Platform
I have some homework for you.
For 2025, I want you to really think about two things: connection and purpose.
Try to…
Consider how you will…
Describe yourself…
Describe your writing…
What influences your work…
What do you want readers…
Answer this question honestly…
If you have questions, you can always email me – am@getredpr.com – or drop a comment below. Wishing Writer Unboxed readers a very happy and healthy holiday season.
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Me, walking into a cocktail party at a writer’s conference: I am confident in my writing ability. I have worked hard to improve my craft. I have insights and wisdom worthy of sharing. I deserve my seat at the publishing table.
Also me, walking into the same room: When is everyone going to figure out I’m a hack? I don’t deserve to be in this room.
Which one are you? Do you walk into a room full of writers and feel like you deserve to take up space in the publishing world? Or do fear being unmasked as an imposter?
Or maybe, like me, you do both.
Ever since I walked into my first writing workshop, I’ve been dangling from a pendulum that swings wildly between postures of confidence and crippling imposter syndrome. I believe it’s healthy to temper confidence with a bit of self-doubt, and I believe toxic self-doubt can be righted by remembering your true, honest accomplishments, even if they are small. I have trouble navigating the space between the two.
I’m still trying to figure out how to balance the confident fake-it-til-you-make-it mindset and imposter syndrome, but I’ve learned a few strategies that help me navigate the highs and lows.
Last month I turned in my third novel, The Forest Becomes Her, slated for publication in early 2026 from St. Martin’s Press. I’m already hard at work on my fourth novel, which is also under contract. Six years ago, I would have been giddy to know I would publish a novel. If someone had told me there would be four (and hopefully more) I would have passed out from joy.
But I also would have been skeptical. Why would anyone publish my novels? I’m a hack, I would have thought.
When I started working on my first novel manuscript, I embraced the fake-it-til-you-make-it approach to the publishing world. I believed in my book, but I didn’t have any relevant experience to include in a query letter. I looked at my unimpressive resume, and, instead of giving up, I decided to fill out my CV, one line at a time.
As I continued working on my novel manuscript, I entered contests. Flash fiction, short stories, novel excerpts. So many contests. Most of them led to disappointment, but I won several. I entered the wins into my scant author bio. Award-winning writer.
I submitted widely to literary journals, and, along with a pile of rejections, I received a few scattered acceptances, although, admittedly, they were all from smaller journals. I added these publishing credits to my bio. Published fiction writer.
I contributed essays to numerous websites that accept guest posts and wrote book reviews for a few websites. I was a blogger and book reviewer.
I volunteered to lead some small writing workshops. I was a workshop leader.
None of these minor successes involved platforms like Pulitzer or Ploughshares or The New York Times, but they were legitimate, hard-fought wins, and I was proud of them. I was making small inroads.
After a few years, the bio paragraph in my query letter began to feel respectable. I, however, wasn’t impressed. None of the lines in my bio were false. They weren’t exaggerations. I had won several writing contests, published a handful of essays, reviewed books, published short stories, and taught writing classes. […]
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Greetings, WU family! I’m pleased to be back with the latest in my Up Close series—a series designed to provide insight into the publishing industry from various stakeholders, including authors, agents, publishers, and today’s guest, a media strategist. A veteran of the publishing industry, Linda A. Duggins is the former Senior Director of Publicity at Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group where she led successful national campaigns for authors such as Tayari Jones, Jane Goodall, and the late Octavia E. Butler. In her current role as an Independent Media Strategist, Linda helps authors identify their books’ key selling points and teaches them how to leverage media opportunities to build awareness and boost sales. In today’s Q&A, Linda offers valuable insight into crafting a clear and compelling message about your books and your writing.
GW: Thank you for agreeing to this Q&A. First, can you tell us a bit about your career in publishing as it relates to media and publicity?
