Platform = Ownership: Start Now & Cultivate Yours Over Time

In less than two weeks, I start teaching one of my favorite classes again. The class is Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform.

There are many things that make my approach to platform development unique. For one thing, I understand that platform means everything to writing career success. At the same time I am able to balance that idea with the knowledge that the best, most authentic and well-rounded platforms don’t just spring up overnight.

My classes take six weeks, and I’d say that six weeks is the minimum amount of time any writer should spend developing their platform concept before they jump online and start blogging or building a site.

Why?

Because every writer has a unique platform dynamic yet most writers are not aware what theirs is. In my class, Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform, we take our time uncovering that platform dynamic, exploring it, and most importantly, making sure it is authentically meaningful to the writer.

You can take the class whether you already have an idea of what your platform should focus on or not. Because guess what? It’s not dollar signs that are going to motivate you to establish your name and get known for what you write, it’s loving what you do so that you can sustain the effort long enough to get known and attract readers.

I hope you are in the platform journey for the long haul because it’s a career-long effort. For the past six years I have been teaching writers how to build a platform alongside their writing in order to amplify their reach, make an indelible impression in reader’s minds, and create future revenue streams to sustain their writing efforts.

Here are several reasons why you may wish to work with me rather than someone else:

• I wrote the book on platform. It’s called, Get Known Before the Book Deal. It’s one of the first and most comprehensive books on platform for writers.
• I recently wrote a workbook on platform called, “Build Your Author Platform & Prosper.” It’s a companion to my book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, and it will launch on January 1, 2012.
• I have written several feature-length articles for Writer’s Digest magazine on platform for writers across the genres and from the perspective of all levels of writers from aspirant to bestselling author.
• I have worked with hundreds of writers over the past ten years, working with many of them over time as they write, get published, build up clips, establish a specialty, break into national publications, write ebooks and books, and create lasting and profitable platforms.
• But perhaps the most important reason to work with me rather than someone else is because I am not interested in leveraging your platform for my own or others’ financial interests. I have my own platform, I have my own paid writing work, and I already teach and speak in a distinctive niche. This means when I am focused on you, I am focused on what is best for your career in the long run, not what you can do for me in the short run. I want you to prosper by establishing your own platform and growing it over time.

Platform development for authors is one of my specialties as a writing career coach. I work with writers across a range of skill sets, so I understand how platform matters in every phase of a writer’s career development.

I prefer to work with writers in this class who are just getting started identifying their strengths and understanding how to better position their platform in the marketplace. My former students have the option to continue working with me via my training groups, if they so choose.

I understand writers, the state of the industry, and the unique challenges that writers face on a daily basis. I don’t want you to sell your soul; I want you to listen to what your inner voice is telling you to do, not what external forces want you to do for them. I want to help you declare and maintain ownership over your career while at the same time helping you partner wisely with others.

Establishing a platform is a whole lot easier, when you take the time to understand your motivations and make the most of your strengths.

You do not have to be a woman, a mom, or a nonfiction writer to take this class. It definitely helps if you are already an established writer and you have some idea of the direction you’d like to go with your writing but you will learn that in the process of the class, anyway.

I will be updating the class in the fall and raising the price accordingly, which means you have three chances to register between now and then. Here are what some past students have had to say about Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform:

Christina embodies what it means to be a great coach. She is direct, honest, not afraid to say what a writer struggling with a particular issue needs to hear. Christina has the tremendous confidence that comes with experience; that confidence made me strong when I needed it. She told me, with conviction, that what I have to say is important, and that I shouldn’t hesitate to say it. ~ Valorie H.

Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform is a great class for writers at any stage of career development. I had been doing a small amount of platform development prior to the class and found that I could enfold that work into my plans going forward. Now I feel so much more professional, focused, and confident. These six weeks of class work have moved me forward months (even years) in building my platform.  I know now where I’m going and can communicate that clearly to others. ~ Lara K.

I highly recommend this class for writers struggling to define their niche or confused about how to communicate it compellingly. Christina is a wise guide who facilitates the kind of inner exploration it takes to find and flesh out an authentic, sustainable platform. This class helped me get clear on who I am and what I bring to my audience. And that’s priceless. ~ Heidi L.

Christina Katz’ Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform class was a combination of therapy and boot camp. She forced me to dig deep and deeper yet, to discover what motivates and inspires me to write. ~ Sandra F.

Christina’s exceptional class focused my thoughts to build a specialty platform plan. Her assignments challenged and helped me look deeply into lifelong experiences to build an organized plan for getting published. ~ Bill H.

Building a platform isn’t for the faint-of-heart, but the clarity I found after digging into the possibilities was an invaluable learning experience. I now have a clearly defined roadmap to follow and a better understanding of how to continue building my writing platform grounded in practical techniques rather than just dreamy possibilities. ~ C. Hines

This course not only taught me more about myself and what inspires me to write, but also showed me concrete actions to take in order to establish a strong platform for my writing career. With Christina’s practical advice and informed guidance, I learned exactly what steps I need to take to reach my writing goals. ~ Sarah L.

Before I took this class, I was struggling to identify topics that would be of interest to editors and readers. Now, I have the beginnings of a platform that will help me generate as much work as I want or need just by developing and marketing my area of expertise. ~ B. Meleski

In an uncertain publishing environment, platform has never been more important for writers. I’m so thankful to Christina for providing me with an opportunity to strategize and for helping me come up with a workable platform plan. ~ Sharon V.

Christina is a real, honest-to-goodness teacher. When I wasn’t working to my ability, she noticed, demanded more, and gave me the tools to succeed. Nobody ever gets where they’re going without a great teacher. Christina helped me find my wings. ~ Lynne S.

I found this class to be much more than I expected. Don’t sign up unless you have plenty of time to devote to it (not to mention paper and ink!) because you will not want to waste the opportunity to have Christina help you find, develop, or fine tune your image and point you in the right direction. ~ Carol A.

Learn more here. Space is limited. Register by December 28th for the class that begins on January 4th.

I hope to work with you in 2012!