Thursday, September 15, 6:00 - 7:00 pm ET
Free for WMG members, $15 for non-members
Publishing insiders will discuss what agents and publishers mean when they ask writers “What is your author platform?”. Discussion will revolve around what exactly is an author platform. What matters to agents and to publishers? Are all author platforms the same? What are the components of a platform? When and how should writers start building their platform? This is the perfect opportunity to learn the many ways writers can create robust communities waiting for their books; when they should begin building their platforms. Not only authors, but literary agents, editors, and marketing experts will find this a useful and informative discussion.
Moderator:
Bridget Marmion spent over a decade each at FSG, Random House and Houghton Mifflin, working in editorial, publicity, sales, advertising, marketing during her career, for both adult and children’s books. She launched her own marketing firm, www.yourexpertnation.com in 2012. which relaunched last year as www.bridgetmarmionbookmarketing.com.
Panelists:
Regina Brooks is the founder and CEO of Serendipity Literary, the largest African American literary agency in the US and home to many award winning authors and illustrators. She's the author of Writing Great Books for Young Adults and You Should Really Write a Book, how to Write Well and Market Your Memoir.
Jane Friedman has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, which was named 2020 Media Outlet of the Year by Digital Book World. Her latest book is The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal.
Patsy Jones currently serves as VP of Marketing at Hachette Book Group in Franklin, TN, following years at
Books A Million and Anderson Merchandisers. She is seasoned both as a marketing professional
at the highest levels as well as a veteran in the retail space and has a deep, lived understanding of the connection between content and audience and between products and retail.
