Writer's Platform: Way Too Crowded

One of the more challenging and vexing aspects of selling a book and gaining an agent is the requirement of an author's platform. You want to hint at it in your query and then hammer away at it in the book proposal.

The idea: I have so many blog followers and newsletter lovers and access to the morning news shows that I can guarantee this book will sell and sell big.

Translation: My platform is so big and strong and committed that you (agent/publisher) will barely have to lift a finger to get paid.

Whether you think this is bullshit or common business sense does not matter. Agents and publishers want to see your platform and if you don't have one, you will have a difficult time finding either.

There are ways to establish yourself as a credible marketer of your book, but in this day and age there are soooooo many people trying to create a platform that what used to work no longer really does.

Think of it this way: You go onto a new website or blog and instantly a popup appears pleading with you to join their mailing list. Something like: If you care about your wife and children then you better give me your email address. Even when they don't make threats, the insistence of the popup is annoying and cloying.

So, don't be like that. Just stop. Now. And recognize that everyo9ne, and I mean everyone from yoga instructors to plumbers to wanna be self helpers to every other author is trying to use social media and their blog to build a platform/following/network.

Think different. Find a counter-intuitive and more effective way to demonstrate your ability to speak to your audience. Don't be the person constantly staring at their blog counter and Twitter following wondering why you can't get above five-hundred.