But, according to the numbers right now, I'd have to sell 1000 copies of The White Rose in order to break even. And, from researching the current sale numbers, it seems that most novels sell maybe a quarter of that in a book's lifetime. 

Suddenly things are getting serious. 

And if I'm going to get even close to those sale numbers, I'm going to have to some major work on my platform. Right now.

My blog has been my starting off point in this journey, but lately, it's been stagnant. My social media presence is little to nothing. And email lists? Non-existent. 

Clearly, Houston, we have a problem. 

Now, how in the world am I going to reach other people? I do have a Goodreads, Pinterest, Wattpad and YouTube presence under the Catherine Hawthorn name. But is there a more - bigger even - platform that I should be plugging into? 



Unbeknownst to almost everyone on here, I have had a brief flirtation with Facebook. Back when I was a grad student in Connecticut, I was given charge of the Facebook page for the History Department at the university.

I...couldn't use it. It was clunky, confusing and messy. It's also a huge political stew. Even though many of my personal friends are on it, I could never see myself using that even with my pen name. I also believe that Facebook is dying as a platform. 

So, I refuse to even consider this platform. Sorry Facebook. *pats head* 

There are advantages to this platform. One is that in the space of a few seconds, a message can be blasted out to a large group of people. From what other people have told me, it's also pretty easy to use. 

BUT. It is also the center of some cutthroat social wars. People have lost their jobs over something they said over this platform. Censorship is also a big issue - which as a red-hot conservative, bothers me a lot. There is an alternative called Parler, of course, but that is brand new and more meant for a political audience. 

And knowing me, I'd get into some pretty heavy social media fights with people. Especially over pro-life, pro-family and Catholic issues. 

The only thing that bothers me a little is that...it's not very conducive to the social part of an author platform. Sure, there is messaging available, but even then, it's not enough. 



Here's my issue though: Editing Catherine doesn't do well with videos. Editing takes so much time and so much mental energy that I cannot keep it up and get videos out on time. Plus, I simply don't have the equipment (mics, etc) to make good quality videos.

Here, I am lost. My blog following is through Feedburner, which is that free service that Blogger offers? There are only 18 emails through there (which is more than my other one, but still...). I'd like to put it into an actual email list, and while I'm at it, I probably should go for an official author email. 



What do you girls think? What would be the best way to build my platform? Is there another platform that I should explore?

Scribbingly yours, 

Catherine