Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

I’m heading to Chicon today…for those of you not in the know, Chicon (or WorldCon) is the 70th World Science Fiction Convention. Now an invitation to this event didn’t magically fall into my lap. I mean, MacGregor Literary hasn’t historically done much in the SF realm, so I’m sure we were far from making it on their “I hope they attend” list. Another interesting note, is that this event is pretty big and pulls REALLY big names (George R.R. Martin is the name I’ve been dropping right and left). So it wasn’t like getting an invite would be as easy as calling up a friend of a friend and then voila!

Nope, it was a bit more complex than that. And it involved aggressive Internet research, consistent follow up, and a willingness to do whatever, whenever.

The reason I’m explaining all of this is that agents have to build a platform, too. Or maybe it’s more of a rapport (?). But either way, we need to get our name out there so that we meet authors, so we can sign those authors, so that we get to know editors, so that we do deals with those editors and then somewhere along the line…put food on the table.

So for this week, I thought I’d share a bit about what I’m doing to build my platform.

There are lots of literary agents in publishing. I mean LOTS. And not all of them are the real deal. Some are there to scam unsuspecting authors. And most will fizzle out in a few years. So when you’re new to the business, there’s all this suspicion surrounding you. Will she last? Will she be any good? Will she actually turn deals? (In the past 12 months, Publisher’s Marketplace shows that there are eight agents who have turned 30 or more deals. That’s it. Eight. Granted, not everyone reports to Publisher’s Marketplace, but it still says something about the job).

Since becoming an agent, I’ve had to do a number of things to establish myself, aside from teaming up with a great agency and having a knack for telling people what’s wrong with their books. So, in no particular order other than the order in which they pop into my brain, here’s a baker’s dozen of what I’ve done to promote myself THIS YEAR:

1. I’m going/will have gone/am in the process of going on 15 business trips. That’s at least 75 days spent away from the puppy and husband.
2. I created an Amanda Luedeke – Literary Agent facebook page that I maintain as faithfully as possible.
3. I created a “Books I Represented” Pin Board that I update when cover art is available.
4. I blog here every Thursday (and have been doing so since January).
5. I contribute a column to the Advanced Christian Writer publication.
6. I’ve been interviewed on podcasts.
7. I’ve been interviewed on blogs.
8. I’ve Skyped in on small writing workshops.
9. I put together a pitch letter to sell myself as a faculty member to potential conferences…and it worked.
10. I’ve maintained my personal/professional/yet-to-be-defined Twitter account @amandaluedeke.
11. I’ve KEYNOTED. Yes, keynoted!
12. I’ve taught 1-3 workshops at nearly every conference I’ve attended, along with participating on panels, taking appointments, and run the occasional group critiques.
13. I’ve networked my a$$ off. Like I said above…MacLit hadn’t done much with SF in the past. Nor have they done much with YA or Fantasy or some genres of fiction. So I’ve been blazing the trails, meeting as many editors as I possibly can on each trip, and FORCING them to be my friends.

That’s it. That’s what I’ve done to grow my platform. And it’s working.

So I’m curious…what are you doing to grow yours?

A few more thoughts that came out of my conversation with some marketing people at a recent conference…

4. Another step in selling your book, and one that relies almost completely on the author, is that there needs to be a successful and growing internet presence surrounding your title. Right now we’re seeing too many novelists visit the same 30 or 40 blogs, shilling their book (and, in my view, not selling many copies). But in a successful marketing campaign, the discussion of the book grows beyond that same chat-fest of blogs. The author seeks out new groups, who share an interest in her stories or topics, and finds ways to talk about the basic ideas in a wider setting. Let me offer an example: If a crime writer can get law enforcement sites to talk about his book, or can link into some networks where people discuss crime and culture, the book is much more apt to take off, and that allows the marketing people to reach more potential readers. For a nonfiction writer, I would venture a guess that your speaking and media platform is vitally important toward making this piece of the equation work. Again, this is an area that is almost the exclusive domain of the author, since publisher helps in this area have a tendency to be a bit flat. YOU know your book best, so YOU should be doing this. Doing regular work in creating an internet presence will require a significant investment of time and energy.

5. In discussing fiction marketing with this group, they came to the conclusion that space advertisements were an important piece, but ONLY if they reach a targeted audience.Here’s an example: If you’re doing a historical novel set in 17th Century Scotland, getting some ads into the magazines and websites subscribed to by those who love Scotland and its history is crucial. (Okay…I’ll admit that I subscribe to a couple Scottish magazines. Thus the example.) In other words, a general ad in the LA Times might not be as effective as locating a hotbed of people who share an interest in your story or topic and telling them about your book. And there’s a lesson to keep in mind here: your publisher can’t be an expert on everything, so you may have to educate her in terms of the best magazines and websites and blogs to target. If can’t buy an ad in a print magazine, take a look at the cheap prices in an e-zine. And if you can’t buy an ad in an e-zine, try writing articles for print or e-zines in order to get your material in front of their readers.

6. The last thing we put on our list was that your basic story MUST resonate with readers.Sooner or later, the success of most books comes down to a great concept and good writing. For all the talk about what works and what doesn’t with fiction marketing, it still comes down to writing and story. The readers hear about it, and have an immediate positive response. Then they read it, love it, and start telling others about this great book they just read. All of this means your basic story will appeal to a wide readership — either it speaks to an immediate need, or answers an important question, or garners some immediate attention, or follows a very popular format (for example, you’re writing an Amish book). And, of course, this means you must write a good book. I know it can get depressing at times, seeing weak books on the bestseller lists, but the fact is, over time good writing trumps bad writing. Over time, big ideas trump small ideas.

Now… I argued with the people in this discussion group that there is a seventh item I believe is necessary to make a marketing campaign work for a book: Buying space up front at Barnes & Noble. To me, that’s one of the most important steps, though I’ll admit my evidence is more anecdotal than scientific. The marketers didn’t agree with me — they said they could point to dozens of expensive “table buys” that didn’t move copies of the book. I told them that may be so, but given the pace at which stores dump new products, I’d still put this on my list of essential steps. I was out-voted, but wanted you to hear my thoughts. It costs big bucks to have a publisher put your book up front at B&N. In my view, it’s worth the investment.

Just some thoughts to consider as you being to plan your future fiction marketing. I’d love to know what you’ve found to be the essential ingredients to getting your book selling in the marketplace. 

I thought it would be interesting to tell you all about a conversation I had with some marketing types while at a conference recently. I was particularly interested in what they perceived as being the components of a healthy novel marketing campaign (and if you’re a nonfiction writer, keep in mind that I was talking with these folks specifically about fiction marketing). We brainstormed what works and what doesn’t, talked about about the various issues involved, and in the end came down to just a half-dozen important steps…

1. Most successful marketing campaigns are focused on a high concept book. That means the book isn’t just another familiar story, but a BIG story, a BIG idea. People hear about it and immediately understand what the story will be focused on, and that it’s a big, over-the-top idea. Not every book you write will be in this category, but it’s worth understanding that a high concept idea can help you succeed in today’s market.

2. The second step we noted is that successful marketing campaigns usually have a book with a great cover – which is important to remember when dealing with your publisher. You see, your editor is going to get a couple sample covers from the art director, and is expected to pitch you on them. (One of the little secrets of publishing is that everyone wants to save money on art costs, so they’ll sometimes try to twist your arm to accept whatever they’ve got. It’s cheaper that way.) It’s why sometimes a book will come out with a terrible cover, and everyone is wondering “why in the world didn’t the author complain?” The reason is usually because someone at the publishing house told the author it was great, and to trust them, since they know how to craft great covers, etc. I think this speaks to the importance of educating yourself about covers — what makes a good cover, what makes a bad cover, what covers get noticed, etc. It also speaks to the importance of getting your publisher to actually show you the sample, and to cc me, as your agent. There’s an old saw about “don’t judge a book by its cover,” but readers do exactly that all the time. Improve your chances of success by pushing the publisher to create a dynamite cover.

