While on an agent’s panel at ACFW in September, I sat next to Lee Hough, one of the smartest and hardest working agents in the business. While we all fielded the typical questions we get as panelists, someone asked a question about the current state of affairs in publishing, and how agents are faring.

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.

Alright. Confession time. Before I could write this post I had to go watch “Jenny From the Block” music video by Jennifer Lopez. Because whenever I think about marketing locally, that song starts playing over and over in my head.

But I’ll spare you from having to watch it, unless you really want to (WORTH IT), as I try to collect my thoughts and be eloquent and practical without busting into rhyme.

J-Lo’s song is about keeping it real. Not letting fame and fortune change the fact that she came from humble beginnings. Being the same person now (despite the rocks that she got) that she was then.

But I think in a backwards way, that theme could also be applied to book marketing. The Internet, though flashy and trendy and popular, shouldn’t give us license to live a double life. In other words, it’s so easy to go online and be a strong marketer, and then turn it all completely off the moment we step away from Facebook. It’s like we go from “Famous Author” to “Car Pool Driver” or “PTA Member” or “The Person Who Always Brings Cookies to Work” or other lackluster personas that follow us in our day-to-day lives. When in fact, being an author pursuing the dream is actually quite extraordinary.

So let’s pretend that I’m an author with a book.

I live in a city of 250,000. While I’m online, trying frantically to find people who enjoy reading, there are about a dozen library branches in my city. Not only that, but there are at least a dozen bookstores. Furthermore, my contact with the city goes beyond those typical venues.

• I go to a salon, a dentist office, a doctor’s office, and a church.
• I know people involved in clubs and organizations that cover everything from Junior League to Easter Seals.
• I frequent two different Starbucks and one Dunkin Donuts, and though I don’t have go-to bars that I frequent, I’m beginning to think it wouldn’t hurt for the sake of promotion.
• I’ve held five different jobs here, meaning I have strong relationships with lots of businessmen and women.
• I went to college here, so though I don’t have a strong family network, I have professors, classmates and more within mere miles of me.
• I know people in the radio, print, and news industries here.

So imagine if I mobilized these businesses, clubs, organizations, individuals and networks. Imagine if I got them excited about my book–if I constructed some sort of incentive to get them buzzing. (Truth be told, many of them will be incentivized just by knowing you’re an author).

Imagine if I viewed the 250,000 people living in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the same way I view readers on the Internet.

An author I know (and one that i now work with), epublished her first book on her own. To promote it, she turned to Fort Wayne. In one year she sold 20,000 copies. It just goes to show how a little hometown connection can get people excited.

So as you’re making your marketing plan and devising your promotional strategy, don’t forget where you come from. The connections you already have. The people who already love you. Because “hometown hero” isn’t just a term for high school athletes and soldiers (though I’d argue the soldier would be the most fitting of the title). It can be for authors, too.

What local resources do you have that could help you with promotions?

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

A few weeks ago, I offered free social media critiques to those who replied before the 14th. You see, social media is a specialty of mine. Before becoming an agent, I worked for some years as a social media marketer at a marketing agency outside of Chicago. I worked with clients such as Vera Bradley, Peg Perego, Benjamin Moore and more. A somewhat longer description of what I did can be found in the first critique post.

1) Memoir of a Mermaid is a site by Adrianna Stepiano

• Very visually appealing. I’m wondering, though, about how it appears you have two banners/mastheads. I’d get rid of the stuff at the top and just add “A Young Adult Fiction Series by…” to the main one.
• It doesn’t seem your blog content is connecting with readers. This may be because it’s focused on your writing journey rather than reader interests. Brainstorm ways that you could provide content that interests readers but also keeps the focus on the YA genre, storytelling, myths, folklore, etc.
• I don’t see a picture of you anywhere or anything that ties this to a real person. If you want that strong connection with readers, you’re going to have to put yourself out there a bit more.

RECOMMENDATIONS: You do a lot of things right, but I think the main thing lacking is a clear goal. This doesn’t strike me as strictly a sales-oriented site, and yet at the same time, there’s not much of a reason for readers to come  back once they’ve purchased the book. Answer these questions: Why did I build this site? What do I want it to do? What can  I change to make sure that goal is reached on every page?

Adrianna also submitted her Facebook page:

• With many of your status updates, you’re targeting lovers of aquatic life and mythology. But is that really your readership? I imagine your readership is more interested in paranormal/fantasy fiction as opposed to science and folklore.
• Again, there’s not much info on who you are.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Why would someone who doesn’t know you “like” this page? What’s in it for them? Answering these questions and then asking “Is that enough?” will probably help you start to think of more appropriate content that appeals to readers and gets them coming back for more.

2. Press On is a website by Crickett Keeth

• I’m really not getting the “Crickett Keeth” thing. After reading your bio, it clicked, but I think to new readers, it will throw them off. It sounds like a children’s name as opposed to the name associated with a blog about developing a relationship with God. Furthermore, I was confused when it wasn’t the name of your site. Rather, your site is named “Press On”?
• The “Follow my Blog” title makes me think that I go there to sign up for the RSS feed. It’s just not clear that that’s the only way to view the blog. I’d rename it “blog”.
• Your blog posts are appropriately titled, but I wonder what makes your content stand apart from all the other blogs out there that claim to help people in their spiritual journeys?

