I’ll begin with a quote by bestselling author Jeb Blount (2010): “People buy you.” In this case, people encompass acquisitions editors—the party a publisher tasks with signing new authors to books that support publisher goals. Before an acquisitions editor invites a prospective author for a meeting or to send a book proposal, they will likely do an online search to see what they can learn about you and your work.

A few of the things I look for:

• Publicity about the prospect—I consider, “Is the author mentioned in professional or local news stories? What is the context?” Prospect authors should do online searches for themselves to see what information presents itself. I do not care if you’re divorced, but I do care if you’ve been given an industry award. I want to sign content experts.
• Personal or professional website—I look for a bio, upcoming speaking or training events, prices of those events, and list of speaking or research topics to name a few. I look to see whether the author is affiliated with any professional organizations, schools, or individuals whose support can help book sales. A prospective, or even published, author would be wise to include these elements. They should keep the information up-to-date to accurately reflect themselves.
• Social media—I look at the author’s following, frequency of posts, follower engagement with posts, and more. Again, I want to know if there is an audience that would support the book. Along those lines, I also want to see if there are any red flags that suggest the author is not a good fit. Those flags entail posts that suggest the author’s passion no longer lies in the direction that I am interested in pursuing, posts that harass others online, or similar.

Online presence is an easy vehicle for self-promotion.

Citation: Blount, J. (2010). People buy you: The real secret to what matters most in business. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley