Ep. 31: Why Author Platform Is Broken & What to Do About It with Mary DeMuth, Pt. 1
It’s season three! By now you know Sandy and I firmly believe that writers can choose to leave the life-sucking toxicity of social media platforms and find alternative pathways to grow and nurture their audience. But how does that sentiment stack up against the realities of publishing? To answer that question, we’ve lined up a series of conversations with a variety of industry insiders. First up on the docket? Mary DeMuth, a well-known author-turned-literary agent, who graciously offered us the kind of candid conversation we’ve all been craving. Listen in!
More About Mary:
Mary DeMuth is a literary agent, international speaker, podcaster, and she’s the novelist and nonfiction author of nearly 50 books, including 90-Day Bible Reading Challenge* (Bethany 2023). She loves to help people re-story their lives. She lives in Texas with her husband of 32 years and is the mom to three adult children. Find out more at marydemuth.com. Be prayed for on her daily prayer podcast with 4.5 million downloads: prayeveryday.show. For cards, prints, and artsy fun go to marydemuth.com/art. Find out what she’s looking for as a literary agent at marydemuthliterary.com.
Tune in to Hear:
- Mary’s frustrations about the current expectations surrounding author platform
- The shift Mary witnessed in the publishing industry in the early 2000s
- Mary discuss the effects of the current “whack-a-mole” approach to social media
- Why platform size is not as big an issue for fiction writers
- How Mary defines “presence” and how that shapes the way she views her email list
Links from the Show:
- Read Mary’s article “Why Author Platform is Broken and What to Do About It”
- Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World* by Cal Newport
- Take The Challenge! We’ll give you everything you need to prepare for a 7-day social media break and then help you make the most of it once you’ve unplugged. It’s only $7 and you can start it any time.
- Download our free pdf of 27 *REAL* Ways to Grow Your Audience without Social Media
- Learn more about Writing Off Social at writingoffsocial.com or email us at hello@writingoffsocial.com
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