Writing a book is a long process, and so is selling the book.

It’s not unusual for a book to take five years and more to see publication.

It’s a long time to be working in the dark, so to speak, unsure whether your book will be accepted by a publisher, and will sell once it hits the bookstore shelves.

There’s an answer to this “in the dark” situation - cast light on it by promoting your book as you write it.

Kate Mosse blogged Labyrinth as she wrote it, and you can blog your book too.

If you need help with the promote-as-you-write process, I can work out a plan for you. Just contact me for a consultation; I’m happy to help.

Relationships are everything to a writer. As the old saying goes: “It’s who you know.” And who knows you.

If you have no editorial contacts at all, and are starting your career, your primary aim should be to build relationships.

When I started writing, around 30 years ago, I knew no one in publishing, and yet my first sale as a novelist was a series of romance novels to an English publisher. (I live in Australia.)

I did it one letter at a time. I wrote to publishers, and when the response was positive, sent requested material, usually a couple of chapters and a synopsis.

So start getting to know people. Send an email message. Send a letter. Create a Web site or a blog.

It all starts with you. Make contact, and before you know it, you’ll acknowledge the wisdom of “It’s who you know”.

There’s more to writing a book than writing a book. You need readers too.

Your readers are called your “platform”. If you’re a wise author, you’ll build your platform before, during, and after you write your book.

Do You Have a Purpose and Platform in Place? By Patricia L. Fry says: “As I’ve written many times in my books, hundreds of articles and my blog, your platform is your following, your way of attracting readers. Who needs a platform? Every author who wants to sell books. Think about it; if you want to buy a book on sports statistics, you would choose one written by someone with a track record in this topic, right? If you had to choose from a dozen novels, you’d probably pick the one by an author whose name you recognize. I would venture to guess that Rachel Ray and Paula Deen sell more foods and cooking books than any unknown cookbook author.”

Building your platform is also called - marketing your book.

If you’re new to publishing, you may not be aware of the vital role which marketing plays in selling your book to a publisher. You need to convince your publisher that you have a platform already, before the publisher will buy your book.

Unfortunately, some writers get this the wrong way round - they look on book publishing as a way of providing them with a platform to do something else: to coach, to build a career as a speaker, etc. It doesn’t happen.

You build your platform before, during and after you write your book with your marketing activities.

My ebook “You CAN Sell Your Writing Now: Marketing Skills For Writers” teaches you to become a successful marketer of your writing and your writing skill. You’ll discover how to build your platform in a fun way as you write your book. It’s essential that you learn to do this, if you want to become a successful, selling author.

Remember - you need readers.