Write Nonfiction in November

I became a writer simply because I love to write.  However, as a nonfiction writer with aspirations of becoming a published book author, I’m often asked to do something other than what I love to do.  I’m asked to speak.

You see, typically these days a nonfiction writer like myself needs more than just a good idea and good writing skills to get a book published by a medium or large publishing house. To achieve this goal, I have to posses what’s called a “platform.” (No, not a wooden box or a stage to stand upon, but a speaking platform from which I can sell and promote my book as an “expert” on my topic.) Now, I could build a platform by writing lots of articles for major mass-market magazines, and for a nonfiction writer like myself that would be infinitely easier than doing so by speaking. However, speaking engagements of all types represent the best and fastest way to build an expert platform.

So, instead of staying in the pleasant solitude of my office with a candle burning and a hot mug of tea steaming on my desk as I type a melody on my computer keyboard and watch as the words in my head appear magically on the screen in front of my eyes, I have to stop doing what I love – writing. Not only do I have to stop writing, I have to take off my sweat pants and sweat shirt (which I also love), shower, get dressed up, do my hair – even put on make up, travel somewhere, stand in front of God-knows-how-many people or in front of a camera or a microphone that will beam my image or the sound of my voice to God-knows-how-many people, and then I have to speak. I don’t get to do a reading of my writing, mind you. I have to talk about the subject I’m writing about when I could be writing about it instead.

While I do love to talk – and some say I do a lot of talking, I’d really rather write. You see, when I speak I sometimes stumble over my words or say something incorrectly or don’t say what I mean. I occasionally even regret what I’ve said. And herein lies the difference between writing and speaking.  No matter how I try to correct the situation, whoever hears my incorrect, awkward, stumbled-over, or offensive words may remember them despite my correction or apology.  When I write, that isn’t the case. When I write, I may make all those same mistakes. In fact, more often than not, as I write, I do, indeed, make those same mistakes. I might use the wrong words. My sentences might not say what I mean. My phrases might be awkward. I might even regret what I wrote. However, almost without exception I get to correct those mistakes before anyone else sees them or before they affect anyone in an unintentionally negative manner.

You see, when I write, even if at first I use the wrong word, I get to find just the right word. And if I don’t find the right word the first or second time I edit my piece, I might find it the third or fourth or even the 40th time. I get to move my words around, this one here and that one there, until they all work together in a tight, strong, efficient sentence with impact. I get to decide which words stay and which words go in every phrase and in every sentence until I have paragraphs and a complete written piece. I get to think about all those words before they go out into the world for others to see. I get to choose them carefully with lots of forethought and care and with long and hard consideration for how they will be received. And I, therefore, rarely regret the written words I use.

When I write, I may find that my first draft actually doesn’t even come close to meaning what I intended it to mean. I may get way off point. I may confuse the issue. I may simply not make sense. Then, I get to rewrite, revise and edit until the essay or article or book not only carries forth my desired meaning but offers broader perspectives as well. I get to write more and better, as well as longer or shorter or differently, until what I’ve written communicates exactly what I mean – and more. To my amazement, I may even discover that I mean something in addition to what I meant originally, and that something usually comes from deep within me, from a place of knowing that I’m not sure how I access. I only know that the writing process takes me there and unlocks the door, releasing my wisdom onto the written page. At those times, when I go back and read what I’ve written I’m not even sure the words are mine, and I feel a sense of awe for the writing process itself. It seems that as I pore over each sentence and each word to ensure that it speaks my truth as clearly as possible, a miraculous thing truly happens.

As for those awkward phrases, when I write, I get to smooth them over during my editing and rewriting. I get to craft them into wonderfully-flowing groups of words that know just how to dance together gracefully and in time with the music of whatever type of piece I’m writing. I can go back again and again to read what I’ve written and to perfect it, like a dance teacher working with a protégé before a big performance (again and again and again until the deadline arrives…). I can remove a word here, move a phrase there, change a passive verb to an active one, peruse the thesaurus for a better word, and add just the perfect missing sentence. I practice until the technique is perfect, the timing just so, the feeling imbedded in the very structure of the piece. Then, I confidently send my finished piece of writing onto the stage – out for publication – knowing that it will perform just as rehearsed, like an expert dancer that not only knows the dance but has become the dance.

Now, despite all this effort on my part, someone might still feel the need to point out that I could have used a comma after that one particular phrase or really should have thought about cutting that last sentence (the one that I added because it was the perfect missing one). And they might even be correct, but after 26+ years as a professional writer I’m used to those types of corrections, and I don’t often get too flustered, bothered or feel regret about what I’ve written after my work has been published. And honestly, I prefer wondering if I should have made those editorial changes or if anyone noticed the need for a comma in my last published piece over lying in bed at night after a speaking engagement and obsessively replaying the words I spoke in my head while thinking, “Oh, how I wish I hadn’t said that!”

If to accomplish my goal of getting a nonfiction book published I must leave the solitary craft I love to do something totally different than writing – to speak to large groups of people, why can’t I do it in a way that resembles what I love and what I do best? Why can’t I carefully and thoughtfully write my talks like I write my articles, essays and books? Then I could get up and read my words just as I’ve put them on paper, and I’d be a confident, well-spoken expert with that required platform. I’d remain a writer – not become a speaker, and I’d be happy to speak – well, read – whenever asked to do so. Well, maybe not whenever asked…unless, of course, they wouldn’t mind if I showed up in my sweat pants and sweat shirt with no make up.

Back to the topic of building platform, your goal as a nonfiction writer needs to revolve around becoming the expert on your subject matter. By that I mean that the media needs to see you as an expert. Actually, you don’t just want to be seen as an expert; you want to become THE EXPERT. This needs to happen not just before you write your book, but while you write your book and long after you get your book published (not just for that three-month publicity window you have heard about). You need to become the “go-to guy or gal” for your subject matter from this moment on into eternity. Whenever your subject ends up in the news, you want the media to immediately think of you as the source for information on this subject as well as for great quotes and interviews for their stories.

I spend a lot of my time promoting myself as the expert on practical spirituality, human potential and personal growth from a Jewish perspective. However, I am by no mean THE EXPERT yet. I do this in a variety of ways, including sending out news and press releases that end up in front of the media. One way I do this is through my subscription to ExpertClick.com and the Yearbook of Experts. There I’m actually listed as an expert on my subject matter (as well as in 39 categories). Because of this, I’ve been contacted three times by The Star, once by a regional magazine, once by a podcaster who interviewed me and then signed me up as her monthly holiday and spirituality expert (Conversations with Mrs. Claus is listened to by 85,000 people in 90 different countries each month), and once by a radio show that interviewed me and ran the two radio spots on their news show. I have a small niche, but the media can find me, on this website I’m perceived as an expert. (If you are interested in a subscription, see my discount link below!)

How do you become the expert in your field? Writing a book and getting it published helps, but it’s not the be all and end all to becoming an expert. So, I asked Mitchell Davis, the publisher of the Yearbook of Experts, to write a blog for Write Nonfiction in November offering writers tips on how to develop expert credentials. PR Week called the Yearbook “a dating service of PR.” The following represents his top 10 tips for accomplishing this task and helping you build a really strong platform from which you won’t have to shout, “I’m the expert!” Hopefully, if you take his advice, this fact will be obvious to everyone.

Top 10 Ways to Establish Your Expert Credentials

By Mitchell Davis

Publisher of The Yearbook of Experts

Editor of Broadcast Interview Source, Inc.

