When A Writer's Platform Numbers are Low

by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

I heard at a writers conference that 10,000 was a good number. The question was how many readers need to be in your audience for a major traditional publisher to consider publishing your book. 10,000?!

About that many people attended my former church, and for my original publishing dream to come true, every person in my church would have to like my writing and follow me online. The thought left me breathless.

I started my first blog in one of James Rubart’s marketing classes, and I remember being happy that I had 12 followers after a while. I joined the Facebook and Twitter frenzy pretty late compared to friends my age, and when I reached 300 followers, I did a happy dance on the inside.

I know my numbers are low compared to some authors, but every time I get a notification about a new “follow” or “like,” I smile. But you know what? 10,000 readers may be a long time in coming, but I will trust it will come.

So when your numbers are relatively low and you wonder when you will ever hit the coveted 10,000 mark, what are you supposed to do? Keep writing. Keep blogging. Keep doing what you know to do.

Blogging takes time.

I know, I know. Blogging takes time. Every week. Books take more time. Social media promotion takes additional time and steals precious minutes from writing. You can drive yourself nuts trying to keep up with everything an author has to do these days. But it’s worth it.

This year I was growing weary trying to keep up with it all, and then I heard a sermon by Dr. David Jeremiah. With a shepherd’s heart, he explained that if we stop planting now, we won’t reap a harvest later. There will be a gap, and we’ll regret it.

So don’t stop planting. Take in God’s Word to refresh your soul, and spend time with the Author of our faith. Then sit at your desk or on your back porch, and pour your heart out on paper. Seek God’s guidance for what topics to write about or what stories to share with the world. As a diligent farmer, work day by day, and don’t stop. Don’t let there be a gap in the harvest. It will matter to someone now (and down the road) that you’ve worked hard to write. It will matter to God that you’ve faithfully followed Him and His plan for you.

Then the numbers may grow. Editors and agents may take notice. You may be asked to write things you never thought of before. Dreams may start to come true that you didn’t know were possible. I’ve seen it happen. But it takes hard work and God’s blessing. Don’t give up. 

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Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies, a ministry which seeks to connect people to God through His Word.

She has taught the Bible to women and teens, and has two published Bible studies for women, 2 Timothy: Winning the Victory and Faith, Courage, and Victory which won the 2016 Selah award for Bible studies. She is an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine and the designer of Broken but Priceless: The Magazine. She makes her home near Atlanta, Georgia.