LD: There has never been a time that I did not enjoy talking about books. Spreading the word about amazing reads that keep me up at night or make me think well beyond the last page has been an ongoing experience for me. Prior to my publicity role at Grand Central Publishing, as co-founder of the Harlem Book Fair, I spent a considerable amount of time pitching various stories about the book fair, the authors and their books, and information about the various organizations that supported the work around what the book fair entailed. I was that person on the subway in NYC passing out upcoming book event postcards and advanced reader copies to just about anyone who dared to look at me. The organic transition to becoming an in-house book publicist was challenging and very exciting. Getting the media and booksellers to pay close enough attention required strategy, effective people skills, perseverance, timing, and luck. There was plenty of reading, book campaign strategizing, meeting media professionals, book tour planning, and engaging with book club members as well as booksellers and librarians. It’s really a blended affair, with collaboration inside the publishing house as well, with editors, marketers, the creative team, sales, audio, and many others.
GW: What exactly is media training and how does it relate to authors, both self-published and traditionally published?
LD: Media training is a form of communication coaching designed to help an author navigate interactions with the media to effectively convey their message, handle interviews, and manage conversations about various topics including: the author’s backstory, writing career, and book details, just to name a few. With media training, the goal is to help authors learn how to keep the title of their books and the key selling points up front and top of mind during interviews.
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Some days I feel too old to perform for social media anymore. I say Millennial, but it’s really Xennail? Or the Oregon Trail generation? Anyway…
I’ve been around long enough to witness the Internet evolving. There was the era of personal websites (AOL, MySpace) and IRC chats, to ICQ and MSN Messenger. Then there was the blogosphere, to the heydays of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the rise of influencers.
But it feels like we’re already elbows deep in a new era. These days, having an online presence, and eyeballs on your work is the most important thing – but any attention is fleeting and random.
Not all the old ways of promotion or platform building work well anymore. How do we adapt? I don’t have any real answers, but here are a few observations from someone chronically online:
Ethical consumption is important to people
People are voting with their dollars. This may be because the only impact people feel they can make is what they choose to spend our money on, especially when everything has gotten more expensive, so there is less to go around. People will ask their favorites for comments on world events, so eventually as an author, you will have to take a stance either by saying something or saying nothing (which still sends a message).
So my advice is, if you truly believe in something, take a stance. You will offend someone no matter what you do, so there’s no point trying to avoid it. Moral conviction is a courageous thing, even if it means the loss of a few followers or deals. The people who share those ideals will stick around, and those that don’t will leave.
You may think this is a privileged thing say, but the readers you lose are not your target audience anyway. Any potential collaborators you lose, would not be able to handle your work with care and might be unsafe for you to do business with.
By now you should know how to make a public apology
So you should speak up, but there’s still no excuse to act badly, because you’re still a public-ish figure. Still in the event that you do put your foot in the mouth (it happens to all of us) in the year of 2024, you should know how to make a proper apology. How many times have we seen people act up and cause publishing drama online? How many times have we seen apologies or retractions? Like the turning of the clock, these messes keep on happening. Just in case you need a refresher, here is a quick guideline to a basic good apology:
“I’m sorry I made you feel that way” is not an apology. People keep receipts, so don’t be a jerk. Everyone is watching and you will be called out eventually. That means no fake accounts, and no harassing anyone. Really, if nothing else, the best advice is to keep your head down and do your work instead […]
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My book has been out in the world for a few months, and they’ve been a whirlwind of signings, panels, interviews and blog posts. Parts of it were absolutely amazing, and at times overwhelming. I haven’t had much time to reflect on any of it until now. I was warned about what to expect, but other lessons still surprised me.
Here are 8 things I learned as a debut author:
So much is expected of authors these days: not only the writing and editing of our work, but also promotion, speaking, social media, newsletters…the list goes on.
One efficiency tool used by many authors to help with promotion and social media is Canva, an online graphic design tool that can be used either on a computer or via an app on your phone. The benefits of Canva are endless: designs are professional-looking, easy to create, downloadable, and entirely customizable. You can mix and match designs (copy & paste is your friend here!) to achieve precisely the design you’re wanting. Canva also has an incredible “Help Center” full of design tutorials and content suggestions.
