How To Be A Writer: Five Ways To Build Your Platform and Promote Your Work
What Is a Platform?
Well that’s a fair question now isn’t it? Briefly stated, a writer’s platform is the writer’s ability to attract readers and promote their own work. Who is your fan base and how are you going to attract them to your writing? If you can answer that question and find a successful way to answer it, then you have a great writer’s platform.
With that as a definition, your first step then is to identify who your target audience is. The more focused you can be in defining your audience, the better your chance of reaching that audience. This is especially true for those who have written a book, or for those who write in a particular niche for magazines, columns for newspapers or a daily blog. Who are you trying to reach?
The first mistake most writers make when they are promoting their work is to use the shotgun approach. They toss their stuff out into the world hoping to attract a percentage of the seven billion inhabitants of Planet Earth. Quite frankly, the shotgun approach is a complete waste of time.
Ask yourself how you can reach the people you need to reach. Is your book or column about animal care? If so, you will design your platform completely differently than if your book or column were about quilt-making. Make sense?
Once you know who your target audience is, then you need to figure out how best to reach them. Where do they hang out? What websites are they most likely to frequent? What magazines do they read and what television shows do they watch? Would they be likely to attend a particular type of special event? Are they library users or do they hang with the Goth crowd downtown? Brainstorm and figure out where your audience is and then build your platform around that information.
Finally, once you know who your audience is and how to get in touch with them, it then becomes your job to get out there and meet them. As a writer, you are your own promotion firm. Gone are the days when writers simply had to find an agent or publisher and then sit back and collect royalty checks. Today most writers are part of that promotional process. If you do not have an agent or publisher then you are the entire promotional team. Get out there and promote!
Here are a few ideas to help you build that platform.
Create Your Own Website
If you have any visions of growing in your writing endeavors, then you really need a website. At the very least you need a blog. Put a professional face on your writing business and they shall come.
In today’s world, one cannot ignore the internet. Your potential customers are out there waiting for you, but the chances of them finding you without being online are slim.
There are many blog sites that will offer free blogs. Many website servers are inexpensive. Cost is not a factor, and the technical knowledge necessary to get a site up and running is minimal. I know because I have three blogs and a website and I know next to nothing about website construction.
My novel is one niche to follow
- The 1259 Shuttle from Yesterday to Today: William D. Holland: Amazon.com: Kindle Store
The 1259 Shuttle from Yesterday to Today: William D. Holland: Amazon.com: Kindle Store
Establish a Niche
If you have written a book then you have a niche. If not, then develop one. What are your passions? Are you crazy about gardening, or cooking, or automotive repairs? If so then go for it! Once you have established yourself as knowledgeable in your field, you will attract more and more readers. Keep building your niche and develop it online.
Will anyone take you seriously? Let me answer that question by saying every writer or expert in a field started out from zero and built upon it. Knowledge in a particular field is power, and writing excellent content based on that knowledge will pay you dividends.
Go online and find forums that are related to your niche. Become a part of the forum community and establish yourself that way. Remember that you are your promotion team. The more you intelligently promote the better.
Give Talks and Workshops on Your Niche
When I was teaching I was also coaching. I became fairly well-known in my area as a quality basketball and volleyball coach. Each summer I held sports camps for middle school players who wanted to improve their skills. I made good money doing so and I built a reputation by doing it.
What can you do? Can you give speeches at local sewing clubs, or give demonstrations at retirement homes? Brainstorm groups in your area that are related to your niche and then go meet them and share your expertise.
YouTube is a promotional bonanza
Post Book Trailers and Do Youtubes
The dream of every online promoter is to go viral on YouTube. Two minute videos that are viewed by hundreds of thousands are not unheard of, and it is all free advertising.
Do a video of you reading a passage from your book or an article that is related to your niche. Do a promotional video advertising a free book reading at your local library. Do a “how to” video showing how to bake a cake. Whatever your talent is, show it off!
Hold a Public Event
Hold a car wash for a local charity and network during the event. Schedule a book signing or hold a writers’ workshop free of charge. Don’t be afraid to work for free because this is advertising and promotion that will help you in the long run.
Get creative and think outside the box. There are millions of writers all doing the same thing. Find a way to be unique and people will notice.
Follow along on my blog for writers
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Tips, suggestions and discussions about writing
How are you doing with your own platform?
