Ten ways to build an author's platform

At nearly every writing event I?ve attended over the past few years, the term ?platform? has dominated the conversation. These days, agents, editors and publishers rarely work with authors who haven?t established a platform, or worse yet, don?t even know what it is.

So what the heck does platform mean? In short, it?s the author?s visibility, expertise and following. The best time to start building a platform is NOW, even if you?re not quite ready to publish your book. Ten ways to go about it include:

1. Delivering speeches about your topic and/or the type of writing you do
2. Teaching classes or workshops that relate to your area of expertise
3. Writing magazine, newspaper and ezine articles, or short stories or segments of a forthcoming book
4. Doing public readings of your work
5. Maintaining an interesting and useful website
6. Writing and distributing your own newsletter or ezine
7. Writing your own blog or writing guest posts for other bloggers? sites
8. Posting video trailers and podcasts
9. Sharing information through social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter
10. Networking at writers meetings, conferences and book fairs

If the mere thought of public speaking terrifies you (like many other writers), I suggest you join a Toastmasters club (www.toastmasters.org). Before joining Toastmasters, I was so shy I could barely make a phone call. Now I actually enjoy opportunities to speak before hundreds and appear on TV.

Whatever ways you choose to build your platform, start with what?s easiest for you to do and build it with passion.

Source: http://castlecommunications.com/?p=634

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