For most physicians, “author platform” is a foreign term. But in the commercial publishing industry, it’s a very important one–one that you will hear again and again, particularly for authors of nonfiction.
The Vague Meaning of the Term
So what is an “author platform”? Simply put, it is your ability to reach an audience, which often translates into your ability to sell books. The broader your platform, the larger your audience and the wider your reach, and the higher the probability that when you promote your books, there will be a built-in base of people (your network and your network’s network) who will, first of all, notice your book promotions and–second but most importantly–buy your books.
Given that the author platform can be a somewhat amorphous idea, this may be easier to explain by way of example. Consider Physician Author A, who has a book idea (and proposal) for a book on how the brain works, a neuroscience topic made digestible for the general public, and she wants to land a literary agent to represent her and find a publisher for her book. Both her agent and her publisher are going to want to know if she has a “platform.” If she can tell them that she has thousands of social media followers, that she gives dozens of talks and lectures per year, that she has been published in popular–not just medical–publications like consumer magazines, then she will be considered to have a good platform. If she has made radio and TV appearances, she has an even bigger and better platform. And if she is a celebrity doc with a household name? Bingo! Best platform ever.
All of the above would illustrate to her agent and, eventually, to her publisher that she can reach people, people who will buy her books.
Now consider Physician Author F, who wants to land a literary agent for a book on liver disease for the general public. He has no social media presence–no Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn accounts; no Instagram or Pinterest or YouTube. He is a professor nearing retirement at an academic medical center, so he has a good deal of experience delivering academic lectures to medical audiences, and is well respected at his institution, but he has not spoken widely to general audiences, and has no publications that have been written with the lay public in mind. He has never appeared on TV or radio. He has no website or blog. He has, in short, very little in the way of an author platform, and agents and publishers will know that it will be much more of an uphill battle to sell copies of his book to the general public than it would be for Physician Author A.
So How Do You Build an Author Platform?
Entire book chapters and countless blog posts have been dedicated to advice on building an author platform, but here are some of the very basics with which to start:
1. Build a social media presence.
If you haven’t already, establish accounts on at least two popular social media sites. Many docs, myself included, really enjoy Twitter for its brevity and ease of use. Others like Facebook, where they can keep in touch with a broad range of friends and colleagues.
And, in addition to the above, I highly recommend that every physician author create a profile and build a following on LinkedIn, which is regarded as the most “professional” of all the social media sites.
Once you have an account, be an observer for a little while. Follow others and see what they have to say. Join groups that interest you. Each site has its own vibe, its own unwritten rules of etiquette. Spend just 15 minutes a day on your site of choice. Don’t let it suck up your time; just start to get a feel for how things are done.
Then begin posting your own words, your own images, your own shares. You’ll soon get the hang of sharing posts that are of relevance to your audience–which you will build, bit by bit, and then snowball by snowball, and then, if you’re persistent, by avalanche. But make sure you’re relevant, and that you stay kind and professional.
2. Build a portfolio.
If you hope to sell books to a general audience, you will need to be able to show that you have published before in some format meant for the lay public. The easiest place to begin is with your local newspaper. Write an op-ed or an article that only you could write–one that is helpful to the public, one that shares your knowledge and expertise as a physician.
Look for local newsletters, magazines, or small online blogs for which you can write. Most welcome lifestyle, wellness, and health pieces, and are in need of credible content.
Then you can move on to bigger steps: offer to write guest blogs for larger, more well-known sites; pitch editors at consumer magazines.
3. Speak whenever and wherever you can.
Whether it be your local Rotary Club, religious institution, or school, find ways to give talks and presentations to the public whenever you can, if your goal is eventually to become a commercially published author. If you are writing in a niche, find your target audience(s) and where they congregate, and find ways to get in front of them. This helps establish your credibility as an expert.
For instance, if you are interested in writing about heart health for a general audience, offer your services as a speaker at the next local American Heart Association event, or the next community health fair. It doesn’t have to be a long talk or an elaborate presentation; the point is to begin to build name recognition, and that can only be done by getting in front of people, one way or another.
4. Strongly consider writing your own blog.
Eventually, you will need to have your own author website, but if you’re in the very early stages of building a platform, that can seem quite overwhelming, so a good place to start is by writing your own blog. There are a number of sites that will host your blog for you; WordPress is a very good one that is quite popular (it will also allow you to build your website).
Again, entire books have been written about successful blogging, so I encourage you to do a bit of research should you want to begin your own blog, then dive in. It may take a few different attempts before you establish a blog that feels successful to you (it took me several), and you may change directions on your blog many times before you find your voice and your overarching purpose. That is all fine; the main thing is to keep trying. Always.
The above are just for starters, but if you pick just one or two and work at it, you will begin to see that snowball effect, and one thing will lead to another, and your next steps will be even bigger ones. Soon you’ll be a social media pro with an author website, a following, and the beginnings of a broad author platform!
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