Marlan Warren, Author and Publicist with Roadmap Communications, explains publicity elements necessary to build an author platform. It takes so much time and effort for new authors to learn how to garner publicity for their books. Self-promotion is difficult and building an author platform takes quite a bit of time and industry knowledge. This is particularly difficult because an author’s publicity campaign begins before a book is even published. The cover itself has to be fully edited, designed, and endorsed before it goes to print. Warren says she’s seen a number of book covers with typos and without reviews on the back cover. These are important elements that need to be in place before an author begins building their platform. “A lot of writers don’t begin to think about reviews until the book is published,” says Warren. “They should be thinking about that two or three months ahead. That’s true of all publicity.” Warren also describes what content is included on a one-sheet and explains why every author needs one. Watch the clip below to learn more about self-promotion!