author platform building

Building a Platform to Land a Book Deal: Why It Often Fails

If you're preparing to pitch your nonfiction work to agents or publishers, you may have heard about the necessity of platform. What if you don't have one?
get 10000 visits

How to Get 10,000 Visits to Your Blog in One Day with No Platform

Getting traction for your online presence—especially a new blog—can feel like an impossible task when you're an unknown writer. But it can be done.
writing for free

When Should You Write for Exposure? 5 Questions to Ask

When deciding whether to write for free—or for exposure—here are 5 questions writers should ask.
Hot air balloons being filled and prepped for launch

Getting Ready to Launch a Book? Start with These 5 Questions

Social media and marketing expert Andrea Dunlop lists five questions you should ask yourself when starting to plan your book launch.
A laptop computer featuring an image of a handshake on the screen

How to Leverage the Power of Someone Else’s Platform (Without Being Smarmy)

Kirsten Oliphant explains how to reach out to others who can help you build your author platform and how to generate a great pitch for collaboration.
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How to Be Active on Social Media without Losing Your Mind

Author and social media expert Kirsten Oliphant explains how to manage your platform-building activities on social media sites.
Gigi Rosenberg

How a Website Redesign Solved an Author’s Identity Dilemma

Author Gigi Rosenberg describes how she redesigned and relaunched her author website primarily on her own, only hiring assistance at the end.
Simon Curtis 8 Bit heart

Storytelling Across Media: Q&A with Agent Laurie McLean

Agent Laurie McLean discusses the platform and book launch strategy for author/musician Simon Curtis.
Best Practices for Author Facebook Pages and Groups

Best Practices for Author Facebook Pages and Groups

Kirsten Oliphant discusses how to effectively use Facebook pages and groups.
by Pauleon Tan / Flickr

Engaging Audiences through Twitter in 15 Minutes a Day

Writer and blogger Kirsten Oliphant explains how to build your platform on Twitter in only 15 minutes a day.
by Richard O York / via Flickr

That Overused Word “Community”—But Why We Still Have to Talk About It

What does it mean to "engage" with a community? And what's the benefit?