In the past few weeks, there has been a surge of interest in the topic of building a platform. Agent and industry blogs are buzzing about the importance of having a platform, but few are pointing to resources for authors. To help fill the gap, I'm starting a short series on platform building. I'll begin with a round-up of helpful links, then share tips on maintaining your platform, and focus on a few authors who are doing it right.

First off, what is an author platform? In its simplest sense, a platform is a public presence. This means you have, at the very least, a web site and an account on any of the major social networking sites. It used to be that book publishers would handle a fair bit of a book's marketing and the author's publicity, but these days the publishers expect you to do the lion's share yourself. In fact, most expect you to have a presence before you approach them with your manuscript. Yes, you need to have a platform before you have a book to promote.

It's more than the numbers

It is fairly easy to create a Twitter account and amass hundreds of followers, but publishers don't care about the numbers.

What they want to know is how many of those followers would pay for a copy of your book. As an author, you need to do some homework and educate yourself on the market for your book or work-in-progress. Know your genre, know the major publishers who specialize in that genre, and learn about the social networks that support your genre. Also, learn about groups that support genre authors. Romance Writers of America is a strong starting point for new authors (and you don't have to write only romance to join), and the SCWBI is wonderful for authors who focus on children's, middle grade, and YA novels.

Groups like our local Society of Southwestern Authors can be a strong resource for networking and making connections in the writing community, too. Seek out local resources, make connections, and learn from your connections. Get to know the libraries and booksellers in your town. Check to see if any local TV or radio stations have programs focusing on local arts and events. These shows may be tucked away on an early weekend slot, but they still reach an interested, motivated audience. These are all aspects of a successful author's platform. I could say a lot more on this, but rather than reinvent the wheel, I'm going to share a few recent articles on the topic. Use these as a starting point, and remember that it's never too early to start building your platform. Whether you're still outlining your manuscript, or have it polished and ready to query, start building your brand and don't neglect your platform.

Arielle Ford on starting to build your brand.

Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen on how to increase your public visibility.

Christina Katz with ten steps to build a marketing platform.

Joanna Pen with three quick steps to start your platform.

And, rounding out the top five, my overview of the social media options available to authors, with tips for self-promotion.

I'll be back to this topic later this week so watch this space, or follow the RSS or twitter feeds, and don't miss a part of the series. Your writing career will thank you.

Other articles in this series:

• Building Your Author's Platform, Part 1.5
• Dora Machado on Building an Author's Platform
• Georgia McBride on Platform Building for the "Pre-published" Author

Image: Building castles in Spain, a Creative Commons Attribution No-Derivative-Works (2.0) image from gibbons's photostream