Welcome to the first exclusive series of my fall curriculum, which I’m calling the Joy & Connection Marketing Plan! For the next 3-weeks, we will be digging into defining your creative identity. I encourage you to be intentional about your public identity as a writer:
How people know you.
How they understand your creative work.
People often refer to this as ‘author platform’ or an ‘author brand.’ In general, this is about having a presence in the world as a writer or creator.
Don’t hide in silence. This work is about understanding how to communicate with others, sharing what you write and why, as well as what drives you and inspires you as a writer.
Too often, people try to define an author platform as how many followers they have on social media, but that isn’t it at all. I’ve always said that your platform is about two things:
Communication.
Trust.
A lot of writers have a fear of being seen. This looks different for each of us, but some people fear being seen — as a writer — by those they know. They worry about judgement from those they care about, or fear that these people can’t see them outside of previously established roles at home and work. Others have a fear of being seen by readers, because they inherently think of them as “strangers.”
We are human — we all have a certain fear of the social risk that comes with putting our work and ourselves out there. So a lot of writers dismiss the idea of defining their identity until they have a book or product ready to promote. In my experience, this dismisses the “trust” side of the equation. How do you develop awareness and trust with someone, when they only speak with you when they have a specific product to promote? Is it possible? Of course! But for your writing and creative work, why don’t you give yourself the gift of time, and define your creative identity earlier, rather than later. And show up in people’s lives as a writer who cares deeply about certain themes or stories — a caring these readers may even share with you.
Today we are going to discuss how to identify your narratives — the things that define you as a writer or creator.
Watch the full video above, and there is an assignment at the end (and below) that you can share with me and my community in Chat. Let’s dig in…
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