Get Known Before the Book Deal

Get Known Now! Nine Things to Clarify About Your Platform (Part Two)

By Christina Katz

Last month, I talked about how we need to strive, in our online communications, to save readers time so they can learn all they need to know about us as they go clicking by.
 
What are you hoping others will notice about you? Try to convey your credibility, authority on your topic, and how much others already trust you. In my book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow Your Author Platform (Writer's Digest 2008), I outline what every writer needs to clearly communicate who you are and what you do.
 
Last month we covered name, identity, and tagline. Here's more copy you need to craft so you can communicate quickly and precisely:
 
Your mission
Why do you do what you do? How are you passionate about your topic? How does your passion for your topic set you apart from others? And please, no baloney. If I encounter you online, and I sense baloney, I will steer clear. Be sincere and communicate sincerely why you do what you do in a few sentences. Inquiring minds will appreciate the insight into what makes you tick that your mission provides.
 
Your e-mail signature
I bet you send out thousands of e-mails a year. Therefore, if you are not including your basic information: Name, identity, tagline, and contact information at the bottom of every e-mail you send, then you are likely missing a huge opportunity to become more known. And did you know that by adding the suffix http:// to your URLs, you create live links for recipients of your e-mails. I can't think of a faster, easier way to quench my curiosity about someone, than by scrolling down to the bottom of an e-mail and clicking on a link I find there.
 
Your short bio
Ultimately, when you have a book published, you are going to need three bios: long, short, and super-short. But in the interim, why not just work on the short, one-paragraph bio. Here's what to include: your name, your identity, your latest and best publication credits, and any professional credentials you have in your field. For example if you teach, speak, train, coach, consult, or counsel in your area of expertise, it's worth mentioning. If you have a degree in your field or have won any significant awards or accolades, you can mention them but don't digress from using your bio to back up your credibility and authority in your field or on your subject.
 
Your headshot
Until you have an online presence or book coming out, you can probably get away with having a friend or family member snap a photo of you with a digital camera. But make sure it's a clear, flattering, uncluttered shot from just below the shoulders with plenty of space around the other three sides. Try to avoid the shots where we can tell at a glance that someone else has been cut out of the shot. And then, when it matters, spring for a professional shot. Or trade for one, if you'd rather. But be sure that the quality of the photo is nothing short of professional. Otherwise the traditional media won't touch it.
 
Your testimonials
After you teach or speak or perform any other professional service, collect feedback on how well you did. At the end of your feedback form, ask for quotes that you can use for publicity purposes. If the document is being exchanged electronically, ask for acknowledgment of your right to distribute the quote in all media. And then use it!
 
Your URL
Be sure to reserve the URL for your name. And then later, when you have a book coming out, you will likely want to reserve the name of the title. Typically, you'll spend less than twenty bucks to hold onto a URL until you need it. But don't feel like you should go URL crazy and grab every remotely associated name. Just keep it simple for the best results from search engines.
 
Remember, all of this copywriting really needs to be completed before you create your online presence. Never underestimate how much heavy lifting your words can do for you. Write them, share them, and see for yourself.
 
 
Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Build an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (both for Writer's Digest Books). A platform development coach and consultant, she teaches

writing career development, hosts the Northwest Author Series, and is the publisher of several e-zines including Writers on the Rise. Christina blogs at The Writer Mama Riffs and Get Known Before the Book Deal, and speaks at MFA programs, literary events, and conferences around the country.

Get Known Now! Nine Things to Clarify About Your Platform (Part One)

By Christina Katz

Like most professionals, I spend quite a bit of time online these days. Perhaps this explains why I have less spare time than ever. The more time we spend spreading our "real" life out into our online life, the more important it becomes for writers to communicate concisely and precisely who we are and what we are all about.
 
If you strive, in all of your online communications, to save folks time, then they can learn all they need to know about you as they go clicking by. You might even gain someone's respect, admiration or strike up a conversation, by keeping what you need to get across short and to the point.
 