1. Figure out your “needle-in-the-haystack” uniqueness. Use those phrases as your meta-tags, on your Web site, in your “elevator speech.” It should be two or three word and put it everywhere — from your business cards to your vanity license plate. Use WordTracker.com and KWMap.com. Watch my videos at www.WebHandbook.com to learn how. — Says Mitchell Davis from www.ExpertClick.com — who has published the Yearbook of Experts since 1984.
2. Give face time. Make sure people know and see your photo. Do you have an “official” current photo? Have you plastered it as many places as possible? I was flabbergasted at a recent association board meeting when it was asked if you should have your photo on your Web site. You are the brand: People have to know who you are. (GlamourShots.com will even do your hair!)
3. Use Skip’s 20-20 media rule. First, make a list of your best 20 revenue customers. Then, figure out which media outlets they follow. Make up a list of the 20 editors or journalists that most influence your 20 money makers. Create a media tip list for those 20 journalists: On an IRREGULAR basis, only when you have ideas or things you know they want, sent it to them. Don’t fall into the trap I saw when I interned at the Larry King Show decades ago. I asked the producer why he was throwing away some of mail unopened, and he said: “I’ve seen stuff with that return address before and it wasn’t interesting.” Send out good ideas, not just about you, but as a “cub reporter” for your list. (Thanks to Skip Weitzen, author of “HyperGrowth,” for his added advice here.)
4. Don’t just donate time, stake out a leadership position. At an association that can benefit from your participation, you’ll meet and help others. I’ve volunteered at International Platform Association and will be part of its 2009 Washington, D.C., conference.
5. Publish a bio. Make sure it comes up #1 at Google when your name is searched. Make sure when people “Google” you they see your bio and your accomplishments first. Remember this is very different than #1 where you are creating a “search phrase” so that people who don’t know your name can find you.
6. Be seen and travel. Take clients, current and former, as well as prospects to dinner. You can listen to what they want, and learn how you can serve them. Even if people cannot make the event, they are pleased they were invited. One on one, the ideas can flow over a bottle of wine. One dinner at the Rainbow Room in New York this year has resulted in so much referral business I can’t believe it. This is just #2 “face time” in person.
7. Speak? Train? Consult? Coach? You’ve bottled a lot of information and experience over the years. Are you re-packaging it? Sure that “book as a credential” is what everyone says you need, and that’s a great welcome token, give-away or deal sweetener. I’ve left it off this list, for I don’t think “having a book makes you an expert.” You have to be an expert before you are able to author the book. A book is a fancy business card, as most people never get past the dust jacket. Want to hire a great dust jacket person and write four chapters? Then, be very careful which chapter you run first, for consultants have to listen and come up with the solution. Speakers offer a great overview and insights but often are not responsible for client success. Trainers help you with defined problems and offer programs, and coaches seem caught in a time warp of pay, based on time not success. What are you selling? Solutions, ideas, driving lessons or therapy? If you have a book, it should start conversations which end in conversions and business for you.
8. The news media is now everyone who can find you on the Web. Are your ideas being “broadcast” so more people find you? Are you creating new ideas, and moving forward and bringing those who search on problems to find your solutions? Please read that once more: People know their problems; they don’t know your solutions. That’s the commonality, and why a campaign we’ve run for a year on the phrase “disgruntled employees” that was based on an Alan Weiss news release headline — “Creating Loyal Employees” — has had thousands of click-throughs. Have you made a list of your clients’ problems? The blogs, comments and news releases you push via our system, reach the media, the Internet, syndication – and, most importantly, your buyers, the public that search the Internet.
9. Have testimonials available and check them. What do people say about you on “the street”? Find out by asking around. Yes, have those mystery shoppers call your business, and report if someone trying to book you for a speech can — ask them to call speaker bureaus and ask about you. Search the Web. What information do they get? What kind of follow up?
10. Get inbound links to your URL: ExpertClick.com has 48,000. Test your count by entering “links: and your URL” into Google. Try it with both the “www” and without. Ask for text links with your special words in them. Ask for links from sites that have better rankings than you have; search Alexa.com or DMOZ.org to find them. Get and read the new Bruce Clay Search Engine book. I spent thousands to earn Clay’s SEO training certificate. For $27, you can buy their new book, due out in November. I’ll be blogging about it, once my copy arrives. Read the back issues right now at http://searchoptimizationnews.com/
11. Maybe if you have a great idea, I’ll add it as #11 and give you credit and a link.

