Week 9: The beginnings of an author platform.
If you would like to follow from the beginning, start here.
While I wait for the beta reader feedback, it is time to get my book promotion house in order.
What I Did This Week
I didn’t expect too much of myself this past week. My only two tasks were
- Work on my author profile.
- Add my book to my website.
It meant also writing a book description. It was enough for one week but not overwhelming.
Beta Reader Update
I received some more beta reader feedback. One beta reader made a comment about the book being young, which they thought might upset me. I thought it was awesome feedback since I have always thought to write for a younger audience: teens going through something similar to what I went through. When I commented this, the beta reader said, why didn’t you say so?!?
I didn’t say so because one of my questions was eliciting from the beta readers what age group they thought it would best suit. My experience with beta readers suggests that you want to ask open questions, rather than yes/no questions. Some people just want to agree with you and make you feel good and happy. That is nice but not useful. I have learned to ask more open ended questions, which gives me useful feedback.
I have a few comments back and am waiting for a few more. I should follow up this week with beta readers who have not sent anything back. They are not late. And it is a good idea to check in to make sure all is well part way through the process.
My Process for Writing My Bio
The process of writing a bio is where you will find success. Sometimes authors ask me if there is a formula. I like giving a process better than a formula for a bio. Because each bio, each author, each book is different. My advice is don’t follow someone else, but do have a process that includes looking at other bios.
Here is my five step process. I…
- Looked at other bios in the same genre and picked out what I liked. I won’t go into detail on whose bios I looked at since even within memoir, you want to find books like yours, not just any memoir. What I did do was look at books that won awards, became bestsellers, or were at the top of the category in the online stores.
- Decided what type of information I want in the bio. When looking at the bios of other authors, I tried to read it from the perspective of my ideal reader. What would a teen want to know before choosing to read this memoir? What information would give them the sense that I understand their struggles, and that this book might help.
- Wrote a first draft. I tend to just write my first draft without analysing and this task was no different. Once I had a sense of what to include, I wrote things down. Not in order. I let ideas flow. Then I put it in order and did a quick revision.
- Let it sit. I always suggest getting away, forgetting about your writing. Wait until you have fresh eyes, and then come back and revise. That is when it is time to analyse!
- Revised it. Truth is I let it sit, then revised, let it sit, then revised it a few times. Finally I had to say, enough! I will revise it again when I have feedback. As I go through this journey, I can come back to it. For now, I have something to show and to talk about.
Following this process, rather than a strict formula will help you come up with a bio that works for your ideal reader. I’ll keep tweaking it and I have a solid foundation of what I want to say and why.
What I Included in My Author Bio
The elements I decided to include:
- Why I wrote the book – I want young people who were like me, troubled and looking for a way out, to find a book that is easy to read and offers hope for a new path. I want potential readers to know that I wrote the book for them.
- What I do and other writing – This comes after why I wrote the book and it does add credentials. So if why I wrote the book is about my experience that is similar to my readers’ experiences, this section moves past that to show how far I have come and that writing is my thing!
- Tidbit about my success – Finally, I wanted to offer a glimpse into my life now. It’s good to have some personal information and I wanted potential readers to see some personal success.
Once I was done writing my bio, I also added it to my website, so other people can take a look. I added a page to my website under the menu item ‘Book.’ To that page I added a temporary book cover, book description, bio, and image of me. Finally I added a publishing timeline: summer of 2022.
Visit the page and let me know what you think!
When to Launch Your Author Platform
It might seem early to put up a page on my website, but I think it should go up six months before launch date and it’s closer than that, so it is good timing. Now that something is up on the site, I can send people there. I can add to it and update it as I move along this journey. Having a page on my website is the first step to my author platform.
I see authors who think they have to do it all at once. Your book lasts a long time so do one step at a time. This week, I added a page to my website. Next week, I’ll take another baby step.
What I Am Doing this Week
It is time to look over my book plan and start putting it into some order. Once I get all the beta reader feedback, I will be revising the book once again, so now is the time to get my book promotion plan in order.
I’d love to see your author page. Drop me a link in the comments.
See you next Monday!
– Keep writing
Melody Ann
Author Nation is your go-to resource for becoming a successful nonfiction author, from planning to promotion and everything in between.