Are platforms still a thing? Absolutely. If you want to publish traditionally, publishers and agents will want to know you have a built-in audience and have expertise in the topic you want to write about. Having an expanded platform is important for self-publishing writers and fiction writers too. It's a way to reach readers and be seen as the "authority" by your target audience. And fiction writers aren't off the hook either. But how can we build an author's platform and still be authentic? How can we do the work of platform development and still have time to write? In this episode, I'll share with you how I developed my platform before I published my first book and how it's evolved and grown since--especially when I played to my skills rather than trying to do it all. If I can do it, anyone can. Please, join our Simply Write community at https://simplywrite.substack.com for more about publishing, writing, and living the writer's life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices