{"id":5461,"date":"2019-10-05T22:06:27","date_gmt":"2019-10-05T22:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/05\/platform-development-tip-1-switch-writing-hats\/"},"modified":"2019-10-05T22:06:27","modified_gmt":"2019-10-05T22:06:27","slug":"platform-development-tip-1-switch-writing-hats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/platform-development-tip-1-switch-writing-hats\/","title":{"rendered":"Platform Development Tip 1  Switch Writing Hats"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><body>&#13;<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">&#13;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\">&#13;<br \/>\n  <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" border=\"0\" src=\"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/abbtop.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"120\"\/><\/a><br \/><a 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class=\"style7\">&#13;<br \/>\n                <font color=\"#FB7014\" size=\"4\" face=\"Tahoma\">Platform Development Tip #1: Switch Writing Hats!<\/font><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n            <\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td align=\"left\" height=\"19\">\n<div align=\"justify\"><span class=\"style2\">by: &#13;<br \/>\n                <font size=\"3\" face=\"Times New Roman\" color=\"#FB7014\">Jill Nagle<\/font><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n            <\/tr>\n<tr>\n<div id=\"article\">\n<td align=\"left\" height=\"12\"><span class=\"style2\">&#13;<\/p>\n<p>Platform-Building Tip #1: Switch Writing Hats!&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Around eighty percent of nonfiction books today are written by \u0093experts,\u0094 that is people who have a) earned credentials in the field they\u0092re writing about, b) germinated information via articles, live presentations or other media, or c) had extraordinary, unique or memorably told life experiences relevant to their topic.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>For an autobiographical work, such as a memoir, an author needn\u0092t have any special expertise\u0097she is the foremost authority on her own life. For a how-to or self-help book, however, the first thing mainstream publishers want to know is, \u0093Does the author have a platform?\u0094&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Among the multiple definitions of \u0093platform\u0094 in Merriam Webster\u0092s 10th edition are 1) a place from which to speak, 2) a set of principles, and 3) a vehicle for carrying things. All these are important to an author\u0092s platform. The good news is, in the six to eighteen months it will take most authors to write either their book proposal or their entire book, they can develop a platform. &#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Here are some things editors look for in a platform:&#13;\n<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>publications in the field demonstrating your expertise&#13;\n\t<\/li>\n<li>a mailing list&#13;\n\t<\/li>\n<li>pamphlets, tapes or other media carrying messages related to those in your book&#13;\n\t<\/li>\n<li>teaching or leading experience on the topic of your book&#13;\n\t<\/li>\n<li>a column&#13;\n\t<\/li>\n<li>a unique point of view with demonstrable appeal&#13;\n\t<\/li>\n<li>regular speaking engagements&#13;\n\t<\/li>\n<li>courses taught at a local venue&#13;\n\t<\/li>\n<li>a well-designed website&#13;\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The section of the nonfiction proposal entitled Author\u0092s Bio or Author\u0092s Credentials details the information about the author\u0092s platform. Many aspiring authors I work with, at least initially, grossly underrepresent themselves in this section.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>SOLUTION 1: WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE\u0097THEN SWITCH HATS!&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Assume that you probably already have more of a platform than you know. Instead of beginning by writing your bio in paragraph form, put on your Scribe hat and make a list\u0097yes, that\u0092s right, a long, tedious, unsexy list\u0097of everything you\u0092ve done that seems even remotely related to your book.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u0092ve made your boring list, switch hats. You\u0092re now a Publishing Consultant looking over your client\u0092s resume. How are you going to make her shine? Simple\u0097you\u0092re going to take everything even remotely relevant to the book and change into a language that will make publishers perk up their ears. How do you know what will make publishers perk up their ears?&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Switch hats again. You\u0092re an Acquisitions Editor at a major publishing house sitting behind a desk, asking yourself, which of these 163 proposals that arrived this week is worth risking my reputation, bank account and job to publish? Then put your Publishing Consultant hat back on, and do your translation\u0097but don\u0092t forget about that anxious editor. &#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Here\u0092s an example:&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Bob Jones, who\u0092s writing a book on personal accounting and finance for the masses, picks a phrase from his Scribe list, \u0093Instructor at Coleridge Community College for twelve years.