Odds and Ends
Sit down and brainstorm ways for you to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Brainstorm ways to get your face and your name out there and embedded in the minds of the buying public.
Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Go on high-traffic websites and blogs that are related to your niche and offer to do a guest post. At the very least, join forums and give your two-cents worth on your area of expertise.
Join Linkedin and start networking. Join professional organizations related to your niche and earn certificates that will support your claim of being an expert. Find out if there is a public television station in your area and be interviewed about your book or your field of knowledge. Do an interview on YouTube….heck, write your own interview using a fictitious name for the interviewer.
Do non-profit work for an organization that is related to your field, or become a board member for some group.
The only thing holding you back is lack of imagination. You must build that platform and then continue to add to it.
Best of luck to you as you begin the next chapter in your life as a writer.
2013 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)
Comments
Bill, I have to tell you that it was partly because of you that I thought long and hard in those early days on here with Hubpages what I wanted to write about and realized that I loved writing about what I knew (my family) and that is in part how my blog was born. So seriously thank you for always being so willing to share your thought here on how to better oneself as a writer, because this writer does totally value your opinion and has definitely prospered a bit from it!! :)
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Janine, you are the perfect example of writing about something that excites you. Your blog is a testament for the love you have for family, and that love shines in your writing. Thank you for being such a positive influence on HP.
Bill, thank you for this article, it is full of amazing ideas! Once I figure out what my niche is I will be sure to start incorporating the rest of these tips! Thank you so much for sharing!
this is so timely for me...as I have helped so many people market their services and products and when it comes to me..it is dead standstill. I got some really good ideas here and I definitely have a niche. So nice you take time to help us and give us such valuable information..I actually set up a board for writing and publishing on pinterest ..where all your hubs go.
I kind of consider Hub Pages to be my blog. What do you post on yours? How time-consuming is it to create one?
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Lisa, my pleasure. If I can be of any help to you, please let me know.....are you on Facebook? I'd be happy to sign you up for some HP writer's pages there.
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Carol, you are so nice...thank you. I have been meaning to do that for other writers and just haven't gotten around to it yet. Thanks for the reminder. You haven't marketed yourself? Isn't that funny? I know exactly what you mean. I'm the last person I help. LOL
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nybride, I have one blog on alcoholism and one on Simple Lifestyles....actually setting one up only takes fifteen minutes, and it is so simple I can do it....oh, and then there is my third blog about H.O.W., and that is on Facebook.....anyway, the amount of time spent there is up to you. I post one blog entry each day and that takes me about half an hour to write it and post it. :)
Bill, I'm late to the show but now that I'm in the theater, I'm hiding out in the back corner because I love what I'm seeing and experiencing in your hubs so much that the movie police will just have to come and remove me.
Just read the sample chapters of your novel and laughed my (blipped out of respect for the HubPages family rating) off!
You, my friend, put your money where your brain is, and I respect that very much! Thank you for the great advice. This hub is worth reading over a few times, and that's what I'm doing today. I also will be checking out the promotional cells that complement it. I especially love your line--"I am the advertising executive of my career." Well said, Bill, and an excellent example of an individual who savors accountability. The lessons gleaned in the baseball days of your youth, along with your father's strong guidance, serve you well in the autumn of your life, my friend.
Aloha from the Southern Palouse!
Joe
Do you have enough followers on your blogs to make it worth your time?
These are all great ideas. You can also mix them all together for better results: promote your blog on social media, promote your events on your blog, post your videos on social media and your blog, link to blog posts from your hubs . . . drop your "stuff" off wherever you can and link them all together. HP also has a button that you can put on your blog with your most recent hubs.
What's the deal with the dietary supplements for arthritic dogs? Did you want to see if we're paying attention? Because you know I'm a teacher's pet and always looking to get a sticker.
This is excellent advice, and I'm holding on to this one, actually printing out a hard copy to refer to. You have gained some valuable knowledge about how to promote yourself as a freelance writer. thanks for being willing to share it with all your HubPages friends! (By the way, three blogs and a website - color me impressed!)
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Nybride, I'm not sure how to answer that question. It's always worth my time to meet new people and network...but that doesn't mean it would be worth your time. :) I gain followers daily, and to me that's important, especially since I can write a blog and post it in half an hour. I'm in this for the long run, and I feel each new follower is part of my master plan. :)
This is a subject near and dear to my heart. It takes a long time to build a solid web presence, but it is worth it in the long run. I love Michael Hyatt's book "Platform." Amazing.
