To be a successful writer, you have to first develop a “platform”. This is a publishing term for a loyal fan base that will buy just about anything you write. It only makes sense, in the way that cultivating regulars at a bar gives the owner a stable base to pay the mortgage from. What’s funny about it is that you have to have the “platform” before you are likely to publish a book. That’s why you see celebrity cookbooks and the like getting precedence over cookbooks from people who are professional chefs. Celebs always sell, at least at first.

Continue reading →