Guest Post on Writing.ie

Thanks to Catherine Ryan Howard for hosting me on her Self-Printed Guest Blog over at Writing.ie. I came to know Catherine through her blog Catherine, Caffeinated, which is a great resource for those looking to self-publish their work. Catherine has also written an excellent book, Self Printed: The Sane Person’s Guide to Self-Publishing, which I found incredibly useful on my self-publishing journey.

In my guest post over at Writing.ie, I highlight the importance of building a platform before you publish your book or, if you’ve already published your book, getting one going as soon as you possibly can. I built my platform accidentally, by writing about my passion (Tudor history) on a blog and then setting up Facebook and Twitter pages, but boy am I glad that I had that in place before I published my books. A platform is vital whether you publish traditionally or self-publish, and that’s why publishers and agents ask you about how YOU can market your book.

Not convinced?

Well, do you think it’s easier to create buzz about your book and get the word out if you have a blog with 24,000 unique visitors per month and a subscriber list of 5,500, or by starting from scratch? Hmm… I’m not saying that to dishearten anybody or to show off, I’m simply stating a fact and showing that a book’s success is not usually down to Lady Luck but to hard work. Blogging just three or four times a week can make a huge difference in marketing your book, try it and see.

You can read my guest post over at Writing.ie by clicking here.