There are only three things that make your author platform grow.
- Content (the books you write)
- Personal Access (who you are, what you do, how you think)
- World Access (who the character are, what the world is like)
(Yes, discovery and advertising and marketing. But that’s still just drawing attention to the thing that makes the platform grow.)
Very few authors see worthwhile growth from 2 or 3. Micro growth? Sure. And for some of us, that’s enough, especially in the short term. But if I were to distill down so much of my coaching, it would be:
* have patience and wait for the alchemy process to catch up
* and write the next book.
I get, it’s not sexy. It’s not exciting. It’s not fun. But so much of this author life and the author world is about patience, it’s not even close. Not close.
As much as we might keep looking for the takeoff luck and timing (that catch-me-across-the-room immediate chemistry), we also need to keep encouraging each other (and ourselves) to feed the platform plant the food that’s actually going to make it grow.
If you don’t have evidence that access to the world makes the plant/platform grow… deprioritize it.
If you don’t have evidence that access to you as a person makes the plant/platform grow… deprioritize it.
Prioritize the writing, whenever possible. And prioritize security, mental health, sustainability, and longevity. And patience.
Love to you all. I am taking my own advice.
– Becca