\u0094 With his Publishing Consultant hat on, he rewrites this phrase to read \u0093translated high-level accounting concepts into laypeople\u0092s language to over 3,000 adults of various backgrounds over twelve years.\u0094 &#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Moving right along, Bob changes \u0093facilitated students home accounting practices, enabling them to pay bills and prepare taxes with greater efficiency\u0094 to \u0093Over these twelve years, the author developed a series of steps, called the Number Crunch Shuffle. Students consistently report that the Number Crunch Shuffle helps them overcome their fear of numbers, streamlines their home accounting process and cuts their bill and tax preparation time in half. &#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>guerilla tip: Bob didn\u0092t really call these steps the \u0093Number Crunch Shuffle\u0094 at the time he taught them at Coleridge Community College. He got help developing this tag for the technique around which his book is built. However, he did develop the method itself while teaching those 3,000 students.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>guerilla insight: There\u0092s plenty of reality to work with. Take what\u0092s there and describe it in new and exciting ways. Find a gem that makes your book special and give it an attention-grabbing name.&#13;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<table width=\"100%\" cellpadding=\"8\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" bgcolor=\"#dddddd\">\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><b>About The Author<\/b><\/p>\n<p>You are welcome to reprint this article any time, anywhere with no further permission, and no payment, provided the following is included at the end or beginning:&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>Author Jill Nagle is founder and principal of GetPublished, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.GetPublished.com\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.GetPublished.com<\/a>, which provides coaching, consulting, ghostwriting, classes and do-it-yourself products to emerging and published authors. Her most recent book is How to Find An Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar <a href=\"http:\/\/www.FindTheRightAgent.com\" target=\"new\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.FindTheRightAgent.com<\/a>.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:Jill@getpublished.com\">Jill@getpublished.com<\/a>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;\n<\/p>\n<form action=\"http:\/\/www.articlecity.com\/cgi-bin\/search.cgi\" method=\"post\">&#13;<br \/>\n<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"sf1\" value=\"The_Author\"\/><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"words\" value=\"Jill Nagle\"\/><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><input type=\"submit\" value=\"Other Articles by Jill Nagle\"\/><\/p>\n<\/form>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n&#13;<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><i>This article was posted on February 24, 2005<\/i><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/td>\n<p>&#13;\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p align=\"left\">\u00a0        <\/p>\n<p>&#13;\n      <\/td>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n    <\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<hr width=\"800\" noshade=\"noshade\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/ADSENSEWEBSITES\">RETURN TO ADSENSE BUSINESS-IN-A-BOX MASTER ARTICLE INDEX<\/a><\/p>\n<hr width=\"800\" noshade=\"noshade\"\/>\n<div class=\"fb-share-button\" data-href=\"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/\" data-layout=\"button\" data-size=\"large\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fon-line-interactivity.com%2F&amp;src=sdkpreparse\" class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Share<\/a><\/div>\n<p>&#13;<\/p>\n<div id=\"fb-root\"\/>&#13;<br \/>\n<script async=\"\" defer=\"defer\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v4.0&amp;appId=103650273035821&amp;autoLogAppEvents=1\"\/><!-- End of FACEBOOK SHARE BUTTON CODE --><span class=\"style6\"><br \/><span class=\"style2\">\u00a92019 - All Rights Reserved by <a href=\"http:\/\/HelpMeFindFreedom.Online\">HelpMeFindFreedom.Online<\/a><br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/www.website.ws\/kvmlm2\/my.dhtml?sponsor=geekzonehostingcom&amp;bannercode=gif002&amp;language=english\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.website.ws\/images\/english\/banners\/kvmlm2\/468x60_02.gif\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n<\/body><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; \u00a0 &#13; \u00a0&#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; Article Navigation &#13; Back To &#13; Main Page &#13; &#13; &#13; \u00a0 &#13; Click Here &#13; for more articles &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; &#13; Platform Development Tip #1: Switch Writing Hats! &#13; by: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adsense-business-in-a-box"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/on-line-interactivity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}