This is part of the Bittersweet Book Launch case study, where Dan Blank and Miranda Beverly-Whittemore share the yearlong process of launching her novel. You can view all posts here.
“I don’t want to lose myself in this process…” that is basically what Miranda said to me on her last call as we were auditing her existing author platform.
We have been reviewing her existing online presence, including a website that hasn’t been updated in ages, and a Twitter account that doesn’t even mention her first name. These are the small details that get overlooked for YEARS, but reflect cracks that are easily fixed.
As we look at the scope of her entire life as a writer, all of the extensions of it online and off, all of those “best practices” authors are told about marketing, and even how we describe our work… this naturally leads to a fear that you don’t want to lose:
- Who you are, as a person.
- The pure magical center of why you write and what your writing is.
These are often the reasons writers eschew digging into developing their platforms, or exploring the marketing and business sides of their writing life.
As I approach all of this with Miranda, to develop a platform that is both strategic and meaningful, we will be balancing two things:
- Crafting a human presence for herself, and the connection to readers.
- Understanding how to most effectively communicate what her work is, and why she writes.
Sure, that’s a delicate balance. Just as any craft is, which has been the driving mantra for my work: Platform Is Craft.
🙂
-Dan