Building Your "Tribe"- Before Publication???

Tribe. A community of people dedicated to a cause or purpose, supporting and following the "leader".

I recently finished listening to the 2009 ACFW conference recording, continuing education lecture given during the conference. It was given by Karen Ball and Allan Arnold and if I had been attending the conference, I would not have taken the class, because it would have been too advanced. But, since I am just listening, I didn't pass up any of the classes.

And the one thing that I truly took away from the class was the importance of building my "tribe". Or a community of followers. So how do you build something so important and why would you even attempt it before publication? What is the importance of building an image in the writing world before that new blockbuster even hits the shelves?

Customers
You want people to buy your books right? If you are a complete unknown, people still might take a chance on your book and pick it up off the book store shelves, but if you aren't doing anything to make your "voice" known in a sea of choices for the consumer, you are going to be lost. So how do you make yourself known? You take the first step in building your tribe: build a web presence.

I love to blog, it is more than a fun hobby for me, (even though it is a fun hobby), but I am also looking at it as a chance to make my presence known. How have I done this? A website for me at this stage in my career is not going to help me. No one knows my name to Google it and visit my webpage. So instead, I moved into the next best thing: a blog.

A blog is more than just an online diary (though it certainly can do that as well), but it is a place for the  everyday person (most often a book consumer, at least the people I draw to my blogs), who are always looking for something good to read. So cater to these people I offer many giveaways in quality Christian fiction, book reviews, but I also post lessons I am learning or lessons from the heart

Readers are going to connect with the heart of the issue. What are you passionate about? How do you present it in a way that makes the reader sit up straighter and take notice? You have to be passionate.

I have discovered recently that I am passionate about relationships. Relationships in marriage, with God, and I am particularly passionate about relationships with women and their faith in serious situations.

So, because I am passionate about these issues, why not write about them? Show the reading public just what I value. Readers are going to be attracted to passion and the kind of passion for Christ, along with good writing.

Blogging is fickle though. Blog hoppers are going to want to visit blogs that are eye catching, update often and do something more than just pontificate about nothing. At this stage in my writing, I blog nearly everyday. I have the time and even if I didn't, I need to make the time. I have no deadlines from publishers and I am busy perfecting my craft, but if my main goal is to be published someday, I need to start building my community of supporters.

I talk about my writing journey, my faith, and the struggles I encounter. Readers are going to connect with struggles. I have gotten so much support from my followers who encourage and support me, but more than that, they see just what I am all about.

Building a tribe of people to support and follow you is more than just for emotional support. When your new book is hot off the presses and ready to be sold, who are the first people you are going to market to? If you have built around you a group of people who like what you write and are excited for what you write, they are going to pumped and excited to see your new product. These people have seen your struggles, walked the journey with you and are now ready to celebrate.

So again why is this so important before publication to form a tribe? It isn't something you can form overnight. It isn't something that will magically appear once you start blogging, you have to be willing to let it take it's time and form as you connect with people around you.

I am seriously considering opening up a Twitter account. To connect with even more people, understand the program before I hit publication and really need to utilize it.

I received one of the nicest compliments the other day. I was talking to a lady inhouse for a small publisher about a writing conference. I had emailed her earlier and she checked out my blogs. When I called her later, she told me it appeared I was doing a great job of building a community and making myself known.

That is what building a "tribe" is all about. Making yourself known and ready to tackle the market.

One of the best tribes that I am personally apart of, is Julie Lessman's. Julie has so many loyal and eager fans. Fans that throw parties when her books come out, write raving reviews, hold contests, talk about her books. Give them away. That is what her tribe is all about.

I want to see her do good. I want to see her put out more books and I want to let the whole world know that her books are marvelous.

That is the kind of tribe you want to surround yourself with.

So to recap:
*Build a web presence- blogging, Twitter, Facebook, groups passionate about your passions
*Find your passion- and write about it
*Cater to your tribe's interests. Giveaways, reviews, thoughts, but stay true to who you are. People will find you

People who are passionate about your passions are going to be the people that are going to find you. Why wait to build a community of support? When that book hits the shelves you are going to be busy marketing and promoting, book signings and blog tours, the last thing you need to be doing or worrying about is the building of a community of followers. These people will be your greatest asset, don't let this chance slip you by.

Do you have the start of a tribe yet? Have started building that presence that people are not soon to forget?

In two weeks time, I will be talking about the other aspect of building your tribe: connecting with authors and readers on a relationship level.