But if you your communications online are muddled, scattered (a little bit of info here and another little bit way over there with no links in between), and poorly composed, then you will repel folks rather than attract them. I can't tell you how many times I have become curious about someone online and then tried to follow their trail of links to learn a bit more...only to end up clicking and clicking and clicking without learning any of the key pieces of information I'm looking for.
 
In my book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow Your Author Platform (Writer's Digest 2008), I outline what every writer needs to clarify in order to make smart choices about what to communicate and how.
 
Your Name
Let's say, because it's such a popular name, that you name is Jennifer. This means that you have one of the most common names around (It's true, I can vouch that the most popular name of moms who take my classes is indeed Jennifer.) Are you going to go by Jennifer, Jen, Jenny, Jenni, or something else? You might think this is a minor consideration but not according to search engines like Google, who will find you a lot faster and more accurately if you pick one name as your "writer name," make it as original as possible (use a middle initial if necessary), and stick with it over time.
 
Your Identity
Remember that song by The Who: "Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?" I always think of that while I'm clicking links trying to figure out who the heck somebody is. And guess what? If I can't figure it out in just a few clicks, then I don't care anymore! What these mystery folks really need is an identity that they can spread around the Internet making it easy for someone like me to figure out quickly who they are and what they are all about.
 
Now some people like to substitute the word "branding" for identity, but I'm not partial to the former. Are you a writer or a pharmaceutical company? Are you a writer or a can of soda? Are you a writer...you get the idea. Be who YOU are and spread the word in a professional manner. This takes more thought than you might expect because it's part of the story that precedes you, goes with you, and lingers behind you, everywhere you go. For more on this topic, start reading on page 175 and don't stop until you figure out your Otherwise Known As.
 
Your Tagline
My tagline is: Make the most of what you have...to author! A tagline's job is to communicate in one short line what you offer. As you can see, my tagline is even a play on the word "offer." Instead of the common phrase, "Make the most of what you have to offer," I use author instead. The substitution is intended to get your attention and spark your thinking about what you might author. Does it work?
 
[Continued next month...]

 

   
Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Build an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (both for Writer's Digest Books). A platform development coach and consultant, she teaches writing career development, hosts the Northwest Author Series, and is the publisher of several e-zines including Writers on the Rise. Christina blogs at The Writer Mama Riffs and Get Known Before the Book Deal, and speaks at MFA programs, literary events, and conferences around the country.

Get Known Now! Offer Services & Support Your Bottom Line

By Christina Katz

Nobody said becoming a writer was going to make you rich. Sure, some writers earn the equivalent of a part-time income. Others even earn a full-time income. And a select few earn over six figures.
 
But not everyone is cut out to make a living from writing. A lot more people are cut out to make a living by combining professional pursuits that include writing.

For example, I teach, write and speak. I don't only make my living from writing. I'm too restless to do one kind of thing all day. I'd rather juggle a few things (but not too many) than just do one thing. How about you?
 
Often services like coaching, consulting, counseling, and training earn a better hourly rate than writing. So, if you think you might like to offer these types of services to leverage your expertise and supplement your writing income, it might be a good idea for your bottom line.
 
But here's the thing that I've already hinted at. If you try to do too many more things in addition to writing, you probably won't do any one of them well enough to see the kind of professional progress you'd like to see. So, when it comes to coaching, consulting, counseling, or training consider the traits of people who do each well, and make your best match.
 
Let's say your expertise is that you've started and run several small businesses. Well, this is definitely the kind of expertise that could be leveraged into a consulting service. Who are your potential clients? You'll have to ask some specific questions to find your niche. What phase of starting a business are you best at? What comes the most easily to you? Where do you have the richest vein of insights? This would be the place to find your niche. Then you could determine how to target market the folks who need these insights right at the time when they need them. Next thing you know, you're doing a few consultations on spec, building yourself a website, and growing a consulting branch of your platform. Like every branch of your platform, your consultancy will grow slowly and steadily and gain momentum as you produce satisfied clients.
 
The process is really the same with coaching, counseling, and training. Get clear about what you offer, who it's for, when they need it, why you are someone they should trust, where you will work, and how you connect with your clients, and you are ready to start drafting your promotional materials.
 
