Building an Author Platform Before Publication (Or: How an Introvert Learned to Wave at Strangers on the Internet)

Finishing my first book (the one I actually want to publish, for now) took years. Years of dabbling, forgetting, surviving, reviving, and finally believing in myself enough to take the leap.

When I typed those last words? Absolute elation. I wanted to yell it to the world: I finished my novel!

(Albeit, it's not the book people keep asking me for. If you're waiting for my life story to hit the shelves, I'm afraid you'll have a very long wait.)

That elation simmered down fast. Because the moment I started searching for publishers and formatting my manuscript, I ran into a wall called "self-promotion." Many publishers openly state it right in their submission guidelines: You help promote your book. Maybe that's always been a thing. Maybe I'm just naive. Either way, it was not part of my plan.

The Introvert (Sorry, "Otrovert") Problem

Here's the thing: my entire life, I've been an introvert. Growing up Gen X, that came with a negative label. Not everything was coated in sugar. But I learned to break that shell, to be extroverted when I had to be. When I'm teaching, I'm the life of the party! My best friend needs someone to stand up and cheer for her? I’m her girl!

But it drains me completely. If you're an introvert, you know exactly what I mean. After a day of being "on," I wanted silence, the lights off, and a heavy blanket to recover.

Then I recently discovered a new personality type: the otrovert. Finally! A term that respects my boundaries and doesn't paint me as broken for having social limits.

When extroverts panic at seclusion and quarantine? I thrive in it. It energizes me. When people scramble for friendships or feel heartbroken over betrayals, I shrug and move on. The fewer you keep close, the better.

The Dread

Now loop back to the book. Promoting my novel.

The sheer dread.

This wasn't teaching. I didn't have lesson plans, years of experience, or all the answers. This was reaching out to complete strangers and asking them to like me. To want to be part of something I created.

Let's just say it's a learning curve.

If you're one of the labeled introverts out there, the phrase "I'd rather not" is your best friend. Party? I'd rather not. Drinks with colleagues? I'd rather not. Host dinner? I'd rather not. Give someone a ride? I'd rather not.

So, though I’d rather not, I went online. What do authors do to promote their books? How do they reach people? The information was mind-boggling. Did you know there's a BookTok? I hadn't been on TikTok in five years, and even then, it was minimal. (I'm still not sure where that old account went. If you find it, let me know.)

Rejection from publishers? I can handle that. Shrug it off and keep moving. But needing to constantly validate myself to an audience?

*Close your eyes, deep breaths.*

Baby Steps

This blog was where I started grappling with the reality of building myself as an author. Watching countless how-to videos about websites, emails, and domain names cut into my writing time. But it was the baby step I needed before moving on to video creation and comment sections.

Then I convinced myself to do it, to take the next step. I started building a TikTok again. (I have six followers, yay! Okay, two are my friend and her business, and one is my son. So… three followers. Yay?) I'm learning about different content for TikTok, X, BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook. It's a lot to juggle. I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert. Every login is a lesson.

The Stubbornness

Now I find myself wavering between promoting the first novel and building my author identity while working on the second. And honestly? I learned so much from finishing the first that the second is far better. Now I'm fighting the urge to do another rewrite on the first!

*A moment to refocus and remind myself to stay on the path.*

Here's another fun fact about my personality: I'm stubborn, like mule stubborn. I won't give up, followers or no followers. I don't know how to do that. I may pause to breathe, but I will keep moving forward.

So, I'll keep posting. Keep writing. Keep reaching out. As my social skills improve and my content gets refined, those who need to find me will. There is an audience for my book. I just haven't met them yet.

If you're reading this, I hope you're one of them.

Nice to meet you,

I.M.He