I suppose platforming could be seen as a variety of performing: creating a "platform" for your writing career and using it to reach out to an audience.
I mention this because Chuck Wending wrote a very good piece on his blog on the subject of whether or not it's worth it for a writer to have a "platform". His prognosis is it's nice, but it doesn't really make much difference, if any. I'd already come to that conclusion since I knew of a good number of writers, old and new, who were very successful despite, essentially, never blogging, face-booking or tweeting. On the other hand, someone like Nick Mamatas does quite a good job at promoting himself simply because he remains his typical acerbic yet entertaining self throughout. According to him, anyway, it gets results.
I only ever started this blog as a way to embarrass myself into getting a book finished. I figured if I started a blog about writing what came to be my first published novel and didn't finish that novel, I'd look like an idiot. So, essentially, writing the blog was a way of keeping me in line. This was long, long before anyone every talked about online activity as some kind of "platform".
Even so, I'm game for new tactics. I've redesigned the website and now I'm going to set up a mailing list through MailChimp. There: now I've said it, I'll look like an idiot if I don't do it. See how it works? God knows everyone else appears to have one, so I might as well get with the program.
But you need an enticement, apparently, something to make people willing to sign up. To that end, I'll most likely make Scienceville, the eight-thousand word story that appeared in Interzone last year, into a freebie giveaway. The intention is to get that all set up within the next month (he said) and in plenty of time for the release of Survival Game in August. More details soon.
I mention this because Chuck Wending wrote a very good piece on his blog on the subject of whether or not it's worth it for a writer to have a "platform". His prognosis is it's nice, but it doesn't really make much difference, if any. I'd already come to that conclusion since I knew of a good number of writers, old and new, who were very successful despite, essentially, never blogging, face-booking or tweeting. On the other hand, someone like Nick Mamatas does quite a good job at promoting himself simply because he remains his typical acerbic yet entertaining self throughout. According to him, anyway, it gets results.
I only ever started this blog as a way to embarrass myself into getting a book finished. I figured if I started a blog about writing what came to be my first published novel and didn't finish that novel, I'd look like an idiot. So, essentially, writing the blog was a way of keeping me in line. This was long, long before anyone every talked about online activity as some kind of "platform".
Even so, I'm game for new tactics. I've redesigned the website and now I'm going to set up a mailing list through MailChimp. There: now I've said it, I'll look like an idiot if I don't do it. See how it works? God knows everyone else appears to have one, so I might as well get with the program.
But you need an enticement, apparently, something to make people willing to sign up. To that end, I'll most likely make Scienceville, the eight-thousand word story that appeared in Interzone last year, into a freebie giveaway. The intention is to get that all set up within the next month (he said) and in plenty of time for the release of Survival Game in August. More details soon.
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