Building Your Platform

Everyone has an idea for a book, I’ve learned in my years of publishing. But how many people have the discipline to research and write a book, something that may take years?

Certainly everyone is entitled to an opinion, and many lay people know a lot about a particular area, such as through a hobby. But it takes more than that to publish a book. You need a platform – that which qualifies you authoritatively to speak and write on a topic. Bill Clinton had a heckuva platform – the Presidency – that qualified him to write My Life. As the retired Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, Alan Greenspan had a great platform as well for The Age of Turbulence.

Without a platform, you can’t get published. A book is at least a significant investment for a publisher (paying your advance, editing, printing, distribution, marketing, plus they have rent, salaries and benefits to pay – publishing ain’t cheap!). They’ll only publish your work if you can demonstrate unqualified authority in a marketable topic, and that they’ll recoup their investment through book sales. This is a business decision.

You build your platform through the media. It doesn’t mean you have to appear on national television – you may not get that unless you are a public figure – but there are endless ways of utilizing the media. Write letters to the editor. Give talks and tours (I lead the Temperance Tour of Prohibition-related sites in Washington, DC). Find out what trade magazines are published in your field of interest. Pitch a story idea to the editor, let them know that you’re open to assignments, and then build a relationship with them.

An article pitch, by the way, should be short and to the point – it should hook the editor immediately. You’ll know they’re interested when they write back thirty minutes after e-mailing it to them.

• The hook – an opening sentence or question that commands attention
• The outline for the article in a couple sentences and total word count
• Resources you’ll need to complete it (people you’ll interview, time, due date)
• Your qualifications to write the article

And you may even make a little money from the article. Negotiate as close to $1 a word as you can, though be realistic: print media took a beating during the recession, and freelance budgets were slashed.

Besides writing a darn good book idea and thorough marketing plan, your platform is an enormously important item publishers will look at in deciding whether to publish your book.  

Garrett Peck

www.garrettpeck.com