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Lizzy, you are exactly like the teacher's pets I had in school. LOL I hoped nobody would catch that....I couldn't figure out how to get rid of it so I left it and hoped nobody would see it....and then along came Lizzy and blew that hope right out of the water. :)
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Crystal....LOL....I'm trying to picture what color impressed is. :) You are a good person and I'm happy to have you as a follower. Good luck my new freelance friend.....not new friend....new freelance friend...get it? Oh never mind. :)
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April, you are right, it does take a long time. I think many writers don't realize that, or think fame will come quickly...this is a long process and every brick we lay on the foundation will make it that much stronger later on.
Thanks...I have not read that book but I will.
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Joe, I keep trying to remember your name and my old brain won't hold on to it. Keep signing Jo until I get it, okay?
As for the theater; there will always be a seat for you my friend. Hang out in the back all you want. I'll bring the popcorn.
If I can be of any help to you just holler. I believe in community and helping each other. If I have any knowledge that might help you I'm more than happy to do so.
Thank you my friend and have a great weekend.
Aloha,
bill
The sad part is there are just so many hours in a day. I have Hub Pages and a Facebook page for my writing and that's all I really have time to develop. I set up a few blogs a year or so ago but haven't been able to keep up with them. I'd like to see yours. You can email me the link if you can't post it here.
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Thanks! Have a great weekend.
I think this is excellent advice also. I am also having a difficulty with having enough time. Caring for the elderly, writing freelance for more income and just keeping up with the house are all time consuming. I had a webpage, but it was just too much work. I think I need to back upp and look at the big picture, then decide what is the best way to approach this problem. I am marking this hub for reference also. Thanks for pointing out a path of doable options.
Great hub. Some great and sound advice/ideas. A few I have not tried but will be doing so. Thank you!.
Once again, you offer great advice my friend! This is an area I need to work on. My writings are so all over the place, I need to concentrate on what I love the most. Actually, what I love is writing short stories and I've done very little of that. Guess I just found my direction, huh?
I know I've been fighting you on the website issue, but the way you explained it today, it makes perfect sense.
Thanx for the help! Again.....
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You are welcome, nybride, and the same to you.
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Thank you Dee and thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend.
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Pamela, I am in the process of doing that exact thing. I have too much going on and I need to back up and find a clear path. You worded it perfectly for me so thank you. :)
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Sha, I never felt like you were fighting me...maybe dragging your feet a bit. LOL You are welcome my dear friend. If I can be of any help, please reach out.
love,
bill
I always do! I'm not shy when it comes to asking questions!
Great advice. I am working on get my blog set up but just wish I had more time. I tend to pay more attention to my paying clients than to my own platform. That is pretty short-sighted, I realize.
I'm learning more and more about what it means to be a writer. Great hub!
You are truly my inspiration to keep trying harder at making it as a writer :) Thank you
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Sha, it's the only way to learn in my book. :) Gotta go read your new hub.
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Deb, it is such an easy trap to fall into. I know because I do it constantly. :) Thank you and have a great weekend in Iowa!
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Thank you vkwok. Best of luck to you and have a great weekend.
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shwethspace, what a nice thing to say. Thank you so much. Believe in yourself and work....you'll make it. :)
Hello again, billybuc. This is another useful Hub-page you've come up with. I asked my son-in-law last year about creating a website of my own and he went off to do some scratching about.
What he come up with was a freebie - with an option to expand into buying a more professional site - called webeden. He gave me a few pointers and left me to it. Steep learning curve that it was, I finally mastered it, building my historical site I titled 'Northworld Saga Site" up to several pages aside from the home page. Taking a different era of emigration from northern Europe into post-Roman Britain, I take you, the reader, through the background to the age of sagas. The site is completed with the page 'Sunset', that concludes the history of pre-Conquest Britain. Look up the site at: 'www.northworldsagasite.webeden.co.uk' and see for yourself.
I've had over fifteen hundred visitors since completion. Page two is my 'Bookshelf' and personal profile page to update readers on progress with the "RAVENFEAST" saga series. Enjoy the read.
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Alan, thanks for the visit. I will take a look at your website. Well done! 1500 visitors is nothing to sneeze at. :) Sounds to me like you caught on quickly, although I understand about that steep learning curve. Thanks for the link and I'll check it out now.