Most Canva design tools are free to use, though an upgraded “pro” version is available for $120/year for anyone desiring premium content. This gives you access to more fonts, branding kits, scheduled social media, and more.
Below, I’ve listed several design ideas for authors looking to get started with Canva. Or, for those of you already using the tool, perhaps something below will spur a new idea!
Canva design idea #1: E-books
This design idea is great for social media to advertise and promote that your book is available in e-book format. Simply choose a design template that you like (try element keyword searches like “kindle” or “ebook”.) Then, upload an image of your book’s cover and overlay it onto the template.
Don’t forget to utilize Canva’s resizing tool, too: it can quickly resize images to fit Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on! No need to recreate the image every time.
In this image below, as indicated by the red arrow, I’ve overlaid my book’s cover onto a “blank” e-reader. I can then download this image and use across any social media.
Canva design idea #2: Audiobooks
The process for this is almost identical to the above, however I used the keyword search “audiobook.” Remember, as you look through Canva’s image results, try to choose ideas that are aligned with your social media or brand aesthetic.
Also, for both e-books and audiobooks, don’t forget that by posting promotional images, you also need to include purchase links so your followers can buy what you’re promoting!
In this image below, as indicated by the red arrow, I’ve overlaid my book’s cover onto a “blank” phone screen, which is situated next to a pair of headphones. I can then download this image and use across any social media.
Canva design idea #3: Press kits and speaker resumes
Press kits make an excellent addition to your website, so event organizers can quickly access key information about your work, location, social media reach, etc. Similarly, speaker resumes are beneficial if you’re seeking speaking engagements or want to partner with a speaker’s bureau.
Thankfully, Canva has countless templates for this. Whether you’re going for something edgy, whimsical, basic, or anything in between, you’re bound to find a design you like. Below are a few screenshots to give you an idea of Canva’s offerings in this space.
Canva design idea #4: Graphics for websites and newsletters
Hate pulling together imagery for your website and newsletters? You’re in luck: Canva can do so much of this heavy lifting for you. Below is an image I pulled together for a Writer Unboxed post about Read More
You read that right. Not what are you reading, but who. To me, that subtle change reveals an ongoing seismic shift in reading and, by extension, in writing.
Who an author is has come to matter intensely in what readers choose to read (or not to read). To be clear, this is not about a reader choosing a specific author’s books because of what they write—a preferred genre; a favorite topic or theme; a beloved story-telling style; the characters; the voice; the beauty of the writing. This is about a reader choosing a specific author’s books because of who that author is—their lived experiences, their personal characteristics, their opinions. Book selection based on an author’s identity has been the mainstay of non-fiction (particularly celebrity memoirs) for a long time, but it has been less of an influence in fiction. Until now. Readers now intentionally expand (or limit) their reading selections based on the perceived diversity or conformity of an author or on the perceived legitimacy of an author to write a specific story. In many cases, choosing who to read pulls readers out of their usual reading habits and boundaries. By altering reading patterns, this shift alters writing and publication patterns. It also alters the job of being a writer.
It means that who the writer is, as a person, determines what stories that specific writer can credibly tell. A writer with a good story and a compelling life story can be vaulted into the limelight. On the other hand, social media responses to any perceived mismatch between author identity and story can be (and have been) astonishingly cruel. But if who an author is limits the stories they are allowed to tell, however they choose to tell it, then the line between fiction and reality has been sundered. If the work of art—the story–is no longer seen as separate from the creator of the art, writing becomes a matter of self-presentation and self-awareness as much as putting words on the page.
This shift is not a bad thing. It is also not an unequivocally good thing.
What is less obvious is exactly what this shift will mean for writers. Writing is no longer just a job, not what you do; it’s who you are. The emphasis on author identity makes writing, all writing, inherently political and inherently personal. And in this age of polarization, there is no middle ground. No anonymous author. Pen names are no protection in this world of outing and social media policing. Writers become public figures. Unable to hide behind the scenes.