About Mitchell Davis

Mitchell P. Davis has been helping connect journalists and experts since 1984, when he published his first directory, the Talk Show Guest Directory. Today, his Yearbook of Experts, Authorities and Spokespersons is the “brand” for those in the media seeking swift contact with experts on an extraordinary range of topics. The Yearbook of Experts is so influential, Davis was invited to be on the International Advisory Board of the National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts.

Davis is a 1984 graduate of Georgetown University, where he won the prestigious Bunn Award for Journalistic Excellence. He holds a B.S.B.A. from the Business School, chosen over his first major of history.

Frequently invited to speak on the synergism of ExpertClick, Davis addresses the best ways to become an expert, his marketing theories of always reaching for best target, about the way the news media pyramid works, and how to maximize results of a news release with a “top twenty” relationship list. Davis often advises clients on getting maximum return on even a single news release. Davis travels extensively attending a variety of trade shows in many industries where he’s found a wide variety of experts from shows as diverse as the World Futurists Show to the Search Engine Optimization show, and Speakers to Coaches to Consultants.

Mitchell Davis
Broadcast Interview Source, Inc.
Washington, DC
202-333-4904

Save $100 on getting listed at www.ExpertClick.com and in the Yearbook of Experts when you click from my discount link:

https://www.ExpertClick.com/Discount/Nina_Amir

Welcome to the first day of Write Nonfiction in November! The title of this blog post reminds me of all those timed tests I took in high school.  I hated taking those tests, but hopefully you won’t hate the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge. It’s supposed to be fun, educational and productive all at the same time. I love it, because it forces me to stop procrastinating and actually start and finish a project in just 30 days – something I don’t normally do. (More often than not I either don’t start at all or I start and don’t finish.)

Plus, this year, as I promised, I’ve got some great guest bloggers joining me, so I’ll be learning some new things along with you. Last year I did a massive brain dump and offered up as much nonfiction writing advice and information as I could think of at the time. I still have a bit more in my head to share this year, but it will be nice for me to read what other writing and publishing experts have to say and to gain some new tips from them. Plus, even I can get tired of reading my own writing – or listening to myself speak, as they say.

On that note, I thought I should start off with a bit of a bang and broach a topic that may have brought some readers here to begin with: writing for pay or for free. (If you don’t know what I’m speaking about, check out the post titled “Forced to Blog Before November.”) I did mention that everything that needed to be said about the subject had been said already in the post titled “To Blog for Free or Not to Blog for Free, That’s the Question,” but I really said that in reference only to getting paid to guest blog. And guest blogging seems to be a different animal all together. So, let me tell you what I think about writing for free or for pay when it comes to other types of writing.

Going back to my early beginnings as a writer, or would-be writer, while I was in high school and in college I often wrote for local publications for free. Why? I’m sure you can guess the answer: to obtain those coveted bylines or published clips that would one day get me paying assignments and, hopefully, a full-time job when I graduated from college. Yes, indeed, in the world of journalism, a newbie writer does sometimes (not always) find herself choosing (if not forced) to write for free to show she can write well enough to get a paid gig.

While in college, however, I had a lovely professor named John Keats (not THE John Keats, mind you, although this one wrote some best sellers), who taught me never to write anything unless I knew in advance I was getting paid for it. In other words, always send out a query letter; never write the article first. Always send out a book proposal; never write the nonfiction book first. For many, many, many years I headed his advice. I also didn’t make a lot of money as a freelance journalist. Till this day, however, I won’t write a reported article without a contract from a publication telling me I will get paid for that work.

Yes, it’s true (despite what some might think). I firmly believe that if a writer wants to take on a reported article or a nonfiction book, they should, in fact, know in advance they are getting paid for that work. Why bother going to all the trouble unless you know you will make some money?

