How To Build Your Platform, Part III

Jean Ann Perches On Top Of A Winter's Supply of Firewood

I stand amazed at how willing people are to encourage me and help me with platform building.

There are a lot of kind folks out there in the world. A sweet lady, Dorene, wrote an email to The Drew Marshall Show, and she told Drew he should consider having me on his radio featured as a God Blogger. Drew contacted me, and we set a date and a time. Just that simple and my interview went real well.

Drew said the point was to drive more traffic to my Love Truth blog. Guess what? It did just that. I am averaging 50 to 75 page views daily, since the interview. Far more than ever before. Thank you, Drew Marshall!

Now I know God as always had a hand in all this, and then a sweet woman felt a need to help me. Thank you, sweet lady, Dorene!

In two months, I've had one TV news interview, two radio interviews, and one radio interview scheduled for April. In this same time frame, I've also had several people featured on my Love Truth blog and have two more interviews scheduled, one will be a week long of posts.

Also, I've been accepted as a contributing writer for the Thinking About Suicide blog that helps others to NOT consider suicide. I'm very excited about this opportunity to help out this fantastic blog. I'll keep you updated on how that goes.

I'm still reading Chuck Sambuchino's "Create Your Writer Platform" and folks it's good stuff. Allow me quote from his book:


Chuck writes, "Numbers matter in this business, so you must find ways to quantify your platform." Here's Chuck's example:

Wrong: "I am on Twitter and just love it."
Correct: "I have more than ten thousand followers on Twitter."

Wrong: "I do public speaking on this subject."
Correct: "I present to at least ten events a year--sometimes as a keynote. The largest events have up to 1,200 attendees. A full list of events is on my website."


I would never have thought the numbers should be this high as a platform builder. I did know to include details in my proposal, but they are very small in comparison. It's a truth that I am just getting started in this business of platform building.

If anyone has any words of wisdom that they've learned about platforms, please let me know. Hmmm, that just gave me an idea. I need to find some people to interview about their journey to building their platform. Any takers?

Until next time . . . I keep building.

How to Build Your Platform, Part II

Where my creative writing simmers while I'm away from my desk

The Living Joyfully Free radio program interview on February 4th. went okay.

I must say it was not as easy as the TV interview I did three weeks ago. I kept interrupting the host, Lisa Buffaloe, talking too long and taking forever to answer her questions. It was as though I wanted to give her the history of the answer before I answered. Not good.

Lisa said I did wonderful for a first timer. Thanks, Lisa! You made it wonderful. :)  She has a calming radio voice and is a professional radio host. I'm glad Lisa became my first interviewer on Internet radio.

I plan to listen to my interview a few times to get into my head what I did wrong, how to be more professional, and still be transparent for listeners. With God all things are possible. :)

The question is, why was the TV interview easier? My husband, who interviewed as part of his job, said it's easier to sit in front of the interviewer. I could see the person with whom I spoke to. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy my radio interview. It means it's different.

My next radio interview is tentative for spring on Christian Devotions Speak UP radio, with host Scott McCausey.

To help with building my writer platform, I'm reading a how-to book, "Create Your Writer Platform: The Key to Building an Audience, Selling More Books, and Finding Success as an Author", by Chuck Sambuchino.

Chuck writes for Writer's Digest Books and does a great job helping other writers on the road to publication. This is the second book I've bought by Chuck, and it's money well spent once again.Thank you, sir.

You may order Create Your Writer Platform on Amazon.com.

My nonfiction proposal, slanted for Hartline Literary, is almost ready to send. I've created a basic proposal which is more detailed to cover all the bases. I read Hartline's guidelines for what to include in a book proposal and followed them perfectly. A writer may not fudge on this point. It's unprofessional not to take serious an agency or publisher's guidelines.

I'll write more on the topic of platform building once I have an update.

Until next time . . . I hope this helps someone else!

How To Build Your Platform, Part I

The Road To Building A Platform Is Worth It

I'm learning how to build a platform. If you're a writer, especially of nonfiction, you need a platform.

To date, I don't have much of one, but that won't be the case for long.