If you really want to get off to a good start as a coach, consultant, counselor or trainer, I suggest you run your credentials through the one-pager exercise in section three of Get Known Before the Book Deal. The one-pager format works just as well helping you evaluate your credentials as a service provider, as it does in helping you evaluate your credentials as a writer.
 
Best of luck launching a service that will support and compliment your writing career!

   
Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Build an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (both for Writer's Digest Books). A platform development coach and consultant, she teaches

writing career development, hosts the Northwest Author Series, and is the publisher of several e-zines including Writers on the Rise. Christina blogs at The Writer Mama Riffs and Get Known Before the Book Deal, and speaks at MFA programs, literary events, and conferences around the country.

JOIN ME IN NYC THIS WEEKEND!

The Writer's Digest Conference: The Business of Getting Published

Use my discount code for $50 off!

Code: KatS8

The Writer's Digest Conference:  The Business of Getting Published is designed to guide any author through the new dynamics of today's publishing world.  This three-day event takes place today, September 18, through Sunday, September 20, 2009, at the New York Marriott Marquis, on Times Square in New York.

With emphasis on platform, networking and social media, The Writer's Digest Conference is an innovative and ground-breaking conference, featuring the industry's top forward-thinking speakers, leading sessions on topics relevant to the current and future state of the publishing world.
Chris Brogan, social media genius, is the keynote speaker. 

Other speakers include Kassia Krozser, editor/publisher of BookSquare.com;  David Mathison, whose online sales success is the new business model;  Mike Shatzkin, the industry's top publishing consultant, Seth Harwood and Scott Sigler, whose own podcasts and videocasts have made them superstars in the business;  and many more, plus the editors of Writer's Digest!

Complete program information, including speaker bios, special events related to the conference and registration, is now available here.

Christina's Signed Book Promotion

SUMMER SIGNED BOOK PROMOTION & PRIZES!!!

Do you have signed copies of both of my books? If not, please consider this "prize inside" signed book promotion offer.

I am selling ten signed copies of each book at the cover price plus shipping.

My husband, Jason, has taken these copies and slipped prizes into six of the twenty  books.

When I receive an order, I will pull a book out of the pile (I don't know which books have the prizes in them), custom inscribe it, and pop it in the mail.

Six random winners will get two of each of the following prizes at no extra cost:

• A one-hour writing career phone consultation
• A half-hour writing career phone consultation
• A free, signed copy of my other book When your book arrives, check page 150 to see if you are a winner!

More details are here (for Writer Mama) and here (for Get Known).
Offer expires July 31st or once all twenty books are sold, whichever comes first.

Thanks for spreading the word to your friends who might not yet have a signed copy of their very own!

Get Known Now! Article Writing Isn't Dead

 

By Christina Katz

With new magazines and newspapers shutting down each day, you might wonder, what's the point of learning article writing? With all of the layoffs in the industry, you might think soon there won't be any publications left to write for. And if you read enough blogs, you might even wonder, is old-fashioned journalism dead?
 
But here's the thing: writers still need to learn article-writing basics in order to write nonfiction well enough to get their words published. As long as people have the ability to communicate with each other through the written form, journalism skills will be in demand. And those who have them will get published and paid more often than those who don't. So don't worry so much about whether your words will be published in print or online. You'll still need skills no matter where your words are published.
 
And as far as blogging to become a better writer goes, I'm not convinced. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder if the opposite is true. But I digress. I've been writing articles for over ten years and I've learned a thing or two on the topic that I'd like to share with anyone thinking about article writing as a platform-building strategy.
 
First of all, writers who know how to write for a target market know how to write for a specific audience. As an author, this is a skill you are going to need to cultivate and will use often. Furthermore, the ability to match your message to your audience comes in handy if you speak or consult with a variety of audiences.
 
Secondly, who says you are a good writer? Your blog readers? That's probably not going to be credible enough for most agents and publishers. When you write for publication, you go through the editing process and by the time you are done, your writing is likely a whole lot sharper and cleaner than it would have been without an editor. This kind of in-the-trenches experience will come in handy when you go through similar paces with your book drafts.
 
Third, if you regularly work with editors, this proves that you can actually cooperate with another human being to get a job done. It also means you have basic business skills and you likely treat your writing as a business. You have no idea how important this is to publishers who have seen far too many perfectly good book ideas bite the dust somewhere along the deadline process because a writer cracked under the pressure.
 
Are you beginning to see why taking shorter-form journalism assignments, hitting the deadlines, and seeing your words in print is great practice for the marathon of book writing?
 
Good. Because it takes writing skills to write a good book that readers want to not only read but also recommend to others to read. The idea that anyone can write a book is true, in the most general sense. But not everyone can write a good book, a readable book, the kind of book that meets readers' needs and compels them to tell others about the book.
 
So when someone tries to tell you that article writing is dead. Don't fall for it. Not even for one second. And then work on your article-writing skills. I've outlined a crash-course to help you learn quickly in chapter 23 of Get Known Before the Book Deal or check out my step-by-step approach in Writer Mama.
 
Happy article writing!

 

   
Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Build an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (both for Writer's Digest Books). A platform development coach and consultant, she teaches

writing career development, hosts the Northwest Author Series, and is the publisher of several e-zines including Writers on the Rise. Christina blogs at The Writer Mama Riffs and Get Known Before the Book Deal, and speaks at MFA programs, literary events, and conferences around the country.

Hiya Groovers!

Some of you may know that I've been taking it a bit easy this summer, which is really about gearing up to work smarter instead of harder this fall.
 
Any business is going to need an overhaul once in awhile and a writing career is no different. Just like a car needs to go into the shop for regular oil changes and the occasional repair, we all need to put on our mechanic hat once in awhile and check under the hood.
 
Things change. Your writing career expands until it is not the same writing career you had five years ago. That has definitely been the case for me and it's been a stretch to keep up.
 
What I've found most helpful in regrouping is assessing areas where I need more support, asking for more help, and assimilating more assistance into my routine.
 
Gradually, it's working. Clarity is replacing the frustration of not being able to keep up with myself. Gratitude is emerging where I was often feeling impatient. I have created enough space to vision a brighter future, not only for myself, but for the important others in my career too.
 
By the time you read this I'll be on vacation. I'll have a better vacation knowing where I'm going and how I'm going to get there.
 
How about you? Are you taking time this summer to assess and address areas that need attention in your writing career?
 
Make good things happen,
  
Christina Katz
Publisher & Editor

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Dear Groovers Fellow Groovers, the June 2009 Issue of Get Known Groove Starts Here

Even though I told the readers of my other newsletter (The Writer Mama) that I'm taking things down a few notches this summer, I'm actually still accomplishing a lot. Summer may be here, but I won't be taking the summer off by any means.

I'll just be working more efficiently than I have in a long time, while taking advantage of some extra R&R opportunities.
 
Here's what I am currently up to:

• Planning the Northwest Author Series for the 2009-2010 season (see my article below: "You Wanna Start Something?").

• Featured in a podcast interview with Deb Schneider for King County Library System (Shh! Don't tell Kati I didn't do it myself).

• Sharing a summer blog tour interview that helps me overcome writers' resistance to platform development (I think Sage will approve. Feel free to contact me if you are interested!)

• Working on a distribution plan for the book trailer for Get Known Before the Book Deal (Gregory! Look at me!).

• Gearing up to apply for a RACC grant this summer (Gigi is going to be very proud of me, I just know it!).

• All over Facebook (as evidenced by my quote in Meryl's article).

• A long-time Kelly James-Enger fan. In fact, she is referenced in both of my books because she sets such a great example for writers (Hi, Kelly!).

This platform stuff gets easier and more fun the longer you do it!
 
Make good things happen, writers!
 
Christina Katz
Publisher & Editor

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What I Learned At BEA 2009 Regarding the Future of Writing

This is not a play-by-play of my BEA experience. I think there are plenty of those out there already. Rather these are my impressions of where writers stand as we look towards the big question mark called the future and wonder: what's to become of us?