I believe writers are aware of this shift, down to their very bones, and that it influences daily decisions about what to write, how to write it, and (consciously or subconsciously) how to defend it. Writing, while simultaneously trying to assess how your ‘authority’ to write any particular line, character decision, or story arc might be interpreted or misinterpreted by any number of interested social groups, is debilitating. Being proactive—writing intentionally to generate […]
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I’ve spent the last several months rekindling an old relationship. We have sneaked off to hotels in Philadelphia and Minneapolis, and to the quiet mountains of Vermont. We’re already plotting another getaway in November.
Before you get too concerned about where I’m headed with this post, please note my travel partner isn’t an old flame — or a scandalous new one. I’m referring to my carry-on roller bag. And those weekend getaways? Think literary conferences.
My no-frills roller bag and I are out of practice after two years of Zooming into literary conferences instead of traveling. We’re both a little older. My needs have changed, and I now expect more out of our 10-year relationship. Covid has altered how I travel, in big ways and small. I’m now obsessed with flying without checking any luggage because of the increase in flight delays, cancellations, lost bags, and missed connections. I want to get in and out of the airport, bus, or train station as fast as possible. And I don’t want to lose my bags.
I’ve assembled a list of my favorite travel hacks that allow me to comfortably pack for at least five days at a literary conference or on a book tour without checking anything. I realize these tips and hacks won’t work for everyone. The types of fabrics, the size of the clothing, and the season will impact how much can fit in any bag. This list is meant to share ideas that work for me. Hopefully, you will find some of them useful. Some items are relatively cheap; others are more expensive. They’d make thoughtful gifts for the writer (or any traveler) on your shopping list — including yourself!
My favorite travel hacks:
All the clothes in this image fit inside the hanging shelves, which compress to fit in a roller carry-on bag.
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Please join us in welcoming Tessa Barbosa as our newest WU contributor! Tessa will see her debut novel published next year, and we’re thrilled to share the journey with her. Welcome, Tessa!
When your first book is about to come out, there’s this odd transition you need to make to thinking of yourself as a public figure. If you are self-publishing, then you’re the one responsible for marketing everything yourself and you have to put yourself out there. But even if you have a traditional book publisher, you’ll still have to do promotion on social media, interviews, and work on your online platform. Even if you don’t feel different, the way other people perceive you might be.
I’ve always been a private person, so the transition doesn’t feel natural, but here are some things I’ve found help make it a little easier:
Stick to the social media that you enjoy
Pick one or two platforms that you enjoy. If you try to do more than that, you probably won’t have time to devote to all of them in a meaningful way. And if you aren’t having fun, or engaging often, people can tell.
Decide how much you’re comfortable sharing
Some people are pretty open about their lives, while others are strict about not posting personal information. This is something you should decide straight away, because all an author ‘brand’ really is, is YOU. Not all of you, but the pieces you want to present to the world. You should be the one in control of it.
Set access boundaries
Think about how much direct access you want to give to strangers on the Internet. You don’t have to keep your DMs open to everyone. You don’t have to follow back unless you want to. Blocking or muting to preserve your mental health is perfectly fine. You may want to consider removing a contact form from your website, and either setting up a dedicated email address for book inquiries, or directing people to an agent or publicist. In general, it’s probably a good idea to keep your personal accounts separate.
Treat your words like they mean something
Consider how your words might affect the people you tag or reply to. Even if you don’t have a lot of followers, as an author you have authority in some spaces that others do not. It’s smart to be conscious of situational power dynamics. For example, it’s probably best to avoid bringing harassment to small accounts for things that don’t matter. This isn’t advice to avoid talking about inequality, racism, or discrimination, only that you should be careful not to escalate a situation when it’s not warranted. Do you really need to dunk on a tweet that 50 other people have already commented on? When is your input most useful?