The clips I accumulated – both paid and unpaid – helped me land full-time editorial positions on regional magazines right out of college. They also helped me get freelance writing assignments that did pay. However, later on I wanted to branch out into essays, and I found it much harder to land assignments with a query letter. So, I began simply writing the essays and sending them out with a cover letter. I admit it; I did the work and did not know I would get paid for it. This resulted in many more paychecks showing up in the mail. I learned from this experience that it is easier to sell essays when completely written – at least when a publication doesn’t yet know you or your style as a writer. These days, several e-zines, for instance, accept my essay ideas and agree to pay me for them prior to me writing them. When I approach a new magazine or e-zine, though, I still write the whole essay first and risk the rejection, which means no pay for my time and effort.

As I became interested in writing nonfiction books, I soon learned that I needed a “platform” before a publishing house of any size would even consider publishing my work. A platform comes down to how well known you are and how this affects your ability to publicize and market your book. In other words, how easily can you help sell copies of your book once it is published via your mailing list, web site, blog, talks, classes and teleseminars, connections, partnerships, etc.? (We’ll be talking a lot about platform building this month…) I began working on building my platform. The easiest way to do so seemed to be on the Internet by placing articles in e-zines and Internet article directories. This drives traffic to your web site and gives you exposure on line, which results, hopefully, in great Google ranking and increased contacts on your mailing list.

However, while a few e-zines, magazines published on line, do pay writers, many do not. And, as we know, many bloggers are looking for content but won’t pay. The way to get exposure for you as a writer and earn expert status (part of building platform) comes in writing articles – for free – and placing them – at a cost to yourself – in article directories that make them available to anyone who wants them. (For more information on this topic, see my booklet Using the Internet to Build Your PLATFORM One Article at a Time.) Right…They don’t pay you; you pay them. In fact, there are many services that will distribute your articles for you at a cost to you just so that maybe someone somewhere will print it and give you some free publicity. (You may think I’m crazy now, but just wait. You’ll hear more about this from some of the experts who will be blogging here later in the month.)

Of course, then comes blogging. If you think bloggers only blog for fun, think again. Blogging provides great publicity for aspiring authors and writers of all sorts. If you blog a lot, that’s a ton of content for the bots and crawlers (or whatever they are called) to discover, which moves you up in the Google rankings. And that’s what you want. Plus, whole books have been blogged and then discovered by agents and published. And a blog serves as proof that you can write even if you have no published clips. And providing guest blogs exposes you to someone else’s readership, which, in turn, hopefully sends them to your blog (and gets them to sign up for your mailing list, etc.).

But if you think the majority of bloggers – let’s be more specific and say the majority of average writers who blog – get paid for what they do, think some more. The average writer, like me and you, blogs because in this day and age you have to have a website and a blog. It’s part of the publicity you need on the Internet. Period. (Now, if you have enough readers, you could include ads on your blog. If you are lucky and people click on them, you could make some money. But you won’t be getting paid for your writing.)

So, do I believe in writing for pay. By all means, yes, I do. I make my living as a writer and as an editor. I want to get paid for what I write just as much as the next guy or gal, and I want to get paid well. Do I sometimes write for free – and encourage others to write for free? Again, yes, I do. In some cases, writing for free remains a necessary evil, especially in today’s publishing atmosphere.

Okay. That should rouse a few feathers and maybe a few comments. Tomorrow I’ll let one of my guest bloggers have a turn. In the meantime, happy writing. I’m off to figure out what I’m writing during Write Nonfiction in November…booklet or book. I still can’t decide. I want to be sure to finish what I start!

Okay, so this blog isn’t really about nonfiction writing. It’s about speaking – speaking about what you write as a means of promoting yourself and your writing projects (books). I’m choosing this topic for one reason: I recently discovered that I didn’t know enough about it, and I had to go searching for information. So, I’d like to share that information with you.

