Top Ten Tips to Build Your Presence as a Writer
Matthew Gurteen
According to recent statistics, over two million books are published around the world every year. Making your voice heard in this ocean of authors can often feel impossible. This feeling is why it is essential to build your presence as a writer, either online or in-person. In this article, we will give you our top ten tips to build your presence as a writer, so you are publishing best-selling novels, short stories, or poetry in no time.
1. Submit to magazines and journals
This first point may seem obvious to many of you, but the best way to build your presence as a writer is to write! Not only that, but submitting your short ideas and poetry to literary journals and magazines is a great way to get your name out there and gain knowledge of the publishing industry. Getting your work published, no matter the size of the publication, builds your reputation and presence as a great writer and storyteller.
2. Create a website
Once you have published your work in literary magazines and journals – or even before – it is a good idea to build a website. Doing so will allow you to link all of your work and contact information in one convenient location. Creating a website will also make your name searchable online, building your virtual presence as a writer. There are many helpful tools online to aid you in creating a website. It doesn’t have to be complicated, so long as people can find you!
3. Brush up on social media
Similar to creating a website, building and utilising social media accounts is vital to any writer looking to make their voice heard in the modern world. Many beginner writers are attached to the romantic idea of sitting in their office scribbling. In truth, social media is a large part of building your presence as a writer. Consider brushing up on sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok to engage your audience and promote your work.
4. Keep up to date with recent trends
Part of using social media and building your presence as a writer is to remain informed of any recent trends. These may be simple things, like writing challenges and memes. It could also mean trends within literature as a whole, however, such as the call for representation in work and more inclusive characters. Keeping up to date with these developments will quickly make you a recognisable name and someone to watch, building your presence as a writer.
5. Build a relationship with your audience
Also key to using social media, creating a website, and building your presence as a writer is to engage and build a relationship with your audience. Your audience must always be in the back of your mind when you post or publish something. Anyone can make a social media account. Building a unique relationship with your readers takes time and effort. Achieving it, however, also builds your presence as a writer as you have a loyal and devoted audience who are eager to read more.
6. Create anticipation for future projects
Once you have built a relationship with your audience, you should start promoting your future projects. This promotion may involve teasing your next significant work or creating anticipation for a future collaboration or publication. Whatever it is, creating this anticipation also builds your presence as a writer as your readers will share their eagerness with others.
7. Consider self-publishing
Ultimately, traditional publishing can be challenging. If you are struggling to get any work out there, you should maybe consider self-publishing. Doing so will build your presence as a writer in the same way as the first tip. You will have a body of work you can link on your website and social media accounts. Self-publishing will also help you build that devoted fanbase.
8. Attend workshops and courses
Another great way to build your presence as a writer is to attend writing courses and other similar events. Doing so will, of course, improve your writing overall. It will also allow you to network with other authors or people in the publishing industry, however. Networking in this way allows for future collaborations. You can build your presence as a writer through other writers, and they, in turn, can do the same through you. If you haven’t considered them yet, we offer several creative writing courses on our website where you can do just that: https://creativewritingink.co.uk/courses/.
9. Teach, present your work, or give interviews
As well as attending courses, you can also give a course yourself! Doing so will allow you to network in the same way as the previous point. Additionally, reading at open mics and giving interviews to journalists will display your writing to a larger audience, growing those devoted readers, and building your presence as a writer, even if it is just on a local scale.
10. Remember why you are doing it
Our final tip may seem strange, but it is crucial to remember why you want to build your presence as a writer. You clearly have a passion for storytelling to wish to pursue authorship as a career. It is easy to get caught in the number of your social media followers or readers, however. Ultimately, your writing should always come first. If building your presence as a writer becomes a number’s game, your audience will quickly be able to tell, and you may find your efforts have been counterproductive.
Every author has to begin somewhere. If you follow these ten tips to build your presence as a writer, however, you will surely be publishing best-selling work soon.
