Platform…really?

I don’t know about you but I keep hearing about platform. I’m still not sure I understand completely what it is, but here is what I understand. It is your presence in the community you are trying to be successful in. It is who you know and how many you know and how many know YOU.

I don’t know about you, but my platform…like those crazy shoes…is pretty wobbly. I don’t know what I am doing yet. I know some people, but not many know of me. I feel unstable, unsure, and seem to go forward cautiously, a little fearful of falling on my face!

Platform is about sale-ability. Agents, editors, and publishers want to know that they can sell your book. (and make some money) They want to know that you can get people to buy the book and the way you do it is to have a following.

So how do you get a following? You get so busy blogging, joining sites, making connections, joining loops, etc that you don’t have much time on the one thing that got you to go get a platform in the first place. Yep…like…writing a book!!!!

I don’t know about you, but I just want to write without worrying about getting my name out there. What does it matter really? If God has decreed my book get published, then He will pave the way. My goal should not be to “have a Platform”, but to learn the craft.

Learning the craft includes doing some of those things I mentioned earlier. Taking time to go to conferences, joining Writing Groups, entering contests, and connecting with other writers are all worthwhile endeavors in honing the skills needed. But I’m not going to stress over it.

I am going to rest in the knowledge that God knows my path. I just need to trust Him to make that path known. He will direct it. It may be a winding road with an obstacle or two, but those challenges just make the destination all the sweeter.