(This
column excerpted from my book, CREATE YOUR WRITER PLATFORM, out from Writer’s Digest Books.)
- “To achieve impressive blog
stats…”
- “Then, when your newsletter
gets big enough…”
- “That way, you can get invited
to speak more and that will help you get an agent…”
But after I used such generic phrases a
few times, the big question started to come from readers and conference
attendees: How much is enough?
How do agents and editors define
“impressive blog stats”? When can you say you have a “sizeable newsletter”? How
many speaking engagements should you have each year before you feel confident
in sending a nonfiction book proposal out on submission? Should you wait till
you have a certain number of Twitter followers or Facebook fans before querying
literary agents?
Wow. Great questions — and ones that
aren’t really addressed anywhere on the Internet because it’s such a subjective
answer. But I’ll try to tackle them here real quick.
THE
ANSWER VARIES FOR EVERYONE
The first thing you need to realize is
that this question of “enough” will be different for everyone depending on the
writer’s niche. If you’re writing about something specific—say, eclipse chasing—then your audience is
quite a thin slice of a pie, and a smaller platform may be quite impressive in
your very specific arena. Heck, you could have 2,500 Twitter followers and that
may be enough to get you a small book deal with a university press. If you’re
writing about something broad and popular, such as finance, your platform will have to be a lot larger if you hope to
impress an agent.
The size of your desired book deal also
factors in. If you dream of getting paid $50,000 or $100,000 upfront for your
book, then your platform must warrant such a large advance. If your goal is
simply to get a book published—even if that means with a smaller press that
pays little—then platform demands can drop, perhaps drastically.
Naturally, when talking about anything
subjective, we must acknowledge that there will be exceptions to the rule. I
have no doubt somebody can stand up and say, “I didn’t even know what a
platform was, but my book got published!” just as there will be someone who
says, “My social media numbers are excellent, and I still can’t find a
publisher!” What we discuss here are just guidelines; there are exceptions to
every rule.
(Hi, everyone. Chuck here chiming in for a second.
I wanted to say I am now taking clients as a freelance editor. So if
your query or manuscript needs some love, please check out my editing services.
Thanks!)
NONFICTION
NUMBERS TO AIM FOR—SOME BROAD STROKES
All that being said, let me share some
very broad thoughts on what you should be aiming for. These numbers below are
directed toward writers of nonfiction, where platform is crucial and mandatory.
If you’re writing fiction (where platform is not necessary but still helpful),
you can strive for statistics lower than the “Notable” thresholds below and
still appear attractive to publishers.
Blog
Page Views
Notable: 20,000/month
Very Notable: 100,000/month
Impressive By Any Means: 500,000/month
Twitter
Followers
Notable: 5,000
Very Notable: 15,000
Impressive By Any Means: 50,000
Newsletter
Subscribers
Notable: 5,000
Very Notable: 20,000
Impressive By Any Means: 100,000
Public
Speaking Appearances
Notable: Speaking to 1,000 people (total) a year
Very Notable: Speaking to 3,000 people (total) a year
Impressive By Any Means: Speaking to 15,000 people (total) a year
Sales
of Previous Self-Published Books
Notable: 2,000+ for fiction; 4,000+ for nonfiction
Very Notable: 6,000+ for fiction, 10,000+ for nonfiction
Impressive By Any Means: 15,000+ for fiction, 30,000+ for nonfiction
AGENTS
CHIME IN: “When is a writer’s platform ready?”
“I think a lot of that is going to both
depend on and determine what level of publisher your book is likely to appeal
to. There’s no ‘critical mass’ of platform, and, in many cases, there’s going
to be a natural plateauing of what you can achieve at this stage since platform
feeds the book feeds the platform. Very large commercial publishers are hoping
for, and can attract, writers with large national platforms like nationally
syndicated columnists. You may be unable to achieve such an accomplishment
before you want to submit your book, or your ideal publisher may not require
such lofty extremes for your platform. What can
you achieve? You may not have a regular column in a big magazine, but if you
sell regularly to a number of large pubs, mention the readership of each in
your proposal. Maybe you’re blogging for The Huffington Post … Keep in mind
that you don’t sacrifice a timely story to continue to build platform and
perhaps miss the most opportune window to submit the book. And don’t assume a
long history is better than recent history. Publishers want to see recent platform, recent exposure.”
