above.

Now it’s time for Part 2: Author Platform Tune-Ups.

You may have heard a lot about “platform” from your author friends. Maybe you’ve even heard that traditional publishers tend to reject proposals from authors who they feel have a too-small platform. (Sadly, this is sometimes an easy-out excuse for a publisher. They’ll tell an author they need a bigger platform, and when the author grows their social media following and comes back to them, they say, actually we just don’t want to publish your book. Sad.)

What is “Author Platform?”

So what is an author platform, anyway? I like to think of it this way:

Your author platform is the comprehensive way in which you present yourself to the world, including how well you can reach your ideal reader.

So, your platform isn’t merely a number, like how many social media followers you have.

It includes how and where you present yourself online and offline. It includes social proof, professionalism, and branding. It requires clarity about who you are and who you serve as an author, plus strategic thinking about how you’ll reach those potential readers. And, yes, it also asks: Can you reach a lot of the right people – the ones who need or want your book?

At the core, “platform” is about building your author brand and attracting the right people to it.

Or, said another way: When you talk, who is listening?

I’m using “talk” figuratively here, to include writing, content creation, sharing your ideas online or in person, and yes, literally "speaking” too.

I’m using “listening” figuratively, too – to include actions like following you; eagerly awaiting your content; buying your stuff; telling others about your work; and generally being interested in and supportive of your work as an author or subject matter expert.

How Can You “Tune Up” Your Author Platform?

Platform building is a long game. You can’t create one overnight.

But: You can tune up your platform in the near term, and then create a longer-term plan to grow it. (Stay tuned for more on this.)

Here are a few “quick win” suggestions:

1. Review & update all your social profiles for consistency

Check each of your social media profile pics, bios, headers, and links. Check your Goodreads profile and Amazon Author page, too. Make sure you’re using the same colors, logos, fonts, headshots, and other images everywhere. Make sure your online profiles coordinate with your website in terms of look-and-feel.

Overall, you want to be consistently recognizable wherever people find you. You may intentionally vary some of the content, but if you do, make sure it’s intentional.

Example: Your personal Facebook profile might have a different, more informal, header image than your Facebook Author Page. However, they should not look like they represent different people.

2. Add media hits and podcast appearances to your website

Once you start doing interviews, you’ll want to add links to them on your website as “social proof.” It helps media and podcasters see that you’re an experienced interviewer and provides some great additional content for your website. If you have a lot of interviews and media hits, it may make sense to separate podcast interviews from other media coverage, perhaps on two separate pages.

Consider also adding media logos to your home page when you have good ones to share.

Examples: See the pages on my author website for media appearances and podcast appearances, as well as the media logos near the top on the home page.

3. Encourage clicks & replies in your emails

A simple adjustment you can make in some of your outgoing emails is to include a sentence or two encouraging the recipient to reply. This is good both for building relationships with readers and for improving the “deliverability” of your emails on the tech side of things. Link clicks also help with deliverability. If you’re going to encourage replies, be prepared to make your best attempt to respond.

Example: Hit reply and let me know [relevant question]. I read all my emails and look forward to connecting with you.

You’ll still want to create longer-term plans for growing your author platform. That may involve creating a content strategy, building your network, or taking steps to increase your credibility and visibility in your field. In the meantime, you can take some smaller and easier steps to “tune up” your author presence.

Next Steps

• DOWNLOAD: 10 Quick Author Platform Tune-Ups

• DOWNLOAD: Website Audit for Nonfiction Authors

• READ: Coolors.co: A User-Friendly Tool for Picking Color Palettes

Up next, we have Part 3: All About Editing. Understanding the types of editing — how they differ, which you need, and when — is so important. I can’t wait to dive into this topic with you.