3. The third important step is that Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble buy your print book, and you get highlighted somewhere on Amazon as an ebook. Um… you don’t have anything to say about this, of course. You’re trusting the sales team at your publishing house does a good job of pitching your book to Wal-Mart, but that means getting to know your sales people, keeping a healthy relationship with them, and expressing your appreciation for them so that they know who you are and want you to succeed. Your sales rep is walking into the appointment at B&N with a bag full of ideas to sell. What you want is to be the first idea he pulls out of his bag. (And I should add that we had some good discussions about other accounts. Certainly having Family Christian Stores commit to your Christian novel is necessary if you’re going to have a big impact in CBA.  And having Books-a-Million stock your Southern Fiction assures that you’ll begin to reach a wider audience. Having the folks at Amazon highlight your book means it’s going to be seen by the most readers possible.) The numbers make it clear: if you can get into Wal-Mart and a few other key retailers, your book will probably succeed.

More on this topic tomorrow, but I’m interested to know: What would you say helped sell the most copies of your novel? 

I’ve had this question quite a bit, from authors who aren’t sure if they can do the required marketing themselves. I think the first thing authors need to do is to look into what marketing they can do on their own. The second thing they need to do is to work with the marketing department at their publishing house, to try and maximize that relationship. But third, authors can certainly check into hiring an outsider to bring special knowledge or skills to the plan, or to pick up some of the pieces the author is not able to do. Some things to keep in mind when hiring an outsider marketing specialistl…

1. Be very clear what the individual is going to do for you. Set up events? Send review copies? Set up radio interviews? Introduce you to magazines? If you’re talking to an outsider, make sure you know exactly what it is they’ll do for you. They should be willing to create a list (that you can later check). Learn to ask pointed questions, or have your agent ask pointed questions.  

2. Be very clear what this individual has done in the past. There are a bunch of marketing types I know who, in my opinion, don’t bring any particular success with them. The fact that they’ve been hired by publishers to work on past books may merely mean that they turned in the cheapest bid, not that they did a good job. So ask — Who have you worked with? What did you do? What were some of the results? 

3. Be very clear what the cost is. Marketing types can do a full-blown, multi-month campaign for your book — or they can do things piece by piece, with you paying them to do particular jobs. Think of it as a Chinese menu — you can order one from column A and one from column B, or you can purchase the Full Meal Deal. That means you need to have a budget before you go into an outside publicity relationship.

4. Shop around. Prices vary greatly, often depending on who’s busy. What will this person do for you? For how long? What expenses will be incurred? This is especially important when it comes to fiction. It doesn’t get said often enough, but fiction marketing is completely different than nonfiction marketing. The fact that this marketing specialist has had big success with some nonfiction books may not mean diddly to you as a novelist. (That’s not to say you should never hire someone who doesn’t have fiction experience — just don’t buy into the argument that because they helped sell The Ten Steps to Stop Bedwetting it means they can also sell Daphne Falls In Love.)

5. Make sure you like the person. There’s nothing worse than having someone you don’t really like screw up your book and your plans. 

6. Be realistic. The fact is, there’s no guarantee with an outside marketing specialist. You might find that one publicist worked great for a friend, but can’t seem to do much of anything that works for you. Hey, that’s just the business. Aside from a visit on Piers Morgan or the blessing of Oprah, it’s tough to equate a certain number of sales with any one particular marketing effort. You can still reduce your overall risk by asking questions, doing your research, and creating a workable plan.

Let me know if this helps. 

I’ve had a couple people write to ask, “What is a platform?” 

Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. Every Thursday, she posts about growing your author platform. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

We’ve talked before about blogging, but this week I wanted to cover something called microblogging.

Microblogging is exactly what it sounds like…it’s a smaller, more condensed form of blogging. Images are usually the focus of such microblogs, but they can also be text-based.

Here are some of my favorite microblogs:

• KateMiddletonForTheWin – I have a major girlcrush on Kate. But these make me laugh every time.
• SlushPile Hell – I wish I would have thought of this first.
• Clients From Hell – Maybe it’s my marketing background that makes this microblog so appealing? I don’t think any of the microposts surprised me. They just fueled my rage.

By now you should have a small understanding of microblogging…short posts, centered around a theme (whether visual or theoretical). And if you noticed, each of the examples I gave use Tumblr as their site’s service provider. It’s really the leading host for this approach to blogging.

Okay, so why should authors care about microblogging?

