Before I was published, I had no idea how much of the promotion would be on my shoulders. I think I had a lot in common with other writers out there. Promotion wasn’t on my radar. I didn’t know what my brand was, or if I had a platform. What I knew was that I had stories to tell.

In the process of telling my stories, I can’t live in a vacuum. Sure, the story will be there, but professional development in the form of classes, critique groups, and professional memberships bring ideas for improvement. Those same avenues can help a beginning writer learn about brand, platform, promotion, and any other questions that come up.

One question a writer should ask: How do I want to be known?

This question takes you to a new thought process. It’s the start of everything else. If you want to be a children’s picture book author, yet your myspace page has indecent jokes all over it, you may need to rethink your image. On the other hand, if you want to sell erotica and your Facebook is covered with pictures of your two single-digit age children, you should address that disparity.

That isn’t to say you can’t have both worlds. Just that your professional image as an author needs to represent the part of you that your audience wants to connect with. It’s a little bit like a banker advertising he has a credit score of 2. Would you trust him? Would you invest your money in what he’s selling?

Take a look out there at authors you admire and aspire to be like. Do searches on them and see what comes up. Their pages are professional and deal with what they’re selling – books. (Or other products, but that happens when you take off, right?)