So my approach has a name...shotgun. Good to know. :-D Actually, just starting to write online has helped me narrow down what in the world I would want to focus on. Seeing who responds to what has been tremendously helpful already! This post has made me rethink my blog (which is even more shotgun than my Hubpages efforts) and given me a lot of ideas. Thanks, Bill---this was particularly helpful to me at the stage I'm currently in.
OK, that Youtube idea is phenomenal and I never thought of it. I could kick myself. I have read so many first chapters to classes over the years in an effort to get them interested, so they would read the rest on their own. Duh! I should have figured out myself to do the same thing on Youtube with my stuff. Bill, your a never ending source of good ideas. Thank you!
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Vix, I have that happen to me all the time. Someone will say something and I'll think "why in the hell didn't I think of that?" Duh indeed! LOL I'm glad you finally had it click. :) Have a great weekend and thank you.
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Lurana, glad this helped you. I have received so much help since I joined HP...now it's my turn to give back to the community. :) I have so many ideas flying around in my brain...some small and some holy cow ideas....and not enough time for them all. :) Sigh!
More excellent stuff Billy. I say you find it hard to sit still, your mind must be always working.
And it seems to work to on an very intelligent and informative level, with a hugh compassion for your fellow man.
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Highland, it's been that way since I was a little kid. I can't shut my brain down. All these ideas flashing through my mind and just not enough time. :) Thank you my friend and have a great weekend.
Some great ideas here Bill. I know you mentioned a few weeks back about establishing a website or blog and I know that at some point I will need to do this. I also like the YouTube video idea. I have plenty of video from my travels in Italy that I could and should be utilizing. Thanks as always for the helpful tips. Have a great weekend.
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Bill, when the time is right you will do it. You have the knowledge and the resources to make a great website and videos. I look forward to seeing them when you do.
Have a great weekend my friend, and thank you!
Very helpful suggestions, as usual! I still have to sit down and decide once and for all my "niche". Is there a "writing procrastinator's niche"? I might know a thing or two about that....Thanks for the great ideas. If I ever do get around to writing the novel, you have given me the map to successfully promoting it.
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LOL...Melissa, you could do the "Procrastinator's Guide," or "Procrastination For Dummies." It would be an instant success in this country.
Glad I can help my friend. Thanks and have a great weekend.
It is a pleasure to read these informative hubs which all serious writers need to read. Thanks for sharing these tips, my friend.
Have a wonderful weekend.
This is another great hub, helping other writers hone their skill. What a nice person you are! Thank you Bill..
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Shoot, Ruby, if you keep praising me I'm going to start believing it. :) Thank you and have a great weekend.
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Rajan, it is my pleasure to help other writers. Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and have a great weekend yourself.
I know of writers here in Singapore who hold poetry slams and it works for them. Great suggestions!
Thank you for sharing you valued experience.
These definitely will get the ball rolling. Hopefully the young in years and young at heart will stop and read this. Self promotion is a tool that is sometimes overlooked.
Thank you for sharing, Bill.
Have a lovely weekend.
Sending Angels your way :) ps
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Michelle, I love that idea. Poetry slams? I've never heard of them but now I'll have to do some research. Thank you.
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You are very welcome, Martin, and thank you my friend.
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PS, the rains are falling and it looks like a low-key weekend here in Olympia. The Farmer's Market is open so we are going down there at some point today when the rain isn't falling quite so hard. Springtime in Olympia!
Have a great weekend and thank you my friend.
Blessings and a hug winging their way to Florida
bill
Again, all, terrific material. I still have my feelers out and am working on them. One day it will happen...
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Deb, I love that last sentence....one day it will happen. Yes indeed, Deb, yes indeed!
Thanks for sharing some more great ideas, Bill. It is challenging to find time to do everything that would be helpful, but you've given me some great food for thought!
Bill,
What you say here is all true, and points all of us "newbies" into the right direction, but in the end, whatever happens ends up being what we put into it.
Like several others have already mentioned, there is just so many hours in the day, and not time to do all the things needed for self promotion.
I signed up for HUBpages to see how others perceived my skills to help me write better.
However, even though after reading some other stuff around here on HUBpages (not yours of course) I felt fairly confident that my excerpt was at least as good or better as far as word flow and mechanics.
But no one has made any commentary on it, and I don't know if they think it stinks or not.
I mean how can you make any changes to something unless you know something is wrong? Right?