RECOMMENDATIONS: For this blog to take off you need to separate it from the pack. What makes it different? Maybe you could devise a unique approach or catch that readers can’t get anywhere else? Also, it takes a lot of trust-building for people to talk about their spiritual lives on a blog. Especially when it’s with a person they don’t really know. Think about how you could create a safe environment for interaction.

3) Lucy S. R. Austin is a website by Lucy S. R. Austin

• It’s not clear what the goal of this site is. After poking around, I take it you want to sell books to the homeschooling community? If so, and if your goal for this site is to generate sales, you’ll have to rework the copy to be more sales-y
• Your bio needs a bit of a refresher. I’d move the important content (your writing credentials, publishing and job histories) to the top. Then, further down the page you can talk about who you are. (In fact, I’d almost just do away with the first two paragraphs altogether).

RECOMMENDATIONS: If the goal of this site is to entice homeschoolers to buy your books, then I recommend you 1) re-do the design to appeal more to that audience. Maybe have pictures of you homeschooling your kids or something. 2) Make the copy on the site more sales-oriented. WHY should they buy your books? Why should they choose your books over other literature and composition books? 3) this can be done by changing the home page. Offer a call to action along with convincing, sales-y copy that encourages visitors to consider the books.

If this site is simply a way for you to showcase your experience (kind of like a resume site), then be a bit more up front about that. Tell me how I should use your site on the home page.

Lucy also shared her Facebook page

• Again I’m not sure what the goal is here. Are you wanting to develop an author fan page? If so, who are your readers and how can you better appeal to them?
• This page seems underpopulated. Really fill it with content that sets the tone and lets followers know what to expect. We just don’t know much about you based on this info.

RECOMMENDATIONS: It seems that you like sharing writerly things on this page…so maybe re-purpose it to be a Facebook group of “All Things Writerly” or something. This would target a clear audience and help you build numbers more quickly. You could focus on great pictures of writerly things, quotes, etc.

Chim in! What are your thoughts or questions on these site critiques?

NOTE: Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

We’re on week three of tackling the Platform Monster. Week one we talked about numbers as in how big an author platform should be, and week two we took the first step toward achieving those numbers by acknowledging that growing a platform should be like playing with dominos. You move forward, tile by tile, focusing on one thing at a time until the big payoff when everything falls into place and you have your platform.

So now let’s dig deeper. Each week, we’ll take a look at one of those platform components (Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, Speaking) and I’ll give insight into how to do them right and reap the biggest reward.

This week, we’re talking about WRITING ARTICLES.

I chose this one to start us off, because aside from blogging, it comes more naturally to most writers than, say, YouTube vlogging and public speaking. It also is one of the easiest ways to ensure your name gets in front of lots and lots of people.

Here’s my thinking…you Tweet something or write a blog post or throw something up onto the Internet, and unless you happen to be talking about a trending or searchable topic, it only gets read by your immediate audience. But with articles (especially print articles), your words will be read by a majority of that publication’s readership. And 99.9% of those readers are people that you haven’t met before. So while pitching articles and columns may be a bit outdated, it’s one of the best ways to get your words in front of NEW readers.

So how do you see success with articles? Here’s what I recommend:

1.      Take a look at what you write and identify the topics you specialize in. If you’re a nonfiction writer, this is pretty easy. If you’re a fiction writer, it’ll take a bit more effort. Come up with a list of 5 or so interests that you feel are reflected in your writing. For example, Bernard Cornwell writes spectacular historical fiction geared toward men. When he was in the midst of writing and researching his King Arthur series, he could have identified the following groups of people who would be interested in his work: British history enthusiasts; King Arthur enthusiasts; mythology and folklore enthusiasts; myth, hero, Arthurian and possibly medieval reenactment groups; and of course, historical fiction enthusiasts.

2.      Once you’ve identified your groups of readers, track down publications that serve those readers. You want to dig up as many publications as possible and focus on print publications as well as e-publications (oftentimes referred to as e-zines). Popular blogs may also be considered.

3.      Write a handful of articles or essays for each interest group (some may cross over). If you’re like Bernard Cornwell, you may choose to write about the research that you’re doing. Or, if you’re Susanna Clarke, you may want to write about Magic in Adult Literature – Has Harry Potter Juvenalized the Subject? Whatever the topic, make sure it parallels your writing subject and interests your reader.

4.      Pitch your articles to the publications. Now the key here is to reuse articles so that you’re not always writing something new for every publication. The article you sell to Fitness Magazine can also be tweaked and then used in Self, Shape, and then Oxygen.

5.      When you get a few bites, pitch new ideas to those publications. The goal is to create a relationship with the publication in hopes that they’ll bring you on as a contributing writer or columnist. Also, by frequently appearing in the same publications, you’ll start to develop a readership.

