The top 6 things you need to build (and maintain) an author platform.

How to build your author brand and get hired for cool things

Back in ye olde times when writers could be writers instead of sleek, professionally designed brands, experimentation and messiness was not only permitted—it was the norm. Emerging writers were experimenters, writing diverse content in different places under a variety of names and handles. Maybe you dabbled in erotica under one name, published a LiveJournal under your real name, had a Tumblr account with an ironic handle, published nonfiction under your initials, and used Facebook as your website.

I certainly came up in the industry like this. I had three blogs on different platforms, I had columns in several magazines on differing subjects, my Tumblr (if I’m remembering this correctly) was about foreign films, my Mailchimp newsletter was divided into two publications (“Maumalog” and “Get Published, Stay Published”)…in short, I was all over the place in a way that felt creative and exciting. But one thing I’ve learned from watching people who have one lane, and just keep driving in it, is that it’s easier and more lucrative in the long term to become known for one thing: a defining passion, a certain kind of product, an unbroken line of work.

Authors like Malcolm Gladwell, Nora Roberts, David Sedaris and Taylor Jenkins Reid are household names in America, and they are also brands. I know what I’m going to get from a David Sedaris essay collection just like I know what kind of experience I’m going to have in a Crate & Barrel. Ditto with Malcolm Gladwell—the Pret a Manger of nonfiction writing—you know exactly what you’re going to get out of a Gladwell book because you have used his products before, his “products” being his books.

It's crass to talk this way, I know. The commercialization of art and artists is one of the reasons that the publishing world is such a mess right now, and why finance bros who need “big paintings” for their Hamptons homes are singlehandedly influencing what is being made—and sold—in the art world. It’s gross and icky and depressing to talk about “branding” yourself, especially in the early days when you are still figuring out your voice and readership.

But I’ve identified a few things that can help bring the right people to your work and position you for growth over the longterm so that you can nab better writing assignments, connect with your target readers, and meet your writing goals in an organized, proactive, and manageable way. These tips are free to affordable, relatively easy to execute, and they won’t make you feel disgusted by yourself.

So here they are, the 6 things that will elevate your platform in a crowded market: