As much of an introvert you might be, when it comes to being a published author some publishing houses (most I would imagine) want you to have a platform.
What is a Platform you say? I'm glad you asked.
A platform is, basically, a group of people who like you. If you have a blog, your followers are part of your platform. Same for if you have a Facebook page, the people who like it are your platform. Or you follows on Pinterest, Twitter, or even Instagram.
So, now that we talked about what a platform is (and why you need it) how do you get one?
Slowly. You get one slowly... Haha!
All you have to do is decide on how you want to go about doing it. I like blogging (but am unfaithful at it...but I can tell you what I did wrong--besides not blog often...)
Before you blog....
1. Know what you want to blog about. Blogging about writing? Great. Now do it more than once a month. On my other blog www.naomiandbooks.wordpress.com I just started blogging about whatever I wanted too. Book reviews, funny stories-- anything. Which, some people seemed to like, I guess, because I got followers, but it makes it hard later because once you don't have any silly stories you can think of to blog about... you are where I am now. :)
2. Once you know what you are going to blog about, you'll know you're target audience.... so you just have to do it regularly. :)
Blogging isn't the only way to get a platform, though, so don't panic if blogging isn't for you. :)
If whole blog posts isn't for you, I recommend Facebook or Twitter. Facebook is nice if you ever decide you DO have a lot to say, but it's also completely acceptable to post something short and sweet. :)
Twitter is nice because you can use hashtags and post anything random and short that I want to. You can connect with other writers and readers and even published authors. :) But they do have limits (and no edit button) which is something I don't like about it...
Building a platform isn't something you have to wait until you're published for-- I'm working on mine now. :)
Do you have any advice on platform building tips?
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