As I’ve mentioned before, we nonfiction writers need to develop a platform, and we do this by either writing enough, speaking enough, teaching enough, blogging enough – doing something enough so that lots of people either know who we are or we build a big enough mailing list that we are able to promote our books successfully. In other words, we can sell our books to all these people who know us or who are on our mailing list. Speaking represents one of the most common ways for writers to build their platforms.

I realize that some writers are reclusive and may not enjoy being around large groups of people, let alone getting up in front of them and speaking to them. I also realize that some writers – including me – would rather be writing than speaking.

Now, I do enjoy speaking and teaching, but I have sometimes felt a bit out of integrity when I’ve called myself a “speaker” or “teacher” since I know that what I really am is a “writer.” I simply speak about what I write. As speaker or teacher I’m supposed to be an “expert” on whatever I’m speaking about, yet I normally feel like I know just a little bit about my subject – just the little bit I wrote about. But I guess that’s must my “stuff.” Let’s move on…

Let me get back to the point of this blog: My agent keeps asking me how much money I want to earn from my speaking. I’ve been giving him a huge, pie-in-the-sky figure, but, in fact, until recently I’ve had no idea what I could actually earn speaking. I do speak here and there and as often as I can. Many times I speak for free, and because I speak on a “spiritual” topic I tend to speak in small churches and synagogues where the pay, when there is any, is pretty low. Sometimes I speak or teach at conferences, and then I’m lucky to get my expenses paid. I do most of this for the sake of promotion. When I realized that he thought I was a bit crazy or misled in my beliefs, I decided maybe I should actually find out what I could get paid to go out and speak.

I realized, however, that no one actually talks to writers about this. To discover anything about speaking, you have to treat yourself like a speaker and join a speakers bureau or the National Speakers Association (NSA), take a class on speaking or at least begin doing research on speaking. This begins to open the doors of information.

While I did not join any such group or class, I did begin doing research and I asked a friend if I could join her mastermind group, which consisted of four or five women who focused on sharing leads and information on speaking. Prior to the first meeting, I contacted one of the other women in the group who knew me and who I knew did a lot of speaking. I asked her what she thought I should be charging for my speaking services. I was shocked when she replied, “$1,500.”

“Do you think I can even ask this of a synagogue with a small budget?” I replied.

She said, “Your fee should be $1,500. If they can’t pay you that, see what they can pay you. Ask them what their budget is. If they can’t pay you that much, accept $500. That should be your minimum payment.”

Well, that was a starting point, I thought, although I was still reeling from the first amount.

I then contacted someone I had met once who was a member of the NSA. I asked her about speaking fees, and she sent me a chart that broke speaking payment down into levels. This was most helpful and gave me something concrete to work from when it came to seriously considering what to charge. I can’t share the whole chart, since it contained a copyright, but I can tell you that the levels ranged from beginning speakers, who were unpaid, to part-time speakers, who were paid $100-850, to non-professional speakers, who were paid $1,000-2,000, to professional, full-time speakers, who were paid $4,000-9,000, to celebrity and famous speakers, who were paid between $10,000 to $25,000+.

At this point, I still speak for free and for expenses on many occasions, because I am still trying to build my platform. I speak on a regular basis at a small church where I’m paid $125 – their standard fee. However, with every addition “gig” that I put on my list of recently speaking engagements, I know that I am moving closer and closer to being able to charge more. I have now set up my own desired speaking fee schedule, and while I am willing to work within most organizations’ budgets, I do plan on earning that $1,500 (or close to it) when I go out and speak in the not too distant future.

So, now you don’t have to wonder about what to charge as a speaker. You can transform yourself from a writer into a speaker with less questions and lack of information than I experienced.

Now, if you have a fear of speaking or need help with your public speaking ability, I suggest you join Toastmasters, a speaking class, NSA, or some other group that will support you. And go out and begin speaking. I found that the best way to get over my nerves and get better at speaking was, as the Nike ads says, to just do it. That same little church has a small congregation, and they asked me to come every few months and to speak on a different topic each time. I showed up, gave it my best shot, tried different things, and eventually began to feel comfortable and confident. Now, when I go to new places to speak, that same level of comfort and confidence tends to come with me. So, if nothing else, get some experience. And ask for feedback; people are happy to tell you how to improve on your presentation. Or, ask someone to video tape you while you speak. Watching the video afterwards provides a wonderful learning tool.

