Your Writer's Platform

I've been blogging about how to write in a more literary fashion.  Last time, I mentioned I would soon talk about starting a writer's platform.  A lot of publishers today are looking for you to already have a writer's platform in place.  This includes as much social media as you can manage (a FaceBook page, Instagram, Twitter, a WebPage, Linkdin, etc.)  Basically, you'll want to show the publisher you have a following, that you have a ready readership that can help a good writer show they're a worthy investment to a publisher.  It also helps you advertise to your following when you have something published.  

I started blogging about thing that meant something to me about three years ago.  I am a mother to an angel, a mother of fur babies, and a writer, so I started a free blog on blogger about child loss, this one about writing, and one from the point of view of my daughter's cat.  They have a modest number of readers every week, enough to make it worth doing.  On a writer's blog, it helps to have a theme or niche.  I started just writing about how I write, then it evolved to a specific kind of writing.  Play to your strengths.  Read other blogs to get an idea how they work.  I go to Pixabay.com for free images and use a lot of images to make my blogs more visually attractive and engaging.  It really is ideal to write in a blog once or twice a week, though I don't generally have time for more than once every other week for any but my cat blog.  

I started on Twitter a few years ago.  I started small, just reaching out to other writers, small publishers, and others, basically those eager to follow anyone who would follow them.  If possible, it helps to have more followers than you follow.  It would be good to start posting meaningful tidbits, links to your blog posts, etc, so your followers know you're worth following.  Make sure your profile is complete.  I have had roughly 15,000 views of just this writer's blog alone.  

Having a full Linkdin profile is critical to any professional, especially someone who is self-employed.  Employers and publishers can all check this profile to get a sense of who you are and what you can do.  

It's also a good idea to have a strong and regularly-updated website.  People can find your blog via your webpage and your social media through your links on  They can also get to know you as a person and a professional.  FaceBook pages can help fill in the gaps and make for easy postng. 

All of this (unless you choose to make an expensive web domain not in the name of Wix, Weebly, etc.) is free.  It can be time-consuming at first, but it can help you jump-start your writing like nothing else.  I wish you the best as you pursue your dreams to writing and publishing success.