2015 October Platform Challenge: Guidelines
I’m excited to bring a new challenge to the There Are No Rules blog beginning on October 1, 2015: the 2015 October Platform Challenge! What is the 2015 October Platform…
I'm excited to bring a new challenge to the There Are No Rules blog beginning on October 1, 2015: the 2015 October Platform Challenge!
What is the 2015 October Platform Challenge?
This challenge will help writers through the process of improving their writing platforms by providing one task to complete for each day of the month in October. In the process, I'll share tips and advice related to the task. By the end of the month, writers of all skill levels should have a better grip on their platforms.
So there's an intrinsic benefit to this challenge in that writers will learn how to improve their platforms through a series of small tasks building into a more cohesive overall strategy. But there's also an extrinsic benefit for those who participate and comment on each post labeled 2015 October Platform Challenge (including this one!).
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Develop a Platform and Promotion Plan for Success!
Don't wait around for this challenge to get started in building a top notch platform and promotion plan. Take advantage of the heavily discounted The Comprehensive Author Platform & Promotion kit today.
This power-packed platform and promotion kit includes three paperback books, three webinars, three tutorials, and more. So buy it today and be that much more ahead of the curve when October rolls around.
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What is the extrinsic benefit of participation?
The intrinsic benefit of this challenge is enough for most to participate, I know, but it helps to have an extrinsic benefit as well to make it through the entire month. So I've looted my own personal bookshelves for some platform and publishing related resources to ship to one lucky winner.
These resources include:
- 2016 Writer's Market Deluxe Edition. Yes, the brand new edition of Writer's Market Deluxe Edition, which includes an exclusive webinar and activation code for a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com.
- The Productive Writer: Tips & Tools to Help You Write More, Stress Less & Create Success, by Sage Cohen. This book is filled with tips, instruction, and charts to help writers find more success with their writing.
- Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success, by Kelly James-Enger. Written by an expert freelance writer, this book is packed with concrete advice and proven strategies for finding and maintaining freelance writing success.
- 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less, by I.J. Schecter. This book helps show why writing more does not necessarily mean earn more. In fact, some of the shortest copy you write can bring the biggest pay days.
Since these are from my very own bookshelves, they are gently used. But they also retail for $98.96--so having a chance to get them for free is pretty great, right? However, there is one more extrinsic benefit that elevates this whole deal to another level.
The one lucky winner will also receive a free personalized evaluation and critique of your platform-building efforts from me. I promise to spend at least two hours on this, though it's more likely that time on the initial evaluation and more time answering any questions that come up afterward. This kind of feedback usually costs more than $100 on its own.
So there we go: A super cool prize for one lucky winner!
What are the rules?
The first rule is to have fun, but here are the others:
- On October 1, 2015, I'll begin to post a task for each day of October. Participants will complete each task and comment that the task is complete and/or share their experiences with completing the task (or trying to complete it anyway).
- The challenge will run through November 1, 2015, at 11:59 p.m. (Atlanta, GA, time), because of time zones and stuff.
- Everyone will be the winner of the intrinsic benefit, but I will select one winner of the extrinsic benefit from the comments.
- Each person who comments on a post labeled 2015 October Platform Challenge by November 1, 2015, will be entered into a random drawing.
- Each person will receive an entry for each post they comment on, though only one entry per post. If a person comments once on each post, they'll receive one entry for each post; if a person comments 20 times on each post, they'll receive one entry for each post.
- This post is included as a 2015 October Platform Challenge post--so be sure to comment below if you plan to participate. And while you're at it, share the challenge with your writer friends.
- Have fun, which is actually the first and last rule of this challenge. This is a free challenge with an intrinsic benefit of improving your platform--so please, focus on the intrinsic benefit over the extrinsic benefit, and you'll have a lot more fun and learn more!
What if I have questions?
Send me an e-mail at robert.brewer@fwcommunity.com with the subject line: 2015 October Platform Challenge.
But really, this is about all there is until October 1, 2015. Hope to see you then.
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Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor of the Writer's Digest Writing Community. He edits the Writer's Market and Poet's Market books and writes a poetry column for Writer's Digest magazine. He's also the author of the poetry collection, Solving the World's Problems (Press 53). Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
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Check out these other There Are No Rules posts:
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Editor of Writer's Digest, which includes managing the content on WritersDigest.com and programming virtual conferences. He's the author of 40 Plot Twist Prompts for Writers: Writing Ideas for Bending Stories in New Directions, The Complete Guide of Poetic Forms: 100+ Poetic Form Definitions and Examples for Poets, Poem-a-Day: 365 Poetry Writing Prompts for a Year of Poeming, and more. Also, he's the editor of Writer's Market, Poet's Market, and Guide to Literary Agents. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer.