I promised to tell you about my writer’s identity crisis. I’m not sure that fiction writers suffer from this affliction, but I’m fairly sure that many nonfiction writers suffer along with me.

All indicators point to me being a writer, but some days I’m not sure that is who I am.

I have a literary agent – two actually, since my agent’s husband is also an agent. That must mean I’m a writer, right? Actually, I had three agents representing three book projects of mine at the Book Expo America this past year. So, I must be a writer.

I don’t have any books published by publishing houses, but I did have one book contract for about a year, but the book never was published. (That’s a long story not worth going into here…) I have several short books, or booklets, that I’ve self-published. So, I must be a writer.

As I’ve already shared, I have a degree in magazine journalism, and I’ve written for more than 40 different magazines, newsletters and newspapers. I’ve also written for a variety of e-zines, and I’ve had three essays published in three anthologies. So, I must be a writer.

I also work as a freelance non-fiction book editor and coach. I guess that makes me an editor more so than a writer, but it at least shows that I know something about writing. I’ve had several jobs as a magazine editor as well.

So, what’s the problem, you ask? It’s obvious that I’m a writer, you say? Why am I having an identity crisis? Because I spend about 75 percent of my time, if not more, peddling myself as an expert speaker and a teacher or writing news releases and press releases (free articles) and posting them on line or sending them out to the media promoting myself as an expert. These days, I spend very little time, if any writing articles for pay or writing books. (No wonder I wanted to start the Write Nonfiction in November challenge. I needed the challenge myself so I would actually WRITE something.)

Why? Because to become a published author – to have a publisher actually accept one of my book proposals and offer me a contract – I have to have a “platform.” No, not a wooden box or stage to stand on, but a speaking platform from which I can sell my books. I have to be perceived as the expert in my “field,” and I have to become well-known to many people. I have to be able to help market my books through “back of the room sales” at lectures, workshops and talks that are attended by hundreds, if not thousands, of attendees. I have to become a regular guest on radio and television talk shows, so I get lots of media exposure and can tell lots of people about my book. I have to be featured in national magazines or in magazines that pertain to my field of expertise. I have to find creative ways to build a big mailing list or e-mail list to which I can market my book, thus helping sell them over time.

If you still harbor the belief that a publishing house will market and publicize your book for you, think again. While they might do so on a small scale, in today’s publishing world, this job has fallen onto the nonfiction writer’s shoulders.

Today’s publishing environment demands that we nonfiction writers become expert marketers and publicists — of ourselves and of our books. If we can’t prove to publishing houses that we can wear these hats as well as our writer’s hats, we can kiss our dreams of that publishing contract goodbye. (Here’s where some of us might want to consider moving over to the fiction side of writing, where none of this platform business applies…)

So, am I a writer or am a marketing and publicity pro? Am I a writer or an expert speaker and media source? Am I a writer or a PR wiz? Mostly these days, I’m the latter in all cases. And that doesn’t leave me feeling much like a writer.

But…I am determined to be a writer. A nonfiction writer. I set out to help people through my writing, and my writing serves no one if it goes unread. Therefore, I will write, and I will publish. Where once I said I would never self-publish (although I have on a small scale), I will if necessary.

There are so many publishing avenues available to writers today, no reason exists for us to wait around for someone to tell us we’ve proven we can be something other than a writer so they’ll publish our work. Our writing should speak for itself and be published on its own merits. I, for one, am tired of waiting around for someone to decide that my platform is big enough rather than that my book idea or my writing is good enough. I’m tired of being told to be someone I’m not. I’m off to write…because writer’s write. Surely in the process my identity crisis will come to an end, and I’ll feel like a writer once again. I’ll remember who I am — a nonfiction writer.