1. It’s quick. Constructing a traditional blog post can take hours, depending on how finicky you are. Microblogging takes a fraction of that time, using a fraction of those words.
2. It’s focused. I know I keep hounding you about having a goal…well, microblogging is a great example of a medium that simply won’t work without a goal. It practically forces you to choose a topic, preventing you from microblogging about flowers one day, Mozart the next, then your dog, then your deep thoughts on black holes followed by a reposted tribute to AC/DC.
3. It’s clean. No fancy backgrounds. No design expertise needed. Just clean and simple…ideal for the digital n00b.

But how can Tumblr and microblogging grow your author platform?

Think about what you write. Think really deeply about it. Ask yourself…

• What’s my genre?
• Who reads what I write?
• What stage of life are they in?
• What hobbies do my characters have that could also appeal to the target reader?
• What unique elements/themes/storylines are in my book?

Answer these questions, and you’ll start to see the beginnings of a great microblog. For example, let’s answer them with Amish or small town fiction in mind:

• What’s my genre? Amish/Small Town Fiction
• Who reads what I write? Women, ages 35-60
• What stage of life are they in? Married, moms, approaching retirement. Some have lots of free time, others have limited free time, but each reader is looking to find/maintain/rediscover their personal interests
• What hobbies do my characters have that could also appeal to the target reader? Quilting, baking, horses
• What unique elements/themes/storylines are in my book? Cowboys/farm boys, small town girl/boy in big city and vice versa, etc.

Based on these answers alone, you could develop a number of microblogs. You’ll have to find one that fits your lifestyle, of course. If you don’t have access to horses or know a thing about quilting, then you’re limited. But the goal is to extract themes, hobbies and lifestyle ideals from your novel and develop microblogs that speak to them visually and/or textually.

What microblogs could YOU develop for your latest WIP?

We’ve been talking about the beginning steps for someone who has a book releasing. The past two days we looked at some very basic things to help you start marketing your book. A few more thoughts (then I’ll turn it over to Amanda, who has MUCH more to say on marketing.)

A seventh thought: If you’re going to rely on social media, get some video together to help promote it. When you look at the growth of YouTube and other video-sharing sites on the web, you can see the direction advertising on the web is going. We’re a visual society, so you want people interacting with your words and seeing the big story. You may also want to at least consider buying web ads on the sites those potential readers visit. Don’t assume it’s too expensive until you’ve checked it out — those are basically cheap space ads, and some of them are seen by more people than the space ads in trade journals. (Again, you probably realize this, but many sites have “pay-per-click” ads, which cost nothing unless an interested reader actually clicks on the ad to read more about your book.)

Eighth, if you’re writing non-fiction, or your novel contains material that is related to news in some way, think about creating some articles and posting them. What you’re trying to do is to create buzz, of course. You want people to notice your book, to start talking about it, and to think of you as an expert in the field. There’s a bunch of information available on how to do this — Randy Ingermanson has talked about it on his site, and you’ve probably heard the idea before. If you were doing a novel that focused on a child abduction, you’d do a couple articles on child abductions and how to prevent them. You then post those on sites that draw readers interested in that topic. At the end of the article, it mentions you’ve done a novel. Or maybe in your article you mention some of the resources you used while researching your novel. Either way, you get the word out. And it’s free (except for your time). 

Ninth, don’t assume your publicist has gotten the word out to all the necessary book reviewers and radio stations. The publicist may have done that…or she may not have had the time. Publicists are great, but they’ve all got a slew of books they’re working on, so make sure to ask, “Who received a copy of my book?” and “Who did you contact about my book?” It’s a completely fair question (though you may have to ask several times before you get an answer). The essential targets that didn’t get a copy should be sent one right away.  (Oh, and be aware that most major book reviews require your manuscript be there about 5-to-8 months before publication. It’s a long lead time, so if your publisher didn’t make advanced reader copies or bound galleys, how are they ever going to review your work?) Getting in touch with radio stations is also important, especially for nonfiction titles. You may think that’s an old-fashioned idea, but it’s pervasive, there’s always a need to find guests to talk about the topics of the day, and now that there are web-based radio stations, the market has increased substantially. It’s usually a fairly low-ticket item to work with a freelance publicist just to notify stations about your book, so if your publisher isn’t finding time to get that done, consider making a call to a good publicist who can help with that. 