I began building my platform two years ago. I've written and published articles on my personal story of loss and how I manage that journey. I've kept in mind my audience: mothers who've lost a child to suicide as I have. I wanted to help these mourners, because I have compassion for them. I  I know the horrors and sorrows that come with that tremendous loss.

That began the steps for my platform.

Soon after, I joined bereavement organizations and familiarized myself with these online sites. As I began my proposal, though, it became obvious I needed much more exposure and quickly.

I contacted a TV news anchorman and told him a bit about my story. I asked if they'd give me a slot for when my book publishes. The gentleman not only said yes, he asked if I'd be interested in an interview the following week. I was taken by surprise, and explained, "But my book's not published."

He said, "I don't care. You've got a fascinating and unique story that needs to be told."

Fast forward to a week later. I did the interview two days ago with KOBI 5 News in Medford, Oregon. They acted kind and made me feel at ease, and most important the gentleman was sensitive to my topic on the loss of my son. Now, my interview can be viewed on U Tube and it was all for free. What a great way to begin my interview and speaker career.

You may be wondering what didn't go well. When I thought  the interview was completed and we were off the air, I made an expression of relief to the interviewer, while I thought, "Oh, I hope I did well."

When I viewed my interview on U Tube, the expression was not edited out. After talking about the serious topic of suicide, to have my expression shown on TV was not respectful to grievers, especially early grievers. Yes, it was innocent and my thinking was understandable. Still, it was not a thoughtful way to end an interview targeted for mothers, whose lives still spin from the horrific death of their child's suicide.

Upcoming on January 21st, I'll be interviewed on Living Joyfully Free Radio by Host Lisa Buffaloe. I'm excited about this interview and less nervous, because she assured me the taping would be edited to make us both sound great.

I'll post about that interview and tell you how it goes, what I learned, what I could have done better.

The topic of platform building will be this blog's focus, where I will share with my readers each new adventure I experience.

Until next time . . . begin to build your platform before you start your book.

My First Book Proposal & New Book Out

 

I am working on my first book proposal for a devotional on my loss of my son to suicide. The writing of the book came easily, but of course with a few tears.  The book proposal? That's another entirely different kind of writing.

Since I knew nothing about proposals, I searched and found Mary DeMuth's  Nonfiction Book Proposals that Grab an Editor or Agent by the Throat (in a good way!).

Not only does DeMuth give a simple step by step on how to write a book proposal, she shows her proposal examples. And that's not all. Because this book is an Ebook, it comes with a proposal template with prompts on how to add your information.

This book made my life much easier, and when you're taking on a project like a proposal, you need all the shortcuts you can find. I can't say enough good about DeMuth's book, and I give Nonfiction Book Proposals five stars *****. To find out how to buy your copy, email DeMuth at mary@marydemuth.com.

Now for the news about one of my stories in a newly published anthology, Grandmother, Mother and Me: Memories, Poetry and Good Food. In the previous post I wrote that it was coming out soon. Now it's here and you can order your copy at Amazon.

And that's not all, within the next month, I'll be featured in a "When I Was a Kid" blog by Crystal Laine Miller. There will be some family photos and of myself as I was growing up.

I'll keep everyone posted as to when I'll be interviewed.

To those who write, keep writing and never, ever give up.

To those who read, please keep buying  books.

Until next time . . . read and write.

Grandmother, Mother and Me: Memories, Poetry and Good Food

Coming out November/December is the book anthology "Grandmother, Mother and Me: Memories, Poetry and Good Food," which features a story about my grandmother titled "Nanny and Me, Punkie Jean."

You know what it's like to love someone enough to want to write about them, or talk about them to anyone who will listen. That's the joy I feel about my nanny, and so I wrote "Nanny and Me, Punkie Jean."

Nanny played a big part in my life until she passed when I was twelve years old. As a tribute to Nanny, I wrote our story last Thanksgiving while I was on vacation at my daughter's. Now a year later, I'll be able to hold Nanny's story in my hands.

Stay tuned for when the book comes out.

Until next time . . . I write.

Photo is of my nanny and papa