Things may be changing around here. I’m not sure what or how yet, but I figured I’d post a heads up. You may see some stuff moving around or going away or whatnot.

What the heck is going on?

Well, see, I’m taking this class in the course of getting my MFA (that’s a Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University. The class is called ‘Finding & Reaching an Audience’. Basically, it’s supposed to help strengthen our skills on the business end of writing, help us figure out how to get the word out about our brand and maintain an author platform.

Maybe you’re well-versed in the publishing world, and you know what a platform is and does. Or, maybe you’re like me and still struggling to understand this many-faceted concept. Let’s break it down a little.

What is a writer’s platform and why should you have one?

According to industry guru Jane Friedman in her blog post A Definition of Author Platform, a platform is “an ability to sell books because of who you are or who you can reach”. It’s a seemingly simple explanation for a complicated idea. I really recommend you read the entire blog post. And while you’re at it, check out Friedman’s other blog posts as well. They’re all informative and mostly quick reads that are insightful about the publishing industry.

If you’re a celebrity for whatever reason, you have a built in platform… a following of people who are likely to listen to what you’ve got to say and are even more likely to buy your product. You don’t need to be a celebrity to have a platform, however. You can have a blog that gets hundreds of thousands of hits per month, or 20 million Twitter followers, or whatever. My platform is, technically, all the people that follow me here on the blog, and on Twitter, and Facebook. You’re supposedly listening to the things I shout into the internet ether.

Of course, there’s more to that than meets the eye.

I need to engage you guys, to post things that interest you, be eye-catching. I need to do all of these things–and more, that’s what I’m learning in this class–in order to grow my following and increase my platform. That way, when my next book comes out, it’ll sell well.

I’m not looking to be a gross billionaire who goes to space or anything, but I would like to be able to write full-time, and in order to do that I need a solid platform and a dedicated following. One of the ways of building the foundation of a platform is having a website. Like mine. Or, hopefully like mine. This is where the construction comes in. Throughout the course, depending on feedback from my instructor and peers, I may be switching some things around. The blog won’t go away, that’s for sure. I like having a place to ramble, even if there are only a few of you listening. Plus, I’m definitely going to blog about any significant changes to the site.

But, things may change or move around or get renamed. They may get changed and then change back! Who knows? Not me.

If you’re reading this, take a look around the site. Tell me what you think in the comments. What do you like about the site? What don’t you like? What would you change if it was up to you? What do you think works? I want your input!

Or maybe you love everything and think it’s perfect. That’s nice too. Just, chime in below.

Now, if you’ve read this whole thing all the way to the end, I know we’re pals. You probably liked, shared, and commented before I even asked. Well, here’s a special secret just for you. If I get ten people or more commenting on this post (that’s ten individual post authors, not just ten posts), I’ll enter you all into a raffle for a $10 Amazon Gift Card! Each like, comment, and share will count as one entry in the raffle. Winner will be chosen by random number generator. If I get enough comments, I will post a winner of the raffle on Monday, August 9th 2021 here on the blog!

~ME