Tenth (and last),  think locally. That is, try to make yourself successful in your local aread. Drive around to all the bookstores in your area. Go in, hand the owner a signed copy of your book, and thank him or her for carrying it. Tell the owner a bit about yourself — this is a small industry, and making friends with bookstores can only help. Do the same thing with media in your area — introduce yourself and give them a book. The arts section of your local newspaper may be excited to have a nationally-published writer to interview. Think of angles — it could be your topic, or it could simply be the “local boy/girl makes good” approach.

I’ve never been a huge fan of book signings (they tend to sell few books and leave the author deflated), but if you do one locally, invite your friends, your family, and your church or other organizations you belong to, so that you get a crowd. Make it an event. Many large organizations and churches have newsletters that reach thousands — an article or an interesting interview (or simply a mention of your book) can garner you some attention with readers. What you’re trying to do is to create some success locally. If you can do that (particularly in a major metropolitan area), then you can begin to try and translate that success regionally, and, eventually, nationally. That’s exactly what several successful authors have done — establish some local success, then get regional attention, then hit nationally. 

I realize this covers some of the basics, but I felt we needed to answer some of the questions people had about getting started. Marketing is hard, but it’s become an essential aspect of the writer’s life. 

Continuing our look at how an author starts the basic process of marketing…

Fourth, you already know this, and it may seem to simple, but you really need a good website. For some reason there’s been a movement in writing circles about websites being passe. I disagree — a site will give readers a way to find out about you and get introduced to your books. But don’t scrimp here. If you can, work with a pro to get a great web site — something interactive, that puts you in touch with your readers and keeps conversation going. Be sure to include an online store, so that interested readers can buy your books (either directly from you or linked to a web retailer like Amazon or Barnes&Noble.com). I frequently see author sites with no way to purchase books. 

Fifth, you might need a blog too. It’s not absolutely essential, in that many successful writers don’t keep a blog because they have all their conversations via the website. But if you can create the time to keep it going, consider it. Our culture is in love with interaction, and a blog allows the reader to feel that they get into your life. And that means you’re going to visit other people’s blogs — in fact, you’ll probably want to visit a lot of them. When you’re promoting your book, you’re going to want to participate in as many social media interviews as you can. You’ll go on as your book is releasing, answer questions from people, and chat up your work. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of reading group and book review blogs. It may seem tedious, but you’re going to want to hit as many of them that fit your audience. And, of course, it doesn’t stop there. Once you’re hearing from people on your blog, you need to go back and connect with them, so that you begin having an online relationship.

Sixth, take steps to help get your site known. People will sign up if you offer them a free product of value at no cost — a short story or a special report or a special deal. It can’t just feel like marketing content — you’ve got to actually give people something they want. And in doing so, you capture their email addresses. This isn’t something you can do overnight… but imagine being able to tell your publisher, “I’ve got ten thousand devoted readers who have signed up for my e-zine every quarter.” That shows you’ve got a lot of readers. And, of course, when your book releases, you’ve got to tell all those people about it, and give them some sort of incentive to buy today. 

Again, to do this, you’ve actually got to have something of value to give away. Words, thoughts, or something else. So… what would you give away? I was just reading about a woman doing a novel about Ireland. She asked people to sign up for her e-zine (they had to give their name and email address), and she promised that when her novel released, she was holding a drawing and one lucky winner was going to win a trip to Ireland. She got thousands of subscribers. Let’s say a couple hundred of them bought her book when it came out. So she made several hundred dollars in royalties, and a ticket from New York to Dublin is only about $400. Sure, the author had to make the investment, but it didn’t end up costing her much, and the word-of-mouth marketing that came from it was great. 

So a question for you… What have been the two most essential marketing steps in your own writing career?

I was at a big writing conference a couple years ago, and there was a glob of literary agents yakking it up on a panel. We were asked about the role agents play in the contemporary publishing industry, and one of the agents who spoke made a point of saying, “The most important thing we do is career planning for authors.”

I almost laughed out loud. She happened to be an agent who…um… I want to put this delicately: She has no idea what she’s doing. One of those people who can’t seem to figure out what this job actually entails, besides sending emails and collecting checks. So to hear her talking about “career management” made me smile. It’s not that I disagreed — I happen to think that assisting authors with their careers is probably the most important piece of what I do. It’s just that I believe to some agents “career planning” can be defined as nothing more than “find a deal for my author.” In other words, a writer who doesn’t have a book contract simply needs a deal in place, and he or she will have a “writing career.” But anybody with a lick of sense could figure out that a book contract is sort of expected if you’re going to make a living as a writer of books. I mean, every author who signs on with an agent expects to land a book deal.

