Before the advent of Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, an author only needed to demonstrate to agents, editors, and publishers that his or her book had a potential audience. Today, an author has to show customers waiting to buy the book when it is released. Book marketing in the digital era of transmedia is about pulling readers in to the author’s platform rather than pushing books out through the retailer’s door. Movie stars, newscasters, athletes, politicians and other public figures can demonstrate their audience platform based on box office numbers, Nielson ratings, million dollar contracts, popular votes, and news coverage. This explains why so many celebrities get book deals. Artists, activists, professors and other professionals build audience platform with every lecture, public speaking engagement, conference, workshop or exhibition. If you have prestigious degrees or positions, a powerful network and know key influencers, you have a built-in platform. But to persuade a publisher that you have a real customer base, you must show where you make an impact and give proof of audience engagement. This can be through quantitative measures (Google Analytics, Moz rank, size of your email list) or qualitative evidence (testimonials from opinion leaders, high profile reviews of your manuscript, news coverage or feature articles). Building an audience platform is not something you do overnight. It’s not a one-time event. Jane Friedman has a short video explaining the importance of starting early for your long term career goals. Building an audience platform is also not a one-size-fits-all process. It requires…

Who are your readers? They are not your family and friends. And don’t expect them to buy the book when it comes out. Unless they are in it. And that might not always be a good thing. Who are the people who don’t know you and will be pulled to your book enough to take money out of their pocket to buy it so they can read it? Do you know who those people are? They are book-buying customers. If not, it’s time to get to know them. The whole point of getting published is to be read. It IS about the readers. What will they think of it? How will they respond? As an author you can’t pretend you aren’t writing to a reader. Imagine who that is. Who are you talking to as the narrator of your book? What do you want them to think, feel, and do as a result of reading your book? When I coach radio journalists, I encourage them to identify their listeners. To whom exactly are they telling the story? If they can’t picture the specific person they are speaking to in a conversational manner, then they sound like the sing-songy news readers we all hate and tune out. Your writing will be stronger when you write to a specific audience. Let’s face it. Most of us don’t have time to read many books anymore. Buying a book is a luxury, not a necessity in most cases. If readers buy a book, they…

Will you read what I’ve written? As soon as I think I’ve finished writing a new piece, there’s that irresistible urge to get feedback from a reader. What do you think, eh? It’s more than yearning for instant ego gratification. That’s pretty nice, too. But it won’t help me take my writing to the next level. The sense of accomplishment from getting it down on paper and nailing? It isn’t enough. My inner editor kicks in and creates self-doubt. That’s a good thing and keeps me humble. No, really. Tell me what you think. Always be open to revision. Or don’t ask. After a half century of putting pencil to paper this much I know to be true. Took me a couple decades for it to sink in. I might not always be right and I don’t know everything. What didn’t work? You need to find those readers who are like your true friends who will tell you there is the spinach between your front teeth or your fly is open. Every writer needs editorial feedback. Editors are a writer’s best friend. Wait, wait! Last week Brooke Warner wrote a spot-on essay published in the Huffington Post on the 5 things she wished every author knew. Brilliant content. Wished I’d written it myself. Filled with typos. Ouch. Her excuse, when she shared it on social media, involved her technical inability to edit within the HuffPo platform. Double ouch. She’s a great editor. I’ve been there. As a writer who writes…