Bestselling Author Shares 3 Tips for Building Your Blog Audience

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Pearson Sharp

After moving from New York City to Chicago and getting married, Rachel Bertsche realized that her new life was missing one crucially important thing: a local best friend. So she decided to go on one friend date every week for a year, and she documented her quest on a WordPress.com blog at MWFseekingBFF.com.

But before Rachel even started the blog, the 27-year-old writer put together a book proposal based on her search for a local BFF, and successfully pitched it to agents, and then editors.

Work and Jobs

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Pearson Sharp

“Almost anyone can be an author; the business is to collect money and fame from this state of being.”
― A.A. Milne

Well, here I go. Another day, and off to the world outside my door. Being an author can be tedious from a practical point of view—you can’t exactly pay the utilities with promises and chapter synopses. But the day goes by fast, and I’ll be back here to start my real job soon enough. The day is only begun, and already it’s full. What a wonderful feeling, just to be doing.

Your Platform

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Pearson Sharp

So I guess I’m someone who’s a bit old fashioned when it comes to writing a book. I don’t have a television, and I don’t really keep up to date with current events, which is something I’m working on. It has always seemed to me that to get a book published, you simply write the thing, and then start contacting agents and from there something magical will happen and bam! You’re published.

Well, that’s not quite true. Since I’ve become serious about getting my own book finished and (hopefully) published this year, I’ve been doing a lot of research and investigation into current trends in the publishing industry. This sort of thing may be old news to most people, but some of the things I’ve learnt have come as quite a surprise to me. For example, establishing what’s known as a “platform” before you ever even start sending your book to potential agents.

A platform is essentially a marketing strategy to increase your audience and have a ready fan base who is eager to buy your book the day it hits the shelves. For a first time author, this isn’t easy to accomplish. It includes things like hiring a professional publicist, relating your book to things currently going on in the national news, creating a specific website dedicated to your book, finding places or people who will recommend your book and get you some attention in the media, all the way down to blogs. Which is what got me started on writing here.

My book is based in a science fiction world of my own creation, and takes place in a time and setting that I have tried to make as rich, imaginative, and unique as possible. Because of the niche market that science fiction exists in, I’m hoping that taking advantage of some of the many tools suggested by websites and other authors will help get me off the ground. It’s a little daunting to consider that all the hours and effort I will and already have poured into getting this book published may, in the end, amount to nothing more than a stack of rejection letters and suggestions for better luck the next time round.

This article: http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2008/06/07/build-your-author-platform-10-tips-from-a-pro/ offers some really helpful information on how to get yourself started creating a platform. Some of it, such as hiring a publicist or giving speeches in local venues I’m not quite ready for. My book is still in the writing stage, and honestly quite far from being completed. I just ticked over on the 40,000 word mark, which seems like a lot. And it is! But most science fiction novels are anywhere from 90,000 to 150,000 words. And at the rate I’m going, mine’s probably going to be closer to the latter.

However, that’s all part of the fun, and now that I’ve started the process to get this book written and published this year, I’m a little relieved to find all the support that exists out there for burgeoning authors like myself. Expect to see more updates like this, as I’ll probably be doing a lot of website hunting and trying to see what exactly I can do to start building a community around what I honestly think will be an excellent book.

Getting Started

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Pearson Sharp

So I’ve had this blog for a couple of months, but I haven’t really done anything with it so far. I suppose I’ve been a little hesitant to start a new blog when I already have one going, but the aim here is for a professional, clean presentation that will (hopefully) give people a clue of what I’m all about.

My goal for this year is to first finish my novel, which is currently in its fourth rewrite. Once I get that out of the way, it’ll be onward to getting published. Accounts vary on the difficulty I’ll experience in that department. I’ve been in touch with multiple people in the industry and several successfully published authors, and it really seems like it might not be as daunting as I originally thought. If this book turns out the way I’d like, and it seems to be shaping up that way, then I think I’ll have something very solid and presentable for an agent to sell. After that first hurdle, I imagine a lot of the work will be behind me, and it’ll simply be down to writing another book. I’m so excited to get this one out of the way.

Don’t get me wrong–it’s a joy to write. But it’s also a tremendous headache. I’m not sure what other authors experience as far as this is concerned, but the sheer volume of notes I’ve taken regarding the background and history of my novel are rivaling the novel itself. But it’s absolutely necessary. This isn’t a book about a place anyone has ever been to before: everything has to be laid out and explained. But in an exciting and interesting way! And I don’t want to be a snob, but after reading what the competition is putting out–i.e., what’s up on the main page of the New York Times bestseller list–I don’t think I’ll have trouble standing out. Or maybe it’ll be too radical! Maybe I’m destined only to be appreciated after my time.

In any case, everything is moving forward. Including this website. It’ll be my new goal to stay up to date with relevant industry news and blog about it here, and hopefully to start connecting with other authors in the area. I’m really looking forward to this journey, and I can’t wait to hold my finished book in my hand. What a wonderful thing to be creating, to be a part of.