Anyway, again thanks for your good advice.
EA
Absolutely right, Bill. Having a niche or specialty in a field is helpful indeed. My book is a self-help book, but I love to venture off into other areas of interest. I allow my creativity to randomly select topics that I just enjoy. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But as you mentioned, to build a platform, it's helpful to zero in on certain related topic. Good hub, sir. Voted up and interesting! :-)
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Alicia, the problem of time haunts us all. We can only do what we can do....we keep pecking away at our list and hopefully we get done what we need to get done. First and foremost, though, is to write!
Great hub . Nowadays if we are not online, we are no where!! Thanks for sharing. Voted up, useful and interesting.
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Empathetic, I didn't know you were from Montana. Where if I may ask?
Are you speaking about all of your hubs, that nobody comments? Or are you speaking about your writing abilities? I'll have to take a look, but I have before and I thought your writing was fine. Maybe you might want to join some writing forums where people critique your works. I can give you some sites if you are interested.
Thanks for your comment and have a great Sunday.
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Chinared no, there is nothing wrong with working on your creativity. How else would we grow as writers? I just think that over a long period of time, we have a better chance at success if we zero in on one topic in order to establish ourselves.
Thanks for a valid and interesting comment.
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Vellur, you are very welcome. I still struggle with the online presence thing, but I am getting better at accepting it and embracing it.
Bill,
No, I've had some comments on my stuff, maybe I'm just not provoking as much of a discussion as I should.
Part II of the obesity hub though I know is a little flat, as most of the info came from a technical paper I did for one of my nursing classes, and I probably didn't layman it down as much as I should have.
What I was talking about was the "Fateful Consequences" excerpt.
I may have to join a some of those writing forums or something, or email you private when I have time, but this excerpt is from about the last third of an over 500 page work I have in progress, and need to tighten up, so I was anxious to see what people in the world had to say about a small part of it.
BTW- I am in South Central MT, been here over 20 years, and like it. I have been to Olympia and used to live by the Cal/Ore/Neva corner as a kid, so this is pretty similar country.
Thanks for your time and again I am just amazed at your prolificness.
EA
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EA, you are welcome to write me an email any old time. I'm always happy to listen and offer suggestions if wanted. I love the part of Montana that you live in...a close drive to Yellowstone, yes? My favorite place on Earth.
Good luck and again, if I can help, I will be glad to do so.
Once again, this post was very helpful. Being aware of effective actions needed to establish myself as a writer and of tools to help me do this brings me closer to being a successful writer. I do have a blog. This is my second one because I am identifying my niche and it is more user friendly for me. Thank you for your input.
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sybol, it sounds to me like you are very aware of what you are doing and where you are heading. I love it!
Thank you for the visit and good luck to you.
Billy,
you are a wonderful teacher. You are helping me to develop myself as a writer.
So much valuable information for writers here, Bill, and no fee whatsoever. It's a pleasure to have made your acquaintance, my friend.
9:35pm Sunday 7 April 2013
Dear Billy,
Your article is wonderful. Thanks for sharing your precious thoughts
Sincerely,
Vivian
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Vinaya, that is music to my ears. If I am helping people then I am very happy. Thank you!
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drbj, it is a pleasure meeting you and getting to know you through your writings. Thank you and there is a fee of course....friendship, and I am paid daily.
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Vivian, it is my pleasure...truly. Thank you for visiting on a Sunday evening.
Your tips will surely help me to improve my writing skills.
Voted up Useful and Shared!
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rumanasaiyed, I am very happy to hear that. Best of luck to you.
Thank you billybuc for sharing such good tips, I am still trying to find out what people want in hubpages but yes your article come at the right time for me to point me in the right direction.
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lies, you are very welcome. Thanks for stopping by and I hope these tips help.
I have not written any books, but your advice about getting onto forums on line is great. It has been a good way for me to meet other people in the quilting world. I would imagine that would be great in promoting a book. Very useful suggestions Bill.
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Glimmer, I can see a quitting book in your future. You certainly know the subject matter. Next is to establish your credentials and place yourself in a position of knowledgeable expert. :) I predict the day will come. :)
Thank you for the suggestions and ideas on promoting your work. Will keep this one on file for later use. Hope you are enjoying a wonderful evening.
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Thank you Dianna. We are having a nice evening. Garden is planted and then a nice spring rain watered it for us. How accommodating of Nature. :)
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