When my wife read my blog post about the importance of platform and Google search ranking for writers, she replied, “It makes me sad. I wish platform/Google weren’t so paramount.” She spoke for legions of writers, I expect.

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“Why can’t I just write a good book?”

“I’m a writer, not a marketer. Why do I have to be both?”

“Isn’t the publisher supposed to do the marketing?”

These are legitimate expressions of frustration with how things usually work in publishing. The vast majority of proposals we (and, I expect, most reputable publishers) approve are indeed from writers who have built a platform. Somehow these authors manage both to write and to build a means of bringing exposure to their writing, and of course the two are not mutually exclusive (especially for bloggers).

Exceptions

But there are always exceptions. Years ago literary agent Chip MacGregor nailed it during a panel discussion at an Oregon Christian Writers Conference. He said, simply, most good books get published. He may well have been reflecting on the fact that he as an agent hasn’t had much difficulty finding publishing homes for good books.

In other words, take heart. If you write a really good book, you’ll likely find a publisher that is willing to publish it.

The three things publishers look for are influential platform, great concept, and amazing writing. Without a platform, you’re relying solely on concept and writing. And they have to be good not by your definition but by the definition of those who write the checks.

But it is possible to get published without a platform. If you work hard on your craft and emerge from the shadows with an amazing piece of artful prose, believe me, I want to see it. And I may well offer you a contract for it.

If this is what you’d like to do, please do. Really. Sometimes we publishing types emphasize platform at the expense of art, and that’s a mistake. So write. We look forward to seeing what you can do.

Platform As Shortcut

Having said that, before you write platform off completely, let me offer a perspective that might be different from others you’ve encountered. Many writers assume the whole platform thing is in their way. The temptation is to assume that if a publisher were to make a decision based on quality of writing alone, it would be a no-brainer. Of course they’d want to publish my book!

I can’t discount this attitude entirely. Again, sometimes a writer without a platform wins a publisher over. It happens, but it’s rare. Why? Because cultivating amazing writing talent is hard. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue it. You must. It goes without saying that writing quality is essential to any good book, to say nothing of a sustainable writing career.

But because writing well is hard, building a platform is not an obstacle. It is actually a shortcut. Not a shortcut to writing a great book, that will still take just as much time as ever. Building a platform is rather a shortcut to getting a book deal, and once you have a book deal, hopefully you’ll have more time and freedom and motivation to keep honing your writing craft.

As much work as it is to build a platform, in our day and age it likely takes less time to build a decent platform than it does to write an awesome book. This may not be true in all cases, but I suspect it’s true in most.

Two Paths

So if building a platform is just not for you, that’s okay. Write. Hone your craft. Hone it so well you write something we all would be fools to pass up.

But if working smarter not harder is of interest, consider starting or growing a blog. That way you can develop your writing talent as you build an audience.

Question: How do you manage the tension between honing your craft and platform building? You can leave a comment by clicking here.