Rachel Starr Thomson

The Writers Digest  “Business of Publishing” Conference was my first writer’s conference, and I chose it because I hoped it would provide information and encouragement on all fronts of my writing life. It did! It was a great conference with emphasis on the changing face of publishing and the role of New Media in a writer’s career.

Many of the principles discussed were really not new at all; they’re as old as the Bible, but as usual, new contexts make us reexamine them. So without further ado, a biblical recap of significant conference points:

• “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them,” or as Paul has it, “In honour prefer one another.” Community and social media guru Chris Brogan, author of the bestselling Trust Agents, stressed the importance of giving, not demanding attention; of focusing on others, not on yourself. In “promoting” online, he says, “Don’t talk about your d*n book.” Care about people, serve them, connect with them.
• “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days,” or as Jesus says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” April Hamilton (Publetariat.com), Christina Katz (the renowned Writer Mama), and others lived this one by sharing their knowledge so freely. April went through her Indie Author’s Guide in as much detail as possible; Christina helped authors brainstorm their own work in the hallway. April even gave us her e-mail address and a link to her entire book online. Proving that this principle works, I plan to buy it as soon as possible. April also shares many ways for indie writers to make their work available, for free or otherwise. I’m going to do unto April by declining to share those tips here, instead sending you to read her book online and urge you to pick up a copy for yourself. I missed the “Podcasting Your Way to Book Sales” talk by Scott Sigler and Seth Harwood, who landed a book contract by podcasting and giving away their novels for free, but you can listen to the whole thing here. I’ll be listening as soon as I get a chance; it was one of the most talked-about sessions at the conference!
• “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” In today’s world, promotion is about two things: platform and community. Author Jennifer Gilmore urges writers to be “good literary citizens.” Everything you do, say, and write builds your platform — in Proverbial terms, your “good name.” On her “Get Known Before the Book Deal” blog, Christina Katz defines “platform” as follows:

A platform communicates your expertise to others. It includes your Web presence, any public speaking you do, the classes you teach, the media contacts you’ve established, the articles you’ve published, and any other means you currently have for making your name and your future books known to a viable readership.

Basically, your platform is everything you do with your expertise. A platform-strong writer is a writer with influence. Once you establish a platform, it can work for you 24/7, reaching readers even as you sleep. Of course, this kind of reach takes time. If many others already recognize your expertise on a given topic or for a specific audience or both, then you likely have an active platform.

I find it helpful to define a platform as a promise writers make to not only create something to sell (like a book), but also to promote it to the specific readers who will want to purchase it. This takes both time and effort, not to mention considerable focus.

• “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh,” or writeth, in this case. In his closing address, prolific writer and speaker Bill O’Hanlon urged writers to find their energy to write — and to be successful — in the things that drive them deep down, whether that’s the incredible bliss of doing what they love, a desire to change the world, or their own woundedness. He didn’t phrase it this way, but he was talking about writing from the spirit, which the Bible tags as the source of creativity and art.

To sum up, there is nothing new under the sun — authenticity, community, and service to others are still central to anything we do in life, including writing and publishing. There are, however, many excellent tools and opportunities to do these things as we haven’t done them before. I’m looking forward to putting them into practice!

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