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Platform Development Tip #1: Switch Writing Hats!
Platform-Building Tip #1: Switch Writing Hats!
Around eighty percent of nonfiction books today are written by experts, that is people who have a) earned credentials in the field theyre writing about, b) germinated information via articles, live presentations or other media, or c) had extraordinary, unique or memorably told life experiences relevant to their topic.
For an autobiographical work, such as a memoir, an author neednt have any special expertiseshe is the foremost authority on her own life. For a how-to or self-help book, however, the first thing mainstream publishers want to know is, Does the author have a platform?
Among the multiple definitions of platform in Merriam Websters 10th edition are 1) a place from which to speak, 2) a set of principles, and 3) a vehicle for carrying things. All these are important to an authors platform. The good news is, in the six to eighteen months it will take most authors to write either their book proposal or their entire book, they can develop a platform.
Here are some things editors look for in a platform:
- publications in the field demonstrating your expertise
- a mailing list
- pamphlets, tapes or other media carrying messages related to those in your book
- teaching or leading experience on the topic of your book
- a column
- a unique point of view with demonstrable appeal
- regular speaking engagements
- courses taught at a local venue
- a well-designed website
The section of the nonfiction proposal entitled Authors Bio or Authors Credentials details the information about the authors platform. Many aspiring authors I work with, at least initially, grossly underrepresent themselves in this section.
SOLUTION 1: WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVETHEN SWITCH HATS!
Assume that you probably already have more of a platform than you know. Instead of beginning by writing your bio in paragraph form, put on your Scribe hat and make a listyes, thats right, a long, tedious, unsexy listof everything youve done that seems even remotely related to your book.
Once youve made your boring list, switch hats. Youre now a Publishing Consultant looking over your clients resume. How are you going to make her shine? Simpleyoure going to take everything even remotely relevant to the book and change into a language that will make publishers perk up their ears. How do you know what will make publishers perk up their ears?
Switch hats again. Youre an Acquisitions Editor at a major
publishing house sitting behind a desk, asking yourself, which of these 163 proposals that arrived this week is worth risking my reputation, bank account and job to publish? Then put your Publishing Consultant hat back on, and do your translationbut dont forget about that anxious editor.
Heres an example:
Bob Jones, whos writing a book on personal accounting and finance for the masses, picks a phrase from his Scribe list, Instructor at Coleridge Community College for twelve years. With his Publishing Consultant hat on, he rewrites this phrase to read translated high-level accounting concepts into laypeoples language to over 3,000 adults of various backgrounds over twelve years.
Moving right along, Bob changes facilitated students home accounting practices, enabling them to pay bills and prepare taxes with greater efficiency to Over these twelve years, the author developed a series of steps, called the Number Crunch Shuffle. Students consistently report that the Number Crunch Shuffle helps them overcome their fear of numbers, streamlines their home accounting process and cuts their bill and tax preparation time in half.
guerilla tip: Bob didnt really call these steps the Number Crunch Shuffle at the time he taught them at Coleridge Community College. He got help developing this tag for the technique around which his book is built. However, he did develop the method itself while teaching those 3,000 students.
guerilla insight: Theres plenty of reality to work with. Take whats there and describe it in new and exciting ways. Find a gem that makes your book special and give it an attention-grabbing name.
You are welcome to reprint this article any time, anywhere with no further permission, and no payment, provided the following is included at the end or beginning:
Author Jill Nagle is founder and principal of GetPublished,
http://www.GetPublished.com, which provides coaching, consulting, ghostwriting, classes and do-it-yourself products to emerging and published authors. Her most recent book is How to Find An Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar http://www.FindTheRightAgent.com.
About the Author
Author Jill Nagle is founder and principal of GetPublished,
http://www.GetPublished.com, which provides coaching, consulting, ghostwriting, classes and do-it-yourself products to emerging and published authors. Her most recent book is How to Find An Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar http://www.FindTheRightAgent.com.
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