While peeling apples and baking pie Saturday, I listened to one of my favorite podcasts, Beyond the Book, hosted by Copyright Clearance Center. Their hot topic, “Bestsellers Born in Social Media” (September 1), focuses on an interview with an agent, talking about how publishers must encourage their authors to have some sort of social media platform. Better yet, authors should have a solid social media platform before even submitting their manuscripts. Yes!

Some authors are daunted by the prospect. After all, much of their authorial life requires working solo, and now we’re asking them to go public. My takeaway from the podcast, however, is that being an author IS being public. Editors make editorial and business evaluations. (Ahhh, but that we could only stick to the editorial!) Paraphrasing commentary from the podcast, publishing is at heart “a business of the gut,” but in order to be successful, it must also be a business. As such, publishers must consider the marketing prospects for any manuscript.

If you are a writer, and you have hopes of adding “published author” to your resume, start working on your social media platform now. Common practice invites authors to begin with a website. As you add content to your web presence, that content can easily be transported to your other social media domains. Starting with a website is not the easiest platform, although free website hosts like WordPress do make the process a good starting place. My preference, my comfort zone, is with  easy-to-use social media like Facebook, but I also highly recommend creating an author page on Goodreads.

It doesn’t matter where you begin, only that you start. Here is a list of the platforms I’ve found most productive and easiest to use, with hopes in the near future to add podcasting in the mix.

• Testing out a few lines of poetry? Say so. Maybe even include a phrase or a line.
• Writing from your favorite nook? Say so. Maybe include a picture of your space, possibly with you in it!
• Visiting the archives and finding some fabulous document supporting your argument? Say so. And include a cell phone pic (if allowed . . . mind the archival site rules).
• Out for an evening stroll and spying a beautiful sunset? Say so. And include a cell phone pic.
• Enjoying a dinner out with friends? Say so. And include a cell phone pic.
• Working on obtaining blurbs for your new book? Say so.
• Corresponding with your publisher? Say so. You can include a pic of our logo or a link to our website http://www.ndsupress.org. 🙂
• Feeling angst about posting on Twitter? Say so. Blame it on your publisher.
• Having an author photo made? Say so. And include the pic.
• For more ideas & to build up your following, follow other social media users . . . like us, at NDSU Press.
  • https://twitter.com/NDSUPress
  • https://www.facebook.com/NDSUPress/
  • https://www.instagram.com/ndsupress/
  • https://www.pinterest.com/ndsupress/
  • https://www.ndsupress.org