Create Your Writing Platform

Chuck Sambuchino
Create Your Writer Platform: The Key to Building an Audience, Selling More Books, and Finding Success as an Author
Writer's Digest Books
November 13, 2012
ISBN: 1599635755

Reviewed by Susan Stillwell

All you need to land that publishing contract is a polished proposal, right? Not exactly. Good writing is important, but even the most well-written manuscript won’t necessarily get the attention of an agent or acquisitions editor. What does get their attention is your platform.

In Create Your Writer Platform, Chuck Sambuchino draws on his experience as both an author and an editor to give new writers the tools they need to begin building their platform and enhancing their marketability.

“Platform, simply put, is your visibility as an author.” Sambuchino explains the importance of establishing yourself not only as an expert, but an expert with a broad base of connections. Throughout the book, he weaves the principles of establishing community with the mechanics of platform building, giving practical advice about

• Website/Blog
• Newsletter
• Social Media
• Public Speaking
• Article Writing

Sambuchino also draws from the wisdom of industry professionals. Several chapters end with practical advice from agents, editors and authors. He dedicated the final chapters of his book to case studies and interviews of authors in different genres.

I found the book enlightening and liked the layout: Principles of Platform, Mechanics of Platform, and Case Studies. Sambuchino outlined his philosophy early (create a community that trusts you), and then gave practical instruction on how to achieve it. I wish he’d gone into more detail with some of the social media avenues because those can be confusing for a newcomer, but he did a great job explaining the importance of Twitter. I also appreciated the candid approach to the case studies. It was interesting to read what did and didn’t work.

Easy to read and full of practical advice, (even a section from our own Gina Holmes!) new writers should find Create Your Writer Platform a helpful resource.



Susan Stilwell is a wife to Steve, and mom to Scott and Sarah. After that, she leads Bible studies, writes, speaks and travels. In her spare time, she helps her friends fix up their blogs. She's also been seen programming their smart phones.

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