I was reading a magazine on writing the other day, and one of the articles said, "it is important as an author to know what your platform is." Unfortunately, I finished the article feel rather uncertain what my platform might be. (also unfortunately, I can't remember which magazine I was reading or who wrote the article -- I read through a few of them in one sitting)
Apparently the author of the article came across this idea at a conference where the speaker encouraged everyone to choose a platform based on his or her area of strength or expertise. After tossing ideas such as "single motherhood" around, the writer of the article was told by the speaker that her platform seemed to be that she was a poet (much of her resume included poetry groups, etc). Voila, the author had her platform.
This didn't clarify what a platform is for me, and since I like those little labels which make us unique, I've been mulling this concept around since I read the article. What is my platform? What do I have experience and expertise in? That's a hard question for me because I tend to dabble in a lot of things rather than specializing in anything. I used to build websites, I speak French fluently, I have sisters, I'm a widowed single-mother, I've worked with exchange students to build their English skills, I've mentored people in personal finance, ... I'm sure lots of other people feel the same way.
Which leads me to what was unsaid in that article -- what makes me unique? Because, really, isn't that what makes us interesting? What makes me different from any other aspiring writer? What do I bring to the table that no one else (or few others) bring? Definitely an interesting question: one I'm not done thinking about.
In the meantime, what makes you unique? What would your "platform" be? As a writer, a mother, a person, whatever you have chosen to pursue, how do you approach it that is different from the way others in your field are approaching the same thing?
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