Week 12

What does it take to become a published author nowadays? Well with self-publishing being an option now, not as much as it used to. Yes there is no guarantee that your published work will actually become successful, but at least you can say you're a published author? But who am I to say any of this. Everyone has their own opinion on whether to self-publish or not and I'm going to be honest, I don't have a strong enough opinion to even share mine. I like reading work, regardless of how it was published. If it's good, you'll probably catch me reading it.

But how do you find a good book or piece of work to read? Sure, you can just go to a book store, or browse the internet for someone that stands out to you. But the most successful stories are the ones that are marketed well. Branding is everything. Without sufficient branding and marketing, how will the word spread?

Well that is why we have author platforms! Having a platform is important in any industry, the sporting industry, the music industry and yes the writing industry. Especially nowadays, with how accessible everything is due to the internet. Let's talk about author platforms specifically. Why is it important for writers/ authors to have their own platform or brand? Well, really it's like a resume. 

Heres a hypothetical for you: 

You're scrolling through your choice of social media, taking little note of what you're actually looking at, when something catches your eye. Of course, it's one of those pesky adverts, but you're intrigued. It's for some novel you've never heard of before, but it looks interesting and people seem to be raving about it so why not give it a try? You place your order and within the next couple days it arrives at your door. Once you begin reading, you cannot stop and then before you know it, it's over. You loved it, and you want more. So you look up the author, and option a: you find a barely active platform, that hasn't been updated in over a year with little to no information or option b: you find an up to date platform, that's been updated regularly, with all the information you were looking for. 

Which option is going to make you buy another book? 

*quick side note, I do not condone shopping on online adverts, do so at your own risk*

That is why branding is important and it is only why having your own personal brand is important. Having a personal brand not only helps you reach your audience on a personal level, but is also a from of marketing, and bonus, its free (Taylor, 2019).

Angela Meyer is the perfect example of this (in my opinion). Titling her platform "Literary Minded", Angela has a very clear brand and an even clearer online presence.

How do I know this? Well I googled her of course. 

(Screenshot from google. Taken 06/06/2020)

And yes, even though I accidentally misspelt her name, her platform is still the first result google spits out. That my friends, is impressive. 

Now Angela's brand has a very minimalistic vibe, which would reach a much larger audience as it is easy to understand and navigate. There are no surprises. What you see, is what you get and what you see is quite aesthetically pleasing to the eye, at least to me. She appears to be still writing, and even received an award for her book 'Joan Smokes' in December, 2019. 

She regularly updates her social media, with her facebook page and twitter account link and easily accessed. With her facebook page seeming sticking to posts of her work and writing and her twitter account being more open, seemingly more relatable to her audience. 

Where does this all fit in terms of automediality? In short, it's the online presence. How she presents herself to the public through her online platforms. She has presented herself as an author and a respectable one at that.

If you're someone who wants to create a platform for themselves, just make sure it's one you're proud of because how you present yourself, will be how people remember you. 

References:

Meyer, A. (n.d). LiteraryMinded. Retrieved on June 6, 2020 from https://literaryminded.com.au/

Taylor, K. (2019). Why It's Important To Build A Personal Brand As A Writer. Retrieved on June 6, 2020 from https://writingcooperative.com/why-its-important-to-build-a-personal-brand-as-a-writer-170c9daa762c