Building Your Author Platform: 5 Lessons from Joseph in the Bible.

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As writers, we are often told that we must build an author platform. For a publisher to consider our ideas, we must grow our audience, build an email list, become active on social media, create content, speak at events, connect with readers, and promote our books. And all of those things can be valuable. But what if building your author platform isn’t just about getting noticed—but about getting prepared?

As Christian authors, we probably know that God is more interested in building us than building our platform. Likewise, the story of Joseph in Genesis gives us a beautiful picture of how God can prepare a person for a platform long before anyone recognizes the calling on their life.

Joseph had a huge platform: second-in-command of Egypt. However, there was a process. He was being prepared through setbacks, disappointments, opportunities, and seasons when it looked like his dream had disappeared. God was at work through every step.

The same can be true for you as an author.

Your book is a part of your calling, but your author platform is more than numbers, followers, and book sales. Your platform is the place God gives you to use your story, gifts, and message to influence others.

So what can Joseph teach us about building an author platform? A lot! His journey gives us five lessons we need to remember as we build an author platform.

1. Believe in the Dream When No One Else Does

In Genesis 37, Joseph was a young boy when God gave him dreams about his future. He shared those dreams with his family, but they didn’t exactly respond with, “Congratulations! We believe in you!” Instead, his brothers became jealous and angry. Eventually, his brothers threw him into a pit and sold him into slavery. Joseph’s dream seemed impossible.

Talk about a rough start to your platform! Joseph had a dream, but no audience. He had a calling, but no credentials. God gave him a vision of the future, but absolutely no evidence that it was going to happen.

Sound familiar?

God has placed a dream in your heart to write and publish a book. You have a message you believe you’re supposed to share. Maybe you’ve imagined yourself speaking to audiences, teaching workshops, writing more books, and encouraging other believers through your story. And maybe the people around you (even your own family) don’t understand.

You may have shared your dream with publishers, and been told they will not publish your book until you build an author platform. Maybe someone has asked if anyone will read your book. You’ve heard that thousands of books get published every day, and others doubt your book will be noticed.

Don’t let someone else’s lack of vision determine your obedience. Joseph’s brothers couldn’t see what God was doing—but that didn’t mean God wasn’t doing it.

Joseph dreaming. lessons for authors about building a platform. — Joseph believed in his dream when no one else did.

Author Platform Lesson #1: Believe before you build.

Before you worry about followers, websites, book sales, or social media numbers, take time to identify the message God has placed in you.

Ask:

What story has God given me?
Who am I called to serve?
What problem can my book help solve?
What message keeps coming back to my heart?
What do I feel compelled to write, even when nobody is asking me to?

Your platform begins with purpose.

You don’t need everyone to believe in your dream.

You need to be willing to believe God enough to take the next step.

2. Keep Doing the Right Thing When You’re Being Treated Wrong

In Genesis 39, Joseph’s circumstances changed dramatically. He went from favored son to an enslaved person in Potiphar’s house. However, Scripture tells us, “The LORD was with Joseph.” As Joseph faithfully served Potiphar, God blessed his work.

Then everything fell apart again. Joseph was falsely accused and sent to prison. He did the right thing—and it appeared to cost him everything. That is a powerful lesson for authors.

Sometimes you will do everything you know to do and still experience rejection. Your manuscript might be turned down. A publisher might say no. Your book launch might not produce the sales you expected. Someone else might get the opportunity you prayed for.

Don’t confuse a setback with the absence of God’s presence.

Joseph’s journey reminds us that obedience isn’t only valuable when it produces immediate results.

lessons from Joseph for authors. Potiphar's wife accuses Joseph of wrong, — Joseph continued to do what was right even when he was wrongfully accused.

Author Platform Lesson #2: Build your platform with integrity.

Don’t compromise your message to get attention. Never become someone you’re not because you think that’s what sells. And never measure your calling by another author’s success. Keep writing, learning, serving, and showing up. Treat people well. Keep your word. Produce quality work and honor God in the process.

Your reputation is part of your platform; how you build matters just as much as what you build.

3. Keep Listening to God and Confidently Share What You Hear.

Joseph could have spent his prison years feeling sorry for himself. After all, he had been betrayed by his brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and imprisoned. But Joseph kept listening to God.

In Genesis 40, when two prisoners had troubling dreams, Joseph heard from God and interpreted their dreams. Then, he shared what God told him. He did not shy away from the message and was willing to share bad news as well as good.

Have you ever thought yourself unworthy to speak for God? Are you afraid of offending someone? God needs you to be bold enough to share the message He has given you.

That is one of the most important lessons for Christian authors. You need to be confident in the story God has planted inside you. God is speaking to and through you. Maybe your platform currently consists of just 5 people. Are you willing adn bold enough to tell them the Truth of what you hear from God?

