What's a Platform? And Where Do I Get One?

Marketing. Such a simple word that can do so much, including make or break a product. You think you’ve done all of the hard work. You’ve accomplished a noble feat. You’ve written a book and it’s been published. Your goal in writing the book may have been to make some money by selling copies or maybe you simply want to get your words out into the world; to have people read them. But how are you going to do that unless people know your book is available and you entice them to pick it up? That’s where marketing comes in. Whether you’ve published or plan to publish traditionally or on your own, marketing is crucial if you want to get your books into readers’ hands. And if you traditionally published and think your publisher will take care of marketing, think again. Publisher budgets are shrinking and authors are increasingly expected to market their own books. In fact, whether you have a marketing plan could determine whether or not a publisher decides to publish your book in the first place.

How do you go about coming up with a plan for marketing your book? What do you do? How do you start? What’s a platform? These questions and more will be answered from 9 to 10:40 a.m. during the The Fifth Dimension – Marketing session of Midwest Writing Center’sPen In Hand Mini Writing Conference on Saturday, October 6^th. The session will be facilitated by Jane Reinhardt-Martin and Jane VanVooren Rogers, both experienced in marketing in general and marketing books in particular.

Other sessions offered at Pen In Hand on October 6^th address e-book publishing, self-publishing, and traditional publishing. Discounts are offered for early-bird registrants as well as members of MWC. Click here to learn more and sign up.

by Jodie Toohey, a/k/a The Wordsy Woman

The Road to Traditional Publication

Do you have a book in you? Are you wondering what you would do with it when it is finished? Or are you already there – you’ve completed a manuscript and you are wondering what to do with it? The route to publication can, and usually is, long, difficult, and winding but generally ends at one of two destinations: self-published or traditionally published.

To be traditionally published, authors usually either obtain an agent to navigate the route with them or they go directly to the publisher. The initial process at least for obtaining either is essentially the same. First, research and find potential agents and publishers to pitch and then research each one further to find the most likely best fit. Find out what they want to see; just a query letter, a query letter and sample pages or chapters, a full book proposal, etc.? Send whatever the particular agent or publisher wants to see and then wait. And wait. Hopefully you will get a request for more material or the whole manuscript. And then you wait. And wait. Get the green light and, if you get an agent, wait and wait for he or she to attempt to sell your work. If the green light leads to a publisher either without or after you get an agent, arrive at publication paradise. But, if the answer is a polite, “No,” (and if you’re like most all authors, there will be plenty of No’s), submit further and wait. And wait. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

After this extremely simplified explanation of the traditional publishing process, do you have questions? If so, you’re in luck. On Saturday, October 6^th from 1:20 to 3:00 p.m., the Midwest Writing Center is holding a workshop entitled Get Into The House. The session will be facilitated by Jon Ripslinger, a retired English teacher who taught in public high school systems for thirty-five years and author of six traditionally-published young adult novels.

Other sessions offered at Pen In Hand on October 6^th address e-book publishing, self-publishing, and marketing (important no matter how you publish). Discounts are offered for early-bird registrants as well as members of MWC. Click here tolearn more and sign up.

HOW DO I START AND WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

So you have a great idea for a story or a novel. You have a character and a basic idea of how you want your story to get to that “happily ever after”. But how do you take the story from “once upon a time” and sustain it for dozens of pages to get to the “happily ever after”? One way to help may be to invest some time in some advance story planning and outlining. Outlining provides the framing for your story, a basic structure through which to weave the substance of your story. The key to successful outlining is not to screw your frame down too tight; keep those screws loose enough you can move a beam here or there, put in a window where you first thought you wanted a door, or change the pitch line of your roof. Keep in mind it is a BASIC frame and not the final draft. Don’t be afraid to change your blueprint if your story takes you in a different direction.

Once you have your completed novel manuscript in hand, revised it once or twice or a dozen times, dotted your “I”s and crossed your “T”s, what can you do to try to get it onto a bookstore’s shelf? Nowadays, publishing can take many forms from print-on-demand, to subsidized publishing, to e-publishing to traditional New York house publishing. Getting accepted into the traditional publishing world requires playing the submission game. Generally it requires finding agents and/or publishers; sending them query letters with various synopsis, sample chapters, resumes, etc.; waiting; waiting; waiting; and more waiting; collecting rejection letters and maybe, just maybe getting someone to say, “YES!”

If you want to learn more about the “Before & After” of novel/fiction writing, plan to attend the identically titled session of MidwestWriting Center’s March 24, 2012 Pen In Hand Mini Writing Conference from 3:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in downtown Davenport, Iowa.

Mark McLaughlin and Michael McCarty, both prolific published fiction authors, will teach this workshop session. Mark is the author of 20-plus books, with more forthcoming, and more than 1,000 published stories and articles, in addition to his career as a marketing & PR professional. His books include MONSTER BEHIND THE WHEEL (with Michael McCarty), PARTNERS IN SLIME (with Michael McCarty), RAISING DEMONS FOR FUN & PROFIT, and MOTIVATIONAL SHRIEKER, among others. Mike's short stories and interviews have appeared in a wide variety of magazines and anthologies. He is the author of three books of interviews; a nonfiction collection; five fiction collections including All Things Dark and Hideous which was co-written with Bram Stoker Award-winner, Mark McLaughlin; a paperback poetry collection; novels and a novella. McCarty was the former staff writer for “Science Fiction Weekly” (the website of the Sci-Fi Channel)

Discounts for this and the three other Pen In Hand sessions are offered for early registrants, members and bulk buyers. Click here or call 563/324-1410 for more information and learn how to register.

by Jodie Toohey, www.jodiet.com
Follow Jodie as she blogs about all things MWC