Author Platform

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Writing a Newsletter When Your Book Isn’t Published Yet

Even with no book to promote, one author finds that writing a monthly newsletter nourishes her life and craft in surprising ways.
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What Does It Mean to Write and Publish a Viral Article?

What happens when thousands or millions of people read your work? There will be those that love it, hate it, and everything in between.
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In Substack We Trust: Navigating the Tension Between Powerful Tools and Platform Dependency

A full transcript of a panel discussion at NonfictioNOW at Notre Dame University about the mixed feelings that writers have about Substack.
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Reimagining Your Competitors as Collaborators

Engaging with authors whose books are similar to yours is a valuable opportunity for inspiration and collaboration.
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Lay the Professional Groundwork for a Successful Nonfiction Book

If a nonfiction book is an immediate or distant goal, start thinking now about how to visibly position yourself as an expert in your topic.
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If You Don’t Define and Present Yourself Online, Others Will Do It for You

We are storytellers, are we not? Let’s use that skill to our advantage when building the language of our websites to help readers find us.
Screenshot of Jane Friedman’s dashboard on the Author Websites by BookBub page. From this page, the user can view or edit their author website; create an email sign-up page; edit Author Bio details; and add or edit data about their published book credits.

Author website builders: Tertulia versus BookBub (and more)

Both Tertulia and BookBub now offer author website building services. How do they compare?
Tertulia launches an impressive website builder for authors

Tertulia launches an impressive website builder for authors

Unlike its competitors, the service requires only an ISBN and template choice to create a site in under a minute.
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Pitch Decks for Novels: Do They Work and Are They Here to Stay?

A successful pitch deck may act as a simple vibe check or perform a function similar to that of a nonfiction book proposal.
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TikTok’s book imprint, 8th Note Press, partners with Zando

Genres include romance, romantasy, and YA titles, with a focus on Millennial and Gen Z readers.
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A new community for Booktokers, authors, and publishers

Sam Missingham has launched MeetTheBooktokers.com, a platform that showcases the work of Booktokers.
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Spontaneous Generation and Author Platform

We all fantasize about overnight success, but building an audience—and platform—takes time, persistence, and strategy.
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The Platform Authors Need Now (That Isn’t Social Media)

We best create an audience of readers by publishing our work, carrying out projects we care about, and making personal connections.
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Be Yourself So Your Readers Can Find You

Brand strategy helps you understand and articulate your value in a world that desperately needs you to show up as who you truly are.
Image: On an urban sidewalk, two men wearing casual clothing and hats sit side by side at folding tables on which typewriters are placed. Nearby they've placed a sign reading, "Poet for hire—pay whatever you want."

How and Where to Build Your Literary Community

Put your energy into people and places that are a good fit for you and your writing goals, and your literary community will thrive.
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New romance imprint at Zando

Zando has established a new imprint called Slowburn to publish books targeted at the BookTok audience.
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Author Platform Follows the Work

One author threw herself into platform building and engagement, only to lose sight of what really mattered—her writing.
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Author loses agent and publisher due to bad behavior on Goodreads

Debut novelist Cait Corrain admitted last week to creating numerous Goodreads accounts for the purposes of giving one-star reviews.
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Your Substack Isn’t For Everyone

To ensure you’re giving value to your audience, make sure you know who your newsletter is for and what they get from it.
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Pitch event DVpit moves to Discord

Given the uncertain future of X/Twitter, DVpit has decided to permanently move its pitching events for underrepresented authors to Discord.
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The Other Pitch Packages Authors Should Prepare

When soliciting blurbs or appearances on podcasts, its important to convey—in just a few lines—what you and your writing are about.
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Media Training for Authors: 6 Ways to Become a Go-To Expert

Advice on getting your foot in the door as an on-air expert, from someone who spent two decades booking authors for TV appearances.
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Can Bindery’s Business Model Succeed?

Agents and industry veterans aren’t sure if an influencer- and member-driven publishing model is sustainable or desirable for authors.
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How to Successfully Pitch Op-Eds and Timely Cultural Pieces

Writing an opinion piece about a topic in the news or in the zeitgeist is a way for even inexperienced writers to get the attention of editors.
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Bindery: a new startup that turns influencers into publishers

The startup is launching with nine inaugural imprints, each associated with a social media influencer who selects titles for publication.