How to Build an Author Platform Before Your Memoir Is Published
Most memoir writers assume the real work is the writing itself. And there is plenty to do in that regard: remembering, drafting, shaping your life into a story! But many writers miss something that needs to happen at the same time as the writing—creating an audience for your book. This article focuses on that task, showing you how to build an author platform before your memoir is published.
A writer came to me a while back with a finished manuscript—eighteen months of early mornings before work and weekends of missed evenings with friends. She was proud of it, and she should have been. “What do I do next,” she asked.
Start Building Your Audience Early
Had she come to me early in her memoir-writing project, I’d have told her to begin building her audience right away: a blog about her book’s central theme, maybe, or creating a social media presence related her story. Of course, her manuscript was the priority, but an audience takes as long to build as a book does to write—and those are the people who are going to receive your book and give it a home in the world.
Your audience, then, is a group of people who know you’re writing your book and are waiting to read it. They’re people who follow you somewhere on social media, open your emails, and will preorder your book the day it’s available.
If you’re hoping to publish traditionally, agents and editors will look at your audience as evidence that readers will actually buy your book. In fact, a robust platform is often what gets a memoir taken seriously, especially for a first-time author. If you’re planning to self-publish, the effect of an audience is even more direct: It’s the difference between a book that sells a handful of copies to family and friends and one with a wider reach—because those readers are already waiting for your book to come out.
How to Build an Author Platform Before Your Memoir Is Published
1. Speak about your theme: Your memoir has a central theme—perhaps grief, reinvention, addiction, faith, or walking away. Talk about that theme publicly while you’re drafting your memoir.
2. Start a blog: You need a place where the people who will eventually care about your book can find you and see what you have to say. (Take a look at my post on blogging and memoir writing.)
3. Pick a platform: Instagram, Substack, a Facebook group—any one of these might be a good fit for you to share ideas about your memoir theme or topic. What matters most is that you show up to a platform with consistency.
4. Share ideas your topic, not your manuscript, itself: You don’t have to share pages from your memoir to build an audience. Write about your subject, what you’re learning, noticing, and wrestling with. Keep your book private until it’s ready for publication.
5. Find communities interested in your topic: If your memoir is about caregiving, find caregivers online—in forums, Facebook groups, or by following hashtags.
6. Collect emails, not just followers
To build an email list, offer a bonus for signing up: a few pages from your book’s opening, an essay on your theme, even a short checklist based on your subject—something like “5 Things No One Tells You About Coming Home From Deployment” for a memoir about military service.
Invite people to join your email list from the same place every time. For instance, include a single line at the end of your posts, like “Want the first chapter when it’s ready? Join the list.” People need to see the offer more than once before they act on it.
Use a simple tool to collect and hold your list. Mailchimp and ConvertKit are both great. Then, actually write to folks on your list! Even a few lines every month or two—what you’re working on, a small update, a short story—keeps the relationship alive so that when the book is ready, they remember why they’re interested.
7. Tell stories: An audience is built from sharing small, relatable moments—memories, images, insights. Share these regularly so people start to recognize your voice.
8. Show yourself before the book is done: Building an audience may mean sharing before you feel ready. But audience-building doesn’t have to wait until you feel confident. In fact, it might help you develop confidence and your platform at the same time.
9. Talk with your early readers: Answer comments. Ask questions. The relationship that becomes an audience is built in the back-and-forth. Likewise, follow like-minded others and comment on their posts. Engagement builds community—and community = audience.
10. Track what resonates: Which posts get a real response—comments, replies, shared stories of your readers’ own? Those responses tell you what your readers are hungry for.
How to Build an Author Platform Before Your Memoir Is Published—Starting Today
One small step to take today: Write a paragraph about the theme at the heart of your memoir. Then share it where someone who might be interested in the same theme can find it: write a Facebook post, create a Notes app screenshot and share on Instagram, or write an email to five people you already know who’d care that you’re talking about this subject.
It’s a small step, but it will create the foundation of interest (and courage) that you’ll build your audience upon.
Could you use some support as you build your author platform before your memoir is published? I work with memoir writers at all stages of the process. Whether you’re just finding your way into your story or you have a complete draft, I can help.
Visit my contact page, and let’s connect.
Writing a memoir can be a deeply rewarding journey—but also a tricky one. This article offers guidance for shaping your story in a way that honors both your truth and your readers: “How to Write a Memoir.” If you’re interested in my approach to writing, you might also take a look at my books: Plotting Your Novel with the Plot Clock and Jamie Helps Mel Write a Novel.