So why do you blog? You have to have a reason. Not many people take the time to type meaningful information or interesting banter without a reason. It’s too much work.

I’m in the middle of a move and was going through old blogs to see what I could recycle, when I took notice of my first blog.  It was all about building your platform, which was the motivator for my starting this blog.

Did you know great manuscripts of first time authors get pushed to the side everyday, because the aspiring author doesn’t have a solid platform.

And I’m not saying my first manuscript was great, as a matter of fact, it was full of mistakes. Something a kind literary agent pointed out on three separate occasions. I suppose she saw potential in my work, because she sort of took me under her wing.

I spent a few years editing and rewriting major portions of my manuscript to address issues that she had mentioned-there were many.  I was confident with my work and sent it to her for what I thought was a final review. I looked forward to a request for the complete story. Well, what I got wasn’t a request but a rejection.

The reason had nothing to do with my novel. I had focused so much on preparing it for publication, that I failed to do one of the most important things, build an audience of potential customers. Is it necessary? Unfortunately yes, especially for first time authors.

The agent who rejected me actually apologized for not giving me better news, but said it was really hard to place new authors, especially those who did not have a solid platform. While she recommended that I send it to other agents, she also emphasized the importance of building a platform.

The good news is with technology, it’s a lot easier than you would think.  Google ‘Building a platform’, and you’ll find all kinds of information.  I would personally recommend looking into Michael Hyatt. He is an author, blogger, speaker, and a former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, so he knows a little bit about what we are trying to accomplish here. I would also recommend his book, ‘PLATFORM GET NOTICED IN A NOISY WORLD’. He provides all the information you need to get started, including websites that assist with the creation of your online presence.

I hope this helps someone out there on their quest to being published.  I chose to discuss platforms in my first entry, because of the frustration I felt after receiving the news from the literary agent. I just didn’t know. This is something I could have been doing while preparing my novel for publishing.

When you start out there are so many things you don’t know. I’ve been working on my novel for over five years now. I actually completed the manuscript in the first year, but then discovered that I had no idea what I was doing. I spent the last five learning  how to write a novel and applying that knowledge to my work.

This blog gives me great joy in knowing that I have provided useful information to others on their journey. And it is my hope that I not only build my platform, but help others avoid some of the mistakes that I have made.

-Jan Rouse