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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Platform

Platform

Publishing Without a Platform

By Dan Balowon May 22, 2025
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I spent much of my early career in publishing, working with authors and publishers to market their books. It didn’t take long to experience the number one complaint of all authors working with all publishers: The marketing department didn’t do enough. And even when we did a good job, once the book launched and the initial marketing plan completed, the author and book were abandoned to sail across the choppy seas on their own, to keep the nautical metaphor going.

Authors always needed a marketing platform to gain interest from publishers; it is just a different type of platform today. Authors who pastored large churches, had a significant media ministry (TV and/or radio), a national speaking ministry, a newspaper column, a large nonprofit with a mailing list, and other pre-Internet elements were deemed sufficient platforms.

Other than fiction, which is more about the writing, I can’t recall a time when someone just wrote a book and rose to prominence and bestseller status without some version of a platform being in place to give them credibility. Publisher marketing activities and expense overcame some lack of a platform now and then, but it was difficult and expensive.

So, imagine my surprise, when I observe so many people pursuing self-publishing, spending next to nothing on marketing and platforms, and being disappointed with the outcome.

The way to overcome the lack of a platform is to spend money. Between Amazon ads, social-media advertising, electronic media kits for pitching interviews, and hiring a professional marketing person to assist, a good launch of a self-published book should have a budget of $5,000-$10,000 for the first year. If sales warrant, spending that amount each year to support it with personal appearances and a host of other activities would be recommended in the long term.

Traditional publishers don’t usually spend that amount since they employ publicists and marketing staff. Figuring in the cost of an employee, a self-published author would need to spend the above amount to replicate what they do.

Launching a book with no platform and no marketing support is unwise. The time you spent writing a book is effectively wasted as sales will likely be disappointing (less than ten copies).

Yes, marketing is an imprecise profession with a good amount of trial and error involved. You can spend money in short bursts on Amazon, testing various approaches to see which one works best. But most other marketing is based on “best practices” that can be somewhat subjective, pursuing efforts that make sense fundamentally but still might not have the desired results. How many books were sold because of a podcast appearance? No idea.

Many authors hire publicists and marketing assistants to keep sales momentum going. Of course, this makes more sense if an author has multiple books selling moderately well to allocate a percentage of royalties earned to ongoing promotion.

There’s no guarantee the marketing will work; but for sure, without it, self-publishing is likely a rather significant waste of time.

Publishing is financially risky, no matter what path is taken. If you self-publish, you are taking on that risk altogether; and you can benefit more financially.

Don’t skip any of the processes to publish successfully, like marketing.

Knowing that makes the time-intensive platform development process seem more of a priority, but that’s your business.

 

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Category: Platform

How Do You Know What Will (or Will Not) Sell?

By Steve Laubeon February 24, 2025
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There is a mysterious magic embedded in the mythos of the publishing industry: the ability to pick successful books. I was recently asked, “You say ‘no’ so often, how do you know when to say ‘yes?’” I wish I could claim that every agent and publisher have a secret formula we consult to know what will sell. Ask any group of us for that secret and we will all laugh because there is no “secret.” We …

Read moreHow Do You Know What Will (or Will Not) Sell?
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Branding, Career, PlatformTag: Agents, book proposals, Career, Pitching, What Sells, Writers

What’s the Magic Number for Platform?

By Bob Hostetleron February 5, 2025
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I get asked this question a lot at writers conferences, in webinars, and even in line at Dunkin’ Donuts (to be fair, I buy a lot of donuts). It was posed this way in an email from someone I’d met at a writers conference: “At what point is a platform attractive [to publishers]? 10K, 20K, 50K or more?” Simply speaking, writers want to know “What’s the number?” To which I routinely (and sagely) …

Read moreWhat’s the Magic Number for Platform?
Category: Platform

New Book Proposal Course

By Steve Laubeon August 12, 2024
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I have some exciting news to share! The Christian Writers Institute has released an all-new edition of my “Elements of an Effective Book Proposal” course. Completely revised and expanded to provide even more value and insight. Why This Course Matters I have long taught that writing a book proposal is one of the most critical steps in securing a publishing deal. Whether you’re a …

Read moreNew Book Proposal Course
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Pitching, Platform, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

The Power of a Referral

By Steve Laubeon July 22, 2024
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It was recently pointed out that a number of agencies will not accept unsolicited proposals. Instead they state, in their guidelines, that they only take proposals via referrals or from meeting someone at a writers conference. Our agency continues to keep the doors open to any and all who send material following our guidelines. It can be a challenge to read all the incoming proposals, but I prefer …

Read moreThe Power of a Referral
Category: Book Business, Career, Marketing, Pitching, PlatformTag: Agents, Referrals

What About Affinity Groups?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 27, 2024
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When showing author platform, many writers talk about affinity groups. That is, hobbyists, organization members, and people in a particular stage of life who might buy the book. For instance, an author may say that her devotional book titled Single Parents Who Fly Kites will appeal to: 1. Kite flyers 2. Single parents 3. People who work in kite factories 4. People who love windy days 5. Members of …

Read moreWhat About Affinity Groups?
Category: Book Proposals, Marketing, Pitching, Platform

Original Platform

By Dan Balowon May 30, 2024
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In 2021, I wrote a post for this agency blog encouraging writers to write with originality. Original Writing came to mind after seeing a few too many book proposals that were mostly summaries of other authors’ books. While academic and reference works are mostly made up of that type of material, most other nonfiction books require the author to be somewhat of an expert in a field. And the book …

Read moreOriginal Platform
Category: Platform

The Platform Predicament: How to Connect With Readers Off Social Media With Mary DeMuth

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on March 12, 2024
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social media icons representing the author platform predicament

Learn how to navigate the author platform predicament and what you can do to help change the status quo in the publishing industry.

Read moreThe Platform Predicament: How to Connect With Readers Off Social Media With Mary DeMuth
Category: PlatformTag: Agents, Book Business, Platform, Traditional Publishing

People Over Platform: The Heartbeat of Authentic Authorship

By Megan Brownon March 7, 2024
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Let’s talk about something that’s been the elephant in the room for many of us–the dreaded “P” word: platform. In the realm of publishing, it seems like everyone is fixated on the numbers: how many followers you have, the size of your email list, or the reach of your social-media presence. But what if I told you there’s a more authentic and meaningful approach …

Read morePeople Over Platform: The Heartbeat of Authentic Authorship
Category: Marketing, Platform, The Writing Life

How Much Platform Do I Need for Fiction?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 10, 2024
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[Due to an unfortunate technological malfunction, this post did not go out correctly late last year. The content answers a common question, so we are reposting it again for those who missed it the first time around.] As a novelist, making a solid connection with your readers is better than building thousands of followers, if half may be bots. Make readers excited about you and your book. Buyers of …

Read moreHow Much Platform Do I Need for Fiction?
Category: Platform
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