I read an article on a website I use to find paying specfic markets. I don't normally read the articles (I tend to get most of my advice on publishing from, well, AW), but this caught my eye. It was about the author bio, and it included quotes from a couple editors. One of the editors said that they want people who submit to have a website, a blog, social media, something. They want authors with "platforms." Authors who can connect with their readers. Now, I take this editor's input with a giant block of salt, because they pay a flat rate of $10 for submission calls that are so specific you'd have to write just for this market and they played the "Do you dream of seeing your book in print" card on a writing contest they hosted. But I'm still concerned that other editors might be having these thoughts.
So my question is... do I need to have a platform? Really? To submit a short story? There are reasons I'm not active on social media. It took me long enough to get comfortable posting on AW, which is strictly moderated for trolls and people being rude. I have a Twitter and a Tumblr, but I don't use them, because the possibility of something getting grabbed by hateful people who will just try to chase me off the internet scares me to death. I can see why it might be helpful, especially in an e-zine that can link directly to that website/social media/blog. But do you actually need it? Will I really lose out on publication because I don't post?
ETA: My remarks about the market's payment are not meant to suggest that token-paying markets are invalid, only that this particular market seems to ask for a great deal while offering fairly little, which makes me question whether what they're asking is fair and reasonable--or in this case, even necessary. They also offered a book contract and "free edit of novel up to 50,000 words" as the grand prize for their contest, which... I'll let that speak for itself, actually. The point is, I would question submitting to this market based on what they ask for, so in turn I question them asking for more.
So my question is... do I need to have a platform? Really? To submit a short story? There are reasons I'm not active on social media. It took me long enough to get comfortable posting on AW, which is strictly moderated for trolls and people being rude. I have a Twitter and a Tumblr, but I don't use them, because the possibility of something getting grabbed by hateful people who will just try to chase me off the internet scares me to death. I can see why it might be helpful, especially in an e-zine that can link directly to that website/social media/blog. But do you actually need it? Will I really lose out on publication because I don't post?
ETA: My remarks about the market's payment are not meant to suggest that token-paying markets are invalid, only that this particular market seems to ask for a great deal while offering fairly little, which makes me question whether what they're asking is fair and reasonable--or in this case, even necessary. They also offered a book contract and "free edit of novel up to 50,000 words" as the grand prize for their contest, which... I'll let that speak for itself, actually. The point is, I would question submitting to this market based on what they ask for, so in turn I question them asking for more.
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