Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry “Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!”
(The epigraph for Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.)
Writers – especially
those who are just starting out – have to wear different hats and jump all
sorts of hurdles to get noticed. Unpublished
authors (oftentimes with not much more than just an idea for a book) are expected
to work on building a “platform” or “fan base” right from the beginning. It appears that an opportunity to “just write”
is wishful thinking. You have to promote
yourself. You have to “tweet your own
horn” whether you like it or not. Sad. On the other hand social media can be fun,
too. And it does present writers with
something invaluable: an instant connection with fellow writers, agents,
publishers, and readers.
So, to paraphrase
Fitzgerald:
Go start your own blog, connect on
Twitter;
To bounce super high do Facebook too,
Till they cry “Writer, gold-platformed,
high-scoring writer,
We must have you!”
Here’s a list of publishers you can follow and connect with on Twitter (the link was tweeted by Collin Kelley @CollinKelley):
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/52656-twitter-and-publishing-how-the-industry-is-faring-in-2012.html
Good luck!
Live for the Love of it,
The Happy Amateur
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