Write on, Wednesday! Do’s and Don’t of Fiction Platforms
By Leslie Lindsay You hear all the time, “build your platform!” But what exactly is a platform, you say?! Well, the terminology, platform comes from the theater in which the presentor/entertainer (that’s you, the author) is on the stage, while your “audience” (readers) are on the sidelines. It generally means you have a place to promote your work; that is–readers who care. Every writer will have a different strategy to developing his or her platform–it all depends on your personality, your goals as a writer, and often the types of writing you do. Here’s a list of do’s and don’t for fiction platforms (but I think you can translate many of these to non-fiction as well). This is literally a clipping from a Writer’s Digest magazine…but don’t ask what issue. It’s been tacked to my real-life bulletin board over my desk for awhile now. WHAT WORKS: 1. Local publicity; especially if you live where your novel is set (DOESN’T WORK: mass snail maillings) 2. Book giveaways (DOESN’T WORK: Non-book [swag] giveaways) 3. Wide-reaching blog tour …