So, for an agent, there’s a bit more to it. In my view, a career plan for an author is created by helping the author figure out (1) where they are now, and (2) where they want to be in the future. Because, you see, “success” is going to be defined differently for each author. There’s no one level we reach that equates to “success” for every writer. Some people really want to make their living writing; others don’t care about the money so much as that they write regularly. One author may see success as making just enough to be financially feasible (say $3000 per month on average), while another author defines success as replacing her corporate job (making a minimum of $5000 per month). So part of this first stage is to simply figure out where you are and begin to define where you want to go.

It can take a while to get to that place — you have to think about your past, your desires, your schedule, your personality, your platform, your calling. What’s the message you feel has been given you? What are the books you simply HAVE to write? Do you know your voice? Do you know yourself well enough to recognize what your strengths and weaknesses as a writer are?

An author also needs to think about keeping life in balance — having a career is more than just making money. Sure, you have to consider how much you’d like to earn and where it will come from, but you also have to think about how you can maintain healthy relationships, stay physically fit, and have friends and a vibrant personal life. All of this has to get written down somewhere, so the author has a document from which to work.

THEN you start thinking about the steps to take in order to move forward. Sure, if you’re unpublished or between contracts, most likely the first thing you need is a deal. But that’s not the ONLY thing an author needs. One of the reasons I’ve tried to get the authors I represent to think through a written career plan is so that they can begin the process of noodling on their writing careers. A couple people have emailed their plans back to me with a note that said they’ve come to realize they don’t want to be full-time writers. That’s fine — it’s just nice that they have clarity. Others have found that writing things down has helped them get a better picture of where they are weak. An author with no platform is hoping the salability of her idea and quality of her craft will carry her to success… but that’s become tough to do in today’s market, so taking steps to build a platform may be necessary in order to move forward.

I each writer has a unique calling. But I look around, and I see that this business allows one writer to have modest success and another to make a million dollars. Sometimes that can be traced back to a great idea or a great title or great writing or great marketing — but other times it seems to be nothing more than dumb luck, or the sovereignty of God, or whatever force one wants to blame. Maybe that’s why one author believes she has to write a romantic comedy, and another believes he has to write a thriller. One isn’t better than the other; they’re simply different. Or, to put it another way, one person feels called to run a business of ten thousand, and another to run an organization of ten.  I don’t believe the person running a big organization necessarily has better talent, or received a greater reward, or is any more or less obedient… sometimes we are just called to different things. Great art may be recognized or ignored. Or, to say it another way, God isn’t just calling people to success; He’s calling people to obedience. Each writer must learn to use his or her gifts, whether we sell 5000 copies of our book or 50,000.

My reason for writing all of this is just to encourage you to think carefully about your career. As an agent, I want the authors I represent to feel as though they’ve got a plan in place — something more than “I owe my publisher another book.” Clarify where you are and where you want to be, and think through the steps to get there. On this blog, I want us to talk through things like how many books you ought to write in a year, and how much money you need to make, and what steps you could take to improve your sales and visibility. Think about what you need to study or improve or build in order to move your writing career forward.

Sorry if I sound like I’m preaching. I was just going over notes to myself from some recent conferences, and had to ruminate on this issue a bit. I want the authors I’m working with to know they’ve got some sort of plan in place. When a fellow writer asks one of the authors I work with if they have a career path, I want my author to feel comfortable saying, “Yes, I do.” Maybe I’m just tired of hearing people talk about writing as a career without stating clearly what that means.

So, in case you’re not sure, a career writer, in my view, is one who makes a living from writing. You probably need to figure out what it means to make a living in your world, taking your community, your family, and your financial needs into consideration. And having a career plan means you’ve got a step-by-step plan in mind to move there from where you are now (or, if you really don’t see yourself making a living at writing, at least you’ve figured out where you DO want to be, and what steps you’ll take to get there).

It ain’t simple. But maybe we could use less general talk about “careers for authors” and more concrete help with establishing those careers.