6.      Keep track of how many people are seeing your words. Every print or e-publication has a readership number. For print, they refer to this as their circulation. You can find these numbers on their website or by emailing and asking. For e-publications, you’ll need to get their web stats. I like to rely on www.compete.com to give me insight into how many visitors a website will get per month (Tip: Only search the home page of the website. Don’t search your article’s individual URL).

7.      You should have some sort of website already, but at this point it’s time to add another outlet. Say, Twitter or Facebook. Think of it as placing that second domino right behind the first one.

8.      Come up with a byline that directs your fans to whatever social media outlet you chose in step 7.

If you look at the top of this blog post, you’ll see I have a handy little byline that directs you to follow me on Twitter and visit my Facebook page. And it’s worked. Since writing these posts, I’ve added three dozen or so followers. It’s not much, but imagine if I had been posting these words on multiple blogs and e-zines around the Internet. That group of three dozen could have been a few hundred. In just a matter of weeks.

And that’s it. Success in article-writing in 8 easy steps.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions and questions.

NOTE: Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

So now you know what to shoot for in terms of numbers (if you missed it, last Thursday we talked about how big an author platform should be). But as many of you pointed out, those numbers seem impossible. The time and effort required to grow such a following had some of you envisioning yourself with an impressive platform sometime in the year 2030. While others flat out admitted that they didn’t have a single sales bone in their body. You’re artists, after all. And artists don’t always make the most sociable, friendly, outgoing, spin doctoring bunch.

So what’s the secret? How can these numbers be achieved?

Let me explain it like this…most authors, when embarking on a quest to tackle the platform demon, treat it like spaghetti. They throw everything against the wall to see what sticks. They start a Facebook group, a Twitter account, a blog, a website, a Goodreads account, a newsletter and on and on and on until they feel they have all of the possible platform-building areas covered.

And then they’re surprised when nothing happens. When their Facebook group hovers around 50 followers—most of which are personal or family friends. When their Twitter account has more spam followers than real followers and their website stats don’t climb above 30 visits a day. They’re surprised by this, because they’re doing everything they’re supposed to do and nothing is working. And more than anything, they’re exhausted. They’ve spread themselves so thin, they can barely keep track of what was said where. At this point, most give up. They tried their best, and it didn’t work.

But platform is nothing like spaghetti. It’s more like a game of dominos (as in the game in which you set them all up and they fall over). Select one thing. One thing out of that list of 10 or so possibilities. Pour all you have into that one thing. Your time, your creativity, your resources. Stick with it, and when it starts to go, you’ll find that if you already have some of the other platform-related areas set up (most of us do), they’ll start to grow with it. And if you don’t have those areas yet set up, then you’ll find that it’s that much easier to get them going.

More importantly, you’ll find that you won’t be selling your soul to SOCIAL MEDIA. Sure, it takes sacrifice and commitment. But focusing on one thing and doing it well will save you from burning out and giving up.

Ok, so I know your next question is going to be how? How do I grow my Facebook? My Twitter? My blog?

We’ll get there. Come back next Thursday and we’ll start to talk about the how. See you then!

P.s. I loved the discussion last week. Feel free to weigh in again!

NOTE: Amanda Luedeke is a literary agent with MacGregor Literary. You can follow her on Twitter @amandaluedeke or join her Facebook group to stay current with her wheelings and dealings as an agent.

You've heard it before…if you really want to impress an agent, make sure you have three things: a great idea, supported by great writing and a great platform.

But let's be honest, either you're born with a knack for words or you're not.

Either a great idea drops into your head one day, or it doesn't.

But platform…platform doesn't happen by chance. Platform is all about hard work.

I think it's funny that we dedicate entire conferences and workshops and critique groups to the very components that we have the least control over (You can't make great writers out of bad writers, and no classic American novels were written by following a novel-writing template), while the the third component–the one that really can be taught into existence–gets ignored.

This really bugs me, because we've turned platform into this mysterious entity that's somehow more difficult to achieve than writing a best seller. Somewhere along the line, we've decided using social media is more nebulous than developing a plot destined for the silver screen and that growing a readership as an unpublished author is more far-fetched than an agent offering on-the-spot representation.

How we became so dillussional is lost on me, but I'd like to begin to set things straight and pull platform out of the doghouse it's been sitting in for so long.

So first things first, what do impressive social media stats look like? (Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride…)

The cold, hard truth is that solid author platforms come in the tens or hundreds of thousands.

Let’s get more specific…

If you have a website or blog, your monthly unique visitor count should be at least 30,000

If you have a Twitter account, your followers should be pushing 5,000

If you have a Facebook group, your following should be pushing 5,000

If you’re a public speaker, you should speak at least 30 times a year and you should shoot for a total audience number of at least 10,000

If you write for e-zines and e-publications on a regular basis, you should have your words in front of at least 100,000 readers per month

If you write for print publications on a regular basis, you should have your words in front of at least 100,000 readers per quarter

Intimidated yet? I know I am. These numbers aren't easy to achieve. That’s why those who do so stand out in a crowd. And standing out makes them more likely to be published.

I'll be continuing this conversation every Thursday for the next few weeks, but in the mean time, let's talk about these numbers. Are they daunting? Feasible? Have they made you re-think how you’re using social media? Have they redefined success? Share your thoughts.