Proposal w/no platform or marketing plan?

No, do the marketing section but focus on online venues and be upfront about the limitation. Honestly anonymity is likely to hurt your chances as commerical non-fiction depends pretty heavily on platform.

Your proposal is what agents will use to sell your book to publishers. I don't think you'll get very far without a marketing plan. I think you'll have better luck with a small platform if you're considered an expert in the field. I wouldn't leave it out, I'd put something in. It's worth the extra time, like bunny hugger says.

The whole idea behind writing nonfiction is being able to tell it in a way that cant be done by anyone else. This has to be explained in the proposal by explaining your platform which is how you are able to tell it differently, better or from a new angle.

You platform is the basis on which you can reach, hold and sway an audience, it may or may not include that you already have followers. It is the reason why a person would come across, attend to and pay for your advice (e.g. you are highly qualified, an expert, have years of experience, are a professional, have a proven track record or previous successful books, have crazy charisma, are a gorgeous celebrity, a page rank 5+ website)--quite separate from the value of the advice per se. A platform is anything that causes a readership to see, value and want to acquire the product in advance of actually knowing for sure if it will help them.

I am not sure how you could convince a publisher to invest funds into the actual publishing of a book if there is little hope that the author is investing something her/himself. I know that "authors write and publishers publish," but from what I understand, authors also have to market their finished products, as well.

Build a website and start a blog on your book's subject. It's a start. Without a platform, your only hope of getting published could be excellent writing skills!

Your platform / marketing plan (and I believe they go hand in hand) is your chance to show your potential agent / publisher that throwing money at you to write it is a good idea.

If you can't convince them that they can make money on it, they likely won't think you're going to be able to convince others to spend money on it.

The platform/marketing plan has likely driven some ho-hum (in comparison) books through to print when done well, and mired others on editor's desks.

Hope this makes sense - All the best and good luck!

IDGS

Hi, FruitBat,

I think you have a unique situation due to your subject. It's not uncommon for those who write erotic novels or books with a subject of sex to use a pen name. And sex sells on the topic alone. (Many decades of marketing studies prove this.

You absolutely need to know the books related to yours or competitors to your own book. Do these books rely on author platform?

I honestly think everything's a guess here (give the topic) until you talk to an editor or agent (assuming you're going that route).

One strategy would be to pitch your book to an editor or agent in person. The reason that this would be so beneficial is that you could actually ask the industry pro for feedback on platform after you pitch.

If you get a YES (yay!), say, "Great, I'll send it. Now I have a question about platform. What are your thoughts about...."

If you get a NO, you thank them, then ask if he/she minds if you ask a quick question.

Okay, let's talk venues for pitching, because that's kind of my thing. At Pitch University (www.pitch-university.com), I'm bringing in agents and editors, and it's all about learning and practicing with experts. We're a very new site, so you're VERY likely to get personal feedback.

In fact, Feb 27th, I'm bringing in Literary Agent Michael Larsen (of Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency), and he focuses on NF. Deep, deep, knowledge on the industry, as he's bee in it for decades.

You're welcome to pitch to him (follow our rules to create an audio or video pitch), but if you do, please email me (see contact page) privately. I honestly don't have a process yet for fielding pitches with adult content (or any content above a General Audience level).

But I'll figure out some way for you to participate, get feedback, and be able to ask all your questions. I may just need a disclaimer before your pitch link. Easy.

Hope this helped.

I would disagree. Erotic fiction uses pen names. Sexual non-fiction self-help is generally by named health professionals or other named experts.

Ah, "self help." You didn't say in your original post. I know personal stories are often told with pen names to protect the author.

Okay. So it sounds like your book is competing directly with books written by experts who have platforms, right?

I could be 'way off base here but I think a lot of it would deal with the voice of the book. If you try to sound like a MD or PhD with tons of seminars under your belt, it might be a difficult sell.

If you pitch it as "Momma Fruitbat's Wanksty Wisdom for Sexual Lonely-Hearts and Other Wallflowers" you wouldn't be competing with the psychologists, MD and other professionals. Your voice would intrigue the reader (agent, editor and chocolate bonbon eater), and it'd be fun to read too.

Ruth2, I think you found the next bestseller! And seriously. You worked "wanksty" into a title. There ought to be an award for this.

Fruitbat, Sounds like a really great book.

Here's the website for a couple women who got their book deal based on their blog. It's about partnering with your ex's new wife to raise your kids in a wonderful way. Everyone writes about how they hate their ex's new wife. This was a totally new approach.

http://www.noonesthebitch.com/

The whole thing took off on their blog, and they had followers from about the world, because no one was addressing this topic from the insider's POV (not the expert).

Of course they use their real names. There are examples of blogs using alias (and actually letting that be known). It becomes part of the "honesty."

Anyway, your topic sounds great, and I think woman-to-woman is a GREAT approach.

Fruitbat said:

...
It's the book I want to write, whatever the marketing considerations are. But still, of course I would like to do what I can do with it.

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This is a great attitude to have. I strongly feel that people should write about what matters to them, rather than picking a topic due to marketing considerations. I also agree with the advice to start a blog. A sexual advice blog might be very popular!

the bunny hugger said:

You platform is the basis on which you can reach, hold and sway an audience, it may or may not include that you already have followers. It is the reason why a person would come across, attend to and pay for your advice (e.g. you are highly qualified, an expert, have years of experience, are a professional, have a proven track record or previous successful books, have crazy charisma, are a gorgeous celebrity, a page rank 5+ website)--quite separate from the value of the advice per se. A platform is anything that causes a readership to see, value and want to acquire the product in advance of actually knowing for sure if it will help them.

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Wow, I think that's the best definition of a platform that I've ever seen!

Even though I give seminars, workshops and talks, my blog was what sold the book. I did a heavy platform and marketing section as I had to distinguish my books from others out there. I love going on Amazon and clicking on the books I wrote about in my competition section and then seeing mine come up as "readers who bought this also bought (my book)"

It would be great if you could share some of your strategies in your own thread!

susangpyp said:

Even though I give seminars, workshops and talks, my blog was what sold the book. I did a heavy platform and marketing section as I had to distinguish my books from others out there. I love going on Amazon and clicking on the books I wrote about in my competition section and then seeing mine come up as "readers who bought this also bought (my book)"

Click to expand...

This is excellent!