Be happy for other people’s successes
This is the best way to build community online. Boost when you can! Give compliments! Gush about books you enjoyed! So many things in this industry are out of your control. A little jealousy is natural, but it’s also a waste of energy, because their successes take nothing away from yours. Lift people up behind you and offer help when you can. Writing is a tough, unpredictable industry, with so many ups and downs. Other writers are […]
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A lion tamer at Bertram Mills Touring Circus, Ascot, 1936. Photo by Edward G. Malindine
Certainly our work is the most important component of an author event. With that in mind, most of us choose what we’ll read with care, incorporating the anticipated audience, reading time allowed, and how much backstory setup is required for a particular passage. Maybe we practice reading aloud and timing ourselves. I know I do.
As a person who has issues with anxiety, I need to feel prepared. Yes, a large part of that is about what I’ll speak about or read. But I also pay more attention than I probably should to my personal presentation.
Below are some of the tricks I found during the pandemic launch of my debut novel. I used these all again for the launch of my second novel, two weeks ago. Note: Many of these are for virtual events, because #covid.
“Pointless fluff!” you might scoff. Perhaps. But for me, using these tools helps me feel prepared, and that takes the anxiety level down a notch.
Sound your best! Publishing Guru Supreme Jane Friedman recommends corded Apple earbuds with mic for good sound if you don’t want to invest in or wear a full-on headset. Keep a glass of water handy in case your voice gets scratchy. I once replayed a recorded interview where I had my volume turned way up and I was irritatingly louder than the interviewer throughout. You might ask your host to run a sound check with you ahead of time, or else ask someone you trust to tell you if your audio equipment needs to be upgraded.
Be aware of ambient noise. I have twice done live radio interviews from my closet, while three power mowers droned away outside the house. Will the air conditioner kick on while you’re talking? Turn it off. Might your landline ring from the table beside you, then broadcast a voicemail? Unplug it. Will your roommate walk through behind you, wearing skivvies, and shout that your puppy just made a mess on the carpet? Put a sign on the door.
Spend some time with your camera. First, be sure it’s quality and that your image isn’t grainy, thanks to old technology. Second, do not ignore camera angle! An adjustable laptop stand is great to set your screen and camera at eye level. If you don’t have one, prop up your laptop on a sturdy stack of books. If you use an external camera, be sure that is at eye level. Nobody wants to look up your nostrils, trust me. Try not to look at the screen while you’re speaking, look at the camera lens. Also, be sure there isn’t a big smudgy fingerprint over the camera lens on your laptop screen.
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Shaking off our pandemic-induced ennui and embracing what looks like a permanent empty-nester status, the ToolMaster and I are currently surfing a massive wave of decluttering. It’s the sort of purge I’ve craved for years. It’s also quite daunting.
We are both crafty, DIY types with multiple hobbies that require an infrastructure of tools and equipment. Our past careers required a substantial investment in books and paperwork, most of which will be required should we choose to practice again. In my case, I’ve also acquired a vast mountain of writing-related possessions. (Not that you’d know anything about that.)
Also, from an environmental perspective, we dislike the idea of discarding valuable items, even if currently unused. And Covid-19 only cemented our desire for thriftiness and self-sufficiency.
Still, pushing against all the reasons to hold onto our belongings, there is the undeniable craving for serenity and order…
To Keep or Discard? The Method.
Faced with competing urges, we knew we needed to settle on a good decision-making process. We found it in Marie Kondo’s approach.
You might be familiar with her work via the international bestselling book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, or the Netflix series, Tidying Up.
Essentially, she categorizes objects into five categories (clothing, books, papers, miscellany, and sentimental.) You begin by gathering all the items in one category in a single location. It’s important to tackle the categories in the prescribed order as they become progressively more difficult.
Then, picking each item up individually, you observe your body’s reaction to it. Those items which “spark joy” are kept and stored with the respect they deserve. Those which don’t are thanked for their past service and released back into the world, even if never used. (They’ve taught you the helpful lesson that you don’t actually love them or their ilk.)
Suspicious of the Woo?
Kondo’s “sparking joy” trademark phrase reportedly comes from her time as a Shinto shrine maiden. If it strikes you as too precious or spiritual, I’d still urge you give it a try. As the saying goes, your body doesn’t lie. We’ve found this a handy test to circumvent rationalized hoarding and parted with things we wouldn’t have otherwise. We’ve always felt freer for the decision.
