Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Now, you might think that building an author following is something you do  after  you have a book to promote.   However, most successful modern authors will tell you that building a fan base after you’ve written your book is, in many cases, far too late in the process. Mainly because, if you don't have what's called an  Author Platform , you have no-one to promote your books to and consequently no-one to buy them.   This is one of the reasons traditional publishers are loathe to sign new authors - because selling an unknown name is much harder than selling books to people who are familiar with an author's work. It's about  name recognition .   If a publisher knows that an author's name is familiar within a genre, they believe their marketing expenses will not be entirely wasted - because people generally buy books from names they already know.  The same is true for movies. Hollywood doesn’t make films based on bests...

Dear Fellow Writer, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)  is fast approaching. From November the first, you will be able to join the thousands of other writers who will try to create a novel in just 30 days. Your preparation for this grand event should start now. Don't leave it to the last minute! My book,  The Easy Way to Write a Novel That Sells , contains a detailed section on taking up the  NaNoWriMo challenge . Click on the cover for more info. Keep writing! Rob@easywaytowrite.com The Merits of Self-Publishing When I conducted an online survey in 2003, the vast majority of writers (around 80%) wanted information on how to get published by a traditional publisher: the majors, or  The Big Five , as they're sometimes called. In my most recent survey (2013) only one in five expressed a similar interest - roughly 20%. To me, this is a great sign.  At last authors are beginning to understand that their futures are not nec...

They say branding is all these days. Authors need a 'look' that helps their readers know when they've come across a particular writer's work. In the spirit of this advice - which you hear all the time these days - I decided to have all my fiction covers redesigned. You can see the result below. I'm pleased with the look - it's kinda dark, thriller-like and obviously makes the books appear connected. I hope you like them too. Keep Writing! Rob Parnell Your Success is My Concern