Kimberly Sabatini, Author of Touching the Surface (2012)
Building A Platform
What I'd like to talk about today is platform building. First of all, what is an author platform? According to The Creative Penn...
"The author platform is how you are currently reaching an audience of book-buying people, or how you plan to do so. It is your influence, your ability to sell to your market. It is your multi-faceted book marketing machine!"
Today I thought I'd share some of my platform building experiences for those of you who are aspiring authors and bloggers. Both groups are trying to reach many of the same audience. :o)
I have many writer friends that I share my social media ups and downs with. The very first thing that I tell them about platform building is to get started NOW! Like clockwork, they inevitably look at me, all flustered and discombobulated, before they start sputtering something about grabbing an agent, selling a book or maybe even kidnapping an editor first. Waving their hands and shaking their heads, they let me know they're completely uncomfortable hocking a book they haven't written, finished, found an agent for, or sold yet. Duh! I agree completely, but that doesn't mean you can't begin to build your platform. It simply means that your focus is not hocking your own book. Or in the case of bloggers--your blog.
A real platform is all about genuine interactions and those are not developed overnight. And trust me--you want a real platform. With this in mind, it doesn't matter where you start (Twitter, Facebook etc...) or if you do ALL at once. What matters most is that however you proceed, you must make yourself an active participant in your literary community.
Here are some of my best suggestions...
1. Follow your favorite authors and help them sell their books. Read their blogs because they are full of information and experience that is going to help you with your writing, blogging and marketing. They WILL appreciate the support and you may even develop a cyber friendship with that author. *fan-girl dreams* Retweet or share their best stuff. Shout out their marketing efforts from the roof-tops. Read their books, write reviews and be sure to post them on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I can not stress how much they will appreciate your support. In my own experience, after years of doing this (yes...I said years) many of those very same authors have stepped up and given me the same support that I have given them. And I did not have to ask for it. The world of children's literature functions as a tribe and I promise you--everyone remembers what it felt like to want IT so bad. Will everyone you support live up to your expectations? No. But then again, I don't just use social media to market myself. I genuinely enjoy it and love the community. Win-Win!
2. Repeat the above strategy with agents and editors. Again, they are a wealth of information and they are also promoting their author's books too. You can learn and you can help and they will be appreciative. Just don't be a weird and clingy stalker. Now...this doesn't mean I didn't don't stalk certain folks...it just means that I try to stay professional by keeping my own needy weirdness isolated to the privacy of my own head. Michelle Wolfson (my uber agent) didn't need to know that I hung on her EVERY word including her insane knowledge of Pop-tarts while I glued my eyeballs to her Twitter feed. And NO, I didn't send her a manuscript wrapped in Pop-tarts. Although...never mind. On the other hand, sometimes I did make a cute Pop-tart comment--so she knew that I was paying attention. And of course, the most important thing I did while I stalked my future agent on Twitter, was to carefully watch how her clients interacted with her and spoke about her. And I began to follow and support them.In doing this, it didn't take long for me to realize that Wolfson Literary's Wolf Pack would be the perfect fit for me. And make no mistake--she was watching how I behaved online too.
3. Repeat the above with bloggers. Do you see a pattern here?
***I'm interrupting #3 for a public service announcement***
In all of the platform building we've just talked about, you haven't HAD to mentioned your book once, but... you absolutely could have shared bits and pieces of who you are and what you're working on because you HAVE proven yourself to be a well rounded person. Huzzah!
***Back to our regularly scheduled programing***
Oh, and by the way...Bloggers Rock! Yeah, I know there's much author/blogger angst in the world, but I can't be a part of it and neither should you. Why?
1) Bloggers work hard and long for the simple love of books. I respect that.
2) I can't even begin to tell you how much I've learned by following bloggers. I've gained knowledge about reviews, building-up a blog, meta-data and a ton more.
3) Yeah, I can't say this enough...These are people who LOVE books and dedicate a truck load of time and effort into promoting authors. It gives me tingles.
So, in my humble opinion, you should support them right back. Appreciate them. Study how other authors handle their reviews--good and bad. Begin the process of preparing yourself for bad reviews and give the bloggers permission to write them. I know that's hard, but good reviews feel so much better when they are balanced with the sucky ones. They feel earned. It's like the olympics...winning is so damn good when you have to work that hard for it. Will there be stinky, snarky, mean reviews sometimes? Sure. Your job is to act professionally, eat a lot of chocolate, privately cry a few river of tears and then pull up your big-girl panties and not let what happened effect the great relationships you've made.
Ummm I may have deviated. Sorry--mini-rants happen. Back to my last tip.
4. In the same way that you've made yourself a part of the author, writer, agent, editor and blogger communities--you need to start finding authentic ways to connect with your target audience. When you're writing YA, this one of the toughest platform building tasks. Teens might be interested in you when you've already written a book that they love (if you're lucky) but they are not likely to be knocking on your door before then. I won't lie--I still struggle to make this connection. Sometimes I find some overlap, like the many teen bloggers that are out there. We share a love of books and that automatically gives us something in common. But what about those teens that are just readers--out there. So, what do you do? Quite by accident, I learned the most important bit of advice from the teen relationships I already have. I take dance class every week with my target audience young friends and without a doubt, these relationships are genuine and precious to me. They aren't about books and they can't be faked. I've cultivated them slowly like any other true relationship, and because of that, I've gained much more than you could ever imagined. I can't tell you where you should go to make these connections--although I highly recommend dance class. *grin* You are unique and have your box to reach outside of. But I can imagine that there are many teens looking for more real people in their lives--volunteer, take time to talk to your sitter, abduct your friend's kids, mentor a young writer or reach out in your community. They are there--in person and on-line. Expect it to be a slow and fragile process, but know that if you do it right, building a platform will be the very last thing on your mind. And that is what makes it all worth while.
Nikki, thanks so much for having me over to your blog, I had a wonderful time. Anyone else have any awesome suggestions for building a platform? I'm always up for learning a few new tricks. And of course I'm up for any questions about platform building, cyber stalking or Pop-tarts? I'm here to
Touching the Surface Blurb
Experience the afterlife in this lyrical, paranormal debut novel that will send your heart soaring.When Elliot finds herself dead for the third time, she knows she must have messed up, big-time. She doesn’t remember how she landed in the afterlife again, but she knows this is her last chance to get things right.
Elliot just wants to move on, but first she will be forced to face her past and delve into the painful memories she’d rather keep buried. Memories of people she’s hurt, people she’s betrayed…and people she’s killed.
As she pieces together the secrets and mistakes of her past, Elliot must find a way to earn the forgiveness of the person she’s hurt most, and reveal the truth about herself to the two boys she loves…even if it means losing them both forever.
Author Bio
Kimberly Sabatini is a former Special Education Teacher who is now a stay-at-home mom and a part-time dance instructor for three and four year olds. After her dad passed away in 2005, she used writing as a way to make sense of the experience and discovered that she’s full of questions that need to be answered. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband and three boys. Kimberly writes Young Adult fiction and is a member of the SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and she’s also a member of two debut author groups–the Class of 2k12 and the Apocalypsies. She is represented by Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency and thrilled to be part of the “Wolf Pack.” TOUCHING THE SURFACE is her debut novel. (Simon Pulse – Simon & Schuster, October 30, 2012)
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