Wilkie Martin - Some Background to Books and Writing

About My Blog

I am looking for an agent for the first novel in a series based on my character Inspector Hobbes. While I do so, and alongside working on the next novel, I’m seeing what I can do to help the process by creating an author's platform. This blog is how we're building one as we build it, step by step. It includes the setups we're using and some problems we’ve encountered. It also covers some writing related thoughts and events. I hope it is useful.

My blog is aimed at writers who have written a novel or are in the process of writing one, and need some help in creating a web presence.


It includes all the instructions step by step. These might seem obvious to a dedicated blogger or to a techy but they are pitched at my level, so that if necessary I can follow them if I need to repeat the process.


I do have help with some of the more involved aspects (and sometimes I am taking it on trust that a step is worth taking), but we aim for all the instructions to be something I (and hopefully you) can follow.


We cover the following areas:


Creating an author's platform
In literature about getting published everything now mentions establishing an author's platform and says that it is never to early to start one, but what does it involve and how do you do it? I cover:


  • starting a blog and all the add-on bits that go with it (feedburner, widgets, gadgets, aggregators)
  • starting out with social networking (with facebook, twitter and delicious)
  • website
  • creating links between the above


Writing events

Any event where there is an opportunity to mingle with other writers and discuss writing is useful and if it offers the chance to read your own work doubly so. I'll be looking at those I attend or take part in:


  • writing events and festivals
  • workshops
  • competitions
  • writing groups


Other

Anything else that doesn't fit one of the other groups.




Writing tips
You never find out how other writers present their work and what settings they use, so in here is what I am doing.


  • Settings in MS Word