- Gina Panettieri (Talcott Notch
Literary Services)
“It’s helpful to remember that not
everyone who is part of your audience will actually buy the book—let’s say 10
percent, for example (not a real number, by the way). So if you have 100,000
followers (10,000 copies sold), it’s a lot more appealing than 500 followers
(50 copies sold). And if you have social media, speaking engagements, and TV
appearances, they can only help. For social media, I will start to be impressed
when a writer has about 5,000 followers/fans/people, but 10,000 is really
ideal. Speaking engagements should happen frequently and for a substantial
audience. What I look for is national and international appeal, but that can
start with regional and local opportunities.”
- Roseanne Wells (Jennifer De Chiara
Literary Agency)
“This is a really good question. I’ve
had projects I’ve been interested in or maybe even have signed up with the
understanding that there’s work to be done in the way of building or improving
the platform before a publisher will be interested. When you can take a project
out and have an expectation that it won’t get shot down on the basis of
platform is a judgment call (as is which publishers will feel there’s enough platform
there, and whether more is necessary to target the ideal publisher). But
there’s no real answer for ‘How much is enough?’ The platform is something that
should be constantly (if incrementally) growing and evolving over the author’s
career. Even if one of my authors already has a great platform, I will forward
him or her any contact or idea I think may be useful to make it even stronger.
I can recall at least one author who accused me of constantly ‘moving the
goalposts.’ She said that she’d done what I’d asked and now I was asking for
more. But that’s missing the point. There isn’t a line in the sand that you
need to get across. It’s demonstrating your involvement in—or even your
necessity to—the world you are writing about. And that isn’t any one thing.”
- Stephany Evans (FinePrint Literary
Management)
__________________________________________________________
Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers Conferences:
Feb. 23, 2019:
New Orleans Writing Workshop (New Orleans, LA)
March 2, 2019:
Minnesota Writing Workshop (St. Paul, MN)
March 8, 2019:
Alabama Writing Workshop (Birmingham, AL)
March 9, 2019:
Atlanta Writing Workshop (Atlanta, GA)
March 9, 2019:
Pittsburgh Writing Workshop (Pittsburgh, PA)
March 29, 2019:
St. Louis Writers Conference (St. Louis, MO)
March 30, 2019:
Kansas City Writing Workshop (Kansas City, MO)
April 13, 2019:
North Carolina Writing Workshop (Charlotte, NC)
April 27, 2019:
Seattle Writing Workshop (Seattle, WA)
May 4, 2019:
Michigan Writing Workshop (near Detroit, MI)
May 4, 2019:
Writing Conference of Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
May 11, 2019:
San Diego Writing Workshop (San Diego, CA)
May 18, 2019:
Cincinnati Writing Workshop (Cincinnati, OH)
June 8, 2019:
Florida Writing Workshop (Tampa, FL)
Other columns by Chuck Sambuchino
-
What to Write in the “Bio” Section of Your Query Letter
-
How to Write a Screenplay: 7 Starting Tips for Adapting Your Own Novel
-
Why “Keep Moving Forward” is My Best Advice For Writers Everywhere
-
Do You Need Multiple Agents if You Write in Different Genres?
-
How to Write a Novel Synopsis: 5 Tips
-
Getting Specific: What Literary Agents Want to Get RIGHT NOW
-
15 Questions to Ask a Literary Agent Before You Sign
-
Crafting a Novel’s Pitch: 7 Tips
-
25 Debut Authors Share Advice for Getting Published
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