Author: Writing your first novel-Some things you should know

What Is a Platform?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, Leave a comment

This was actually the first post I wrote ten years ago. Minus the grammatical and structural errors 🙂 and with a few updates. One of the things I have always tried to do is offer information I hoped would be helpful and prevent you, my reader, from making the same mistakes I did.

So as one writer to another, I would like to ask, “How’s your platform coming along? Do you have one? Do you know what it is?” Let me explain.

A writer’s platform is a digital, public-facing, and strategic hub where a writer builds their visibility and connects with an audience to foster a loyal readership. It could include a personal website, blog, newsletter or social media profile. Great manuscripts of first-time authors get pushed to the side every day because the aspiring author doesn’t have a solid platform.

I was recently rejected by a literary agent because of my lack of a solid platform. I spent the last few years editing and rewriting major portions of my manuscript to address numerous grammatical, structural, and POV issues to name a few.  I was confident with my work and 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 literary agent who rejected me apologized for not giving me better news but said it was really hard to place new authors, especially those without 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 that, with technology, it is much easier than you might 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 help you build your online presence.

Something else to work on and think about.

-Jan R

What Is a Platform?

Overwriting?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , , Leave a comment

Overwriting is a result of our own effort to figure out what’s happening in any given scene. Only after we have discovered that core truth can we know what truly belongs and what doesn’t, based on a clearer knowledge of what we’re trying to say and what the scene requires. – David Corbett

So why do we overwrite? Insecurity? Annie Dillard describes one type of insecurity as “the old one-two.” You write your thoughts, feel like you have to explain yourself, and repeat what you just said using different words. Remember, you want to say it once, say it well, and move on.

Another reason for overwriting is the anxiety of feeling you didn’t give your reader a clear, concise picture of what’s going on. I’ll raise my hand here 🙂 The reader needs to know, right? Give your reader some credit. Maybe they already know what’s going on based on everything they’ve read so far, or maybe they don’t need to know everything. Leave a little mystery and give yourself fodder for upcoming chapters.

The good news is that overwriting is one of the best problems to have. You just have to find that sweet spot where you give your readers just enough to let their imagination take over. Take out the scissors, or hedge trimmers, depending on how much you have to trim 🙂

Don’t bog your reader down with needless words. Keep them engaged and moving forward with the thrill of finding out what lies just around the corner.

Something to think about.

-Jan R

Overwriting?