This month I’m running a series [update: Intro; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4] on how the publishing process works and how you can successfully navigate each stage of the journey, with zero bewilderment and maximum fun.

And believe it or not, this first stage in the publishing process is the absolute most important. It’s really more like Step 0 than Step 1—if you don’t have this in place, chances are slim you’ll be able to embark on the rest of the stages.

I probably sound like a broken record on this (What? You’re telling me I need a platform?!), but it’s because it’s the #1 reason why I pass on projects and authors. And it was the #1 reason I passed on projects and authors when I was an editor. It’s not fun—trust us, we’d much rather say “Wow, look at this huge readership you already have! Let’s work together!” But all too often, that readership just isn’t there.

As Gary Keller and Jay Papasan write in their New York Times bestselling book The One Thing:

“‘Going small’ is ignoring all those things you could do and doing what you should do. It’s recognizing that not all things matter equally and finding the things that matter most. It’s a tighter way to connect what you do with what you want. It’s realizing that extraordinary results are directly determined by how narrow you can make your focus.

Building a platform is The One Thing for authors. If you have this in place, doors will suddenly open for you at every stage in the process: agents will be eager to represent you, editors will fight over you, marketing and publicity teams will allocate more of their budgets to you, buyers at bookstores and retailers will put their orders behind you, readers will countdown until your book release, mothers will ask you to kiss their babies, the mayor will give you keys to the city, and your cat will finally acknowledge you. Now, doesn’t that sound nice?

And all of that glory and cat-fame comes because The One Thing for agents is to sign authors who will launch bestselling books. And The One Thing for editors is to sign authors who will launch bestselling books. And The One Thing for marketing and publicity teams is to work on books that will be bestsellers. And The One Thing for buyers at retail accounts is to order the books that will be bestsellers. So ultimately? Everyone’s One Thing is to get a book to as many readers as possible. And this starts with the author.

Long gone (and really, good riddance!) to the days when it was the publisher’s job to find a book’s audience. This just doesn’t work—every book is different from the last, and it takes immersion in that particular tribe to understand how to reach it meaningfully and effectively.

The good news is: no one is keeping you from your readers. The bad news is: you don’t want to be the one who’s keeping you from your readers.

The 4 Questions You Should Be Able to Answer at This Stage:

• Who is your readership? How can you reach them consistently and helpfully?
• How many readers do you have access to?
• How engaged is your audience?
• What direct channels do you have in place to reach them?

When you feel good about the size and level of engagement of your platform, the next stage in the process is to find a Literary Agent and start working on your book proposal—I’ll cover this step next week!

If you’d like to follow along with this series, you can have the posts come directly to you by signing up in the scrollbox to the right.

Further Reading:

What is an author platform?
When is the right time to build a platform?
The 5 Most Important Numbers for Building Your Online Platform
What Does It Mean to Have an Engaged Audience, and Why Does It Matter?
When is My Platform Big Enough for a Book?
How to Measure How Engaged Your Readers Are
Why You Need the 80/20 Rule If You Want to Grow Your Platform