For readers:

• Alphabetical list of authors, you can also search the site for an author
• Alphabetical list of books, you can also search the site for a book
• Monthly contests
• List of books reviewed by 65 nationally broadcast radio and television programs, from the Colbert Report to This American Life
• Daily book reviews and author posts

fushigi yuugi forever

For authors, Fresh Fiction offers several promotion and advertising services, from managing your Web 2.0 presence, holding contests, inclusion of your author page on their website, and banner graphics to a spot in their newsletter which reaches 125,000 readers weekly.

Fresh Fiction is a website worth visiting on a regular basis. And if you want to help contribute to their incredible amount of content, check out the current open positions.

Elena Gilbert: Dear Diary, today will be different. It has to be. I will smile, and it will be believable. My smile will say, “I’m fine, thank you. Yes, I feel much better.” I will no longer be the sad little girl that lost her parents. I will start fresh, be someone new. It’s the only way I’ll make it through.
- Vampire Diaries, “Pilot”, 1.1

blue brings out your eyes

First you need a pitch to practice. A pitch consists of the 1-3 sentences that sum up your novel.

How do you sum up over 80,000 words?

With multiple attempts.

With practice.

With chocolate or cake or caffeine – whatever it takes to keep you working on that pitch.

The pitch for one of my novels has been refining itself for over a year. Another novel’s pitch came out in two weeks. It’s wacky that way.

Once you have a pitch, say it out loud. Pitch to your pets or your furniture. Say your pitch every time you walk through your kitchen or at every stop light.

At first, you’ll stumble over the words. Sometimes they just don’t come out; sometimes they jumble around in your mouth and then spill out in the wrong order.

Break your pitch down into each sentence and repeat it. If you’re still running into trouble, break your sentences down into phrases and repeat and repeat and repeat. Then string everything back together.

If there is a specific place that you always screw up, try some other words.

You should be able to pitch your manuscript as if you were talking to a friend about a book you loved and want them to read.

And be sure to do all this practicing earlier than the night before you meet your potential agent.

Willow: How can you be so calm?
Oz: Long, arduous hours of practice.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “The Freshman”, 4.1

you can

Even before you officially become involved with the publishing industry, it can only help you to act as if you were part of it. Treating everyone with professional courtesy shows you are serious about what you are doing and that you are someone existing professionals will want to do business with at some point.

This attitude of professionalism is important in person, and even more so online. Whether you are responding to an email, having a conversation in a public or private forum, or commenting on a blog or social networking site such as Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter – be courteous and polite. As many people as are taking part in the conversation, even more are watching it.

Every now and then there is a small implosion as an author rants publicly against an agent or editor. It never reflects well on the author and from what I have heard, is never forgotten by the agent or editor.

You don’t know who you are going to work with in the future. People often change jobs and sometimes even careers over the course of their lifetime. Someone you meet at the next conference or book signing could be someone that makes a difference in your writing career.

The only way you will know is to act like a professional and treat everyone with respect.

James Bond: Call it professional courtesy.
- GoldenEye

sky support

Back in the Offline Age, an author’s platform consisted of what media venues (radio, TV, print) the author could engage with to sell their book, because publishers were interested in book sales. 

In today’s Online Era, there is the expectation that you have a website, maybe even a blog and Twitter account. While those can be useful, there are other options that shouldn’t be ignored just because they don’t involve a computer.

An author’s platform is whatever you use to help sell your book because publishers are interested in book sales. See, some things never change.

Here are a few examples, although there are hundreds more …

• If you have a military background and write spy thrillers, you have a platform.
• If you get interviewed by the college radio station and do a book signing in the courtyard afterward, you have a platform.
• If your book trailer is on YouTube, you have a platform.
• If you have a Twitter account with hundreds of followers, you have a platform.
• If you have a CafePress store that sells swag with the emblem of the fictional university in your book, you have a platform.
• If you volunteer at a local charity where you talk with new people on a weekly basis, you have a platform.
• If you get your geek friend to set up a domain and install WordPress so you can have a website that gives out advice about your journey to becoming a New York Times Best Selling author, you have a platform.

Anything you do that increases awareness of your book is part of your author’s platform.

If you don’t have a book yet, then breathe easy because you’ve got time.

• Time to learn how to use Twitter
• Time to make new friends
• Time to write a blog
• Time to read about different types of social networking and decide which ones you want to use
• Time to create side stories and vignettes that can be posted on your website before and after your book release

Time to think about and act upon a plan to reach as many people as you can, so that when you do have a book, you have an audience.

Because that’s what an author’s platform is really all about – how many people will listen when you say “Come read my book”?

Jackie Wilcox: It’s gonna be the cornerstone of my campaign for class president. I’m running on a platform of moral, mental, and social advancement through good deeds. What do you think?
- Heroes, Season 1, “One Giant Leap”