Writers Will Still Get Published
Publishing isn’t over by any means but we are in the midst of a revolution and evolution in the publishing industry. A revolution because I think it’s inevitable that readers (the customers in the industry) are going to become more vocal, demanding, and insistent upon getting their needs met. Even though what seems to be happening is that readers don’t necessarily know what they need and want until it’s basically a done deal. For example, nobody anticipated that they be reading on their iPhone and yet today many are. So it seems to me that a certain amount of trial and error is going to be required, no matter how backwards that might seem from a traditional business perspective.

What writers need to remember is that publishing isn’t over just because readers are finding more ways to read. Publishers who can figure out how to provide readers with more options and specifically the options readers want will succeed and they will need writers, specifically writers who are keeping up with the times. Though I imagine we will have less publishers to choose from (there are over 200 thousand now). I don’t think they are all going to make it.

Writers Need To Work With Impeccable Agents
Contracts will become very different in the future if publishers are going to be able to leverage their content to take advantage of multiple formats. So plan on getting a reputable agent, who is aligned with the best agent associations (AAR), is an excellent contract negotiator, and understands and keeps up with developments in new media (like mine, for example). I don’t think I could emphasize the importance of this more. So plan to invest plenty of footwork into not just getting any agent but getting the best possible agent you can get. The writer-agent relationship is a business partnership and you do not want to enter into a contract with a publisher without a knowledgeable partner.

Writers Need To Hone Four Key Skills
Trust me when I say that this business is far too complicated for any writer to get very far merely because he or she writes well. Writers need to treat a writing career like any other business and recognize that there are four essential skills that we all need to have. These skills are so essential that you really should develop them rather than trying to hire them out. The four skills are cultivating your writing craft, selling your work & yourself, professional development & continuing education, and platform development.

These are four distinct skills that writers can build up over time with small, gradual investment of time and energy. Keep in mind that there are many people who would like to take advantage of a person who writes well, so work on having all four key skills so you won’t fall prey to scammers trying to lure you in by preying on your weaknesses. All four skills can be learned. All of them are cultivatable. Every writer needs to cultivate all four skills to be successful in the short and long runs.

Writers Need to Keep Up with the Times
If you are stubbornly holding the position that you do not need to keep up with the times because you are a writer and therefore writing well is your only job…I think you are headed for extinction or exploitation. The only writers right now who can afford to only focus on the quality of their writing are the already published bestselling authors, who already have contracts. So, again, while the quality of your writing is still important, remember what I just said about cultivating a broader skill sets that will help you be and stay more viable in this marketplace.

As a writer, your desire to become a published author makes you vulnerable to folks who would love to take your money and not be accountable for their share in your success. So, it’s crucial that you stay abreast of the changes in the industry as well as what self-publishers, social networkers, entrepreneurs, and universities are doing to stay viable in the rapidly evolving marketplace. And every time you partner with someone, it’s so important that you only partner with the most reputable, ethical professionals you can.

We’ve already arrived at a future where everyone is a writer, everyone is a publisher, everyone is a bookseller, everyone is a librarian or at least has an archive. But by far the best news of all is that so many are readers and readers are reading in so many ways.

I’d bet we’re collectively reading more than ever. And I have a theory that the person / business / publisher / agent / bookseller / librarian, who can find ways to make good things happen amongst the players—while respecting and partnering with all of us—will succeed most.

The May/June Issue of Writer's Digest is going, going...

Last chance to check Out the May/June Issue of Writer's Digest magazine!

I have a six-page feature, "Build Your Power Platform" appearing in the May/June issue of Writer's Digest magazine. My article is part of a twenty-page feature section on how to stand out to agents and editors. Other contributors in the feature section include M. J. Rose, the Writer's Digest Staff, Jeff Yeager, and editor Jessica Strawser. The May/June issue features an interview conversation between Stephen King and Jerry B. Jenkins and the announcement of the annual 101 Best Websites.