But Jan, you ask, what the heck does this have to do with writing?
I’m close to being one of the least natural book marketers in existence, and my shy, introvert tendencies have only become more exaggerated with the pandemic. I haven’t sent a newsletter in a year and a half. It’s been a struggle to post anything online to my social media accounts. The enforced solitude has paradoxically made me crave even more solitary writing time, rather than activities pointed outward.
All the same, the decluttering process has reinforced marketing lessons I’ve encountered elsewhere, but never really understood.
May I walk you through a few items in the clothing and books section to illustrate, then summarize?
For example, what did I choose to do with Item #1, this sexy wardrobe element?
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The forthcoming launch of any book is a heavy lift, rife with news to announce, people to call, and updates to publicize.
But if you’re launching a debut? It’s an especially daunting endeavor because, well, you’ve never done this before! And the pressure is high: a splashy, big hit debut can make an author’s career. But conversely, a debut launch that doesn’t meet author or publisher expectations can be difficult to stomach, and this puts additional weight on second or third titles.
How is a debut author to know what, exactly, should be on his or her “task list” in the months approaching their big book launch? No doubt, authors publishing via the indie route will have more on their plate, but even traditionally-published authors are expected to take on much of the heavy lifting these days.
Below, I’ve pulled together a “playbook” for debut authors. Consider it a list of ideas for debut authors in the year leading up to their launch.
By all means, take this list with a grain of salt: there may be items on here that don’t apply to your specific circumstances or a suggested timeframe that needs to be reworked.
9-12 months until launch
6-9 months until launch
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For many authors, generating social media content ideas is a necessary evil: we all know the importance of keeping up a platform so we can engage with readers and the book community, but maintaining social platforms is yet another to-do item on an already long list.
I’m here for you, friends.
Below are 100 social media content ideas for every stage of your writing career. There are 25 items listed for each of the four stages. Whether you’re an aspiring author, have an impending book launch, just launched a book, or your career is in-swing, I hope you’ll find the below ideas useful.
The content suggestions listed are best-suited to three platforms in particular: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. That said, these ideas could also be used in your author newsletter, on YouTube or TikTok channels, etc. We all have a favorite platform (mine is Instagram) but no need to recreate the wheel: once you’ve created a piece of content, use it widely across platforms (and reuse down the road, if applicable!)
Let’s get right to it.
Career stage: Aspiring Author
Content goals: Form connections with other writers, develop an organic following
Content ideas for the aspiring author include:
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One of my favorite vintage bookstore finds is two volumes (out of three) of a 1742 translation by Rev. Philip Francis of the complete works of Horace. It’s interesting not so much for the translations (Francis turns Horace’s simplicity into contrived eighteenth-century rhyming heroic couplets) but for the technique Francis used to get it published. At the beginning is a list of subscribers – famous and/or rich people who paid a fee to be publicly seen as supporting the author. Among the viscounts and bishops is one “Deane Swift, Esq.” That would be Jonathan Swift, of Gulliver’s Travels.
Of course, writers today don’t have to persuade subscribers to pay for publication, selling their work on the same model that PBS uses to fund Masterpiece Theater. But from what I’ve seen of my clients’ experiences, being a successful writer nowadays involves a lot of skills that have nothing to do with actual writing.
Editing, for instance. This comes in roughly two different flavors – conceptual editing, which critiques how well your plot and characters work, and copy editing, which deals more with correct spelling and usage. (Full disclosure, conceptual editing is what I do for a living.) A lot of writers hire this out, especially the conceptual part, since it’s all but impossible to fairly critique your own work.
But good editing can be pricy, and many beginning writers on limited budgets have to learn to do it for themselves. There are <ahem> a lot of good books on what to watch for as you rewrite. Critique groups, where writers trade critiques on one another’s manuscripts, can be a help. But editing, especially copy editing, is a very different skill from writing, and it’s one you may have to teach yourself.
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