Make time to listen to God’s voice and speak faithfully to the audience you have. Don’t despise the small platform. Be faithful where you are. (Luke 16:10)

joseph shares with prisoners what he hears from God — Joseph shares with a few prisoners what he hears from God.

Author Platform Lesson #3: Listen for God’s voice and share His message with the few.

Your platform isn’t defined by how many people are watching. It’s defined by how you hear God’s voice and faithfully share Him with others. By doing so, you will gain experience and build relationships. And those relationships become the foundation of your future readership.

4. Be Faithful in the Waiting

Joseph Before the Palace — Genesis 40–41

Perhaps one of the most frustrating parts of Joseph’s story is the time it took. Oh, how we hate to wait. In Genesis 40-41, after interpreting the cupbearer’s dream, Joseph asked him to remember him when he returned to Pharaoh’s service. But the cupbearer forgot Joseph.

Consequently, Joseph remained in prison another two years. Two years! Imagine what Joseph might have thought during that time. Did I misunderstand the dream? Did God forget me? Was my calling really from God? Why am I still here? Undoubtedly, Joseph must have felt God had forgotten him too.

Authors experience their own versions of the waiting room. You write a book and wait for readers. Or, you submit a manuscript and wait for a response. Maybe you build a website and wait for traffic. Then, you launch a book and wait for sales. You pitch yourself for speaking opportunities and wait for someone to say yes. You build your social media presence one post at a time and wonder if anyone is paying attention.

But waiting doesn’t mean nothing is happening. God is at work preparing you and others for what is to come.

Joseph is forgotten in prison but still waits on God. lesson 4 in author platforms — Joseph is forgotten in prison but still waits on God.

Author Platform Lesson #4: Don’t waste your waiting season.

Use the time to become better. Learn about publishing. Attend writing conferences and improve your writing. Develop your speaking skills. Build your email list. Create meaningful content. Connect with other authors. Serve your readers. Learn how to market your books. Develop your website. Create resources around your message.

Joseph learned skills about leading people while in prison. Those would be essential as the second-in-command in Egypt. In the same way, your future platform will require skills that your current season is teaching you.

5. Let Your Platform Point Back to God

Then, in Genesis 41, everything changed. Pharaoh needed someone to interpret his dreams. Joseph was brought out of prison and into the palace. When Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret the dream, Joseph’s response was remarkable. He didn’t say, “Absolutely! I’ve been waiting for someone to recognize my abilities.” Instead, Joseph gave God the credit. Joseph said, “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

Joseph understood something that every Christian author needs to remember: The book you write may be yours, but the source is God. Eventually, Joseph was elevated to a position of incredible influence. The platform God had been preparing him for was suddenly much larger than he could have imagined. And Joseph used that platform to save lives.

lessons from Joseph to authors who are building their platforms — Joseph was given a huge platform and used it to point people to God.

Author Platform Lesson #5: Build a platform that serves people, not just yourself.

When Joseph shared his dream as a young boy, it seemed like something that glorified him. When God first gives us desires, we don’t always see them as He does. It is not uncommon for people to chase the author dream as a path to fame. However, your author platform isn’t ultimately about how many people know your name. It’s about the name of Jesus and what you do for Him. Serve, encourage, and minister to others.

Your Author Platform Is a Process, Not a Moment

Joseph’s platform didn’t appear overnight. It was built through a series of seemingly unrelated seasons:

Dream → Pit → Potiphar’s House → Prison → Palace

In hindsight, we can see that God had been preparing Joseph all along. God put the dream inside him as a young boy. He was humbled and learned to rely on God in the pit. In Potiphar’s house, he learned to obey and trust God through persecution. He learned to lead others and hear God’s voice in prison. And eventually, all of those experiences prepared him for a platform within the palace.

Your author journey is the same. God is preparing you. Therefore, do not look at your current circumstances and wonder why you’re not further along. The small audience is teaching you how to serve. The rejection is teaching you to trust and persevere. If the first book doesn’t sell as many copies as you hoped, stay faithful and keep at it. The community and skills you’re building today will become tomorrow’s platform.

Don’t despise the process. God is at work building your platform one step at a time.

Ready to Build Your Author Platform?

Building an author platform takes more than writing a great book. It takes a dream, humility, obedience, and unwavering trust in God. You’ll need a servant’s heart and a means to build relationships along the way.

At EA Books Publishing, we understand that Christian authors need more than someone to print their books simply. They need a publishing partner who can help them move from seed to shelf to sales!

Whether you’re writing your first book or preparing your next one, EA Books Publishing can help you navigate the publishing process and develop strategies to promote your message.

Your story matters. Your message matters. And the platform God is building through your life will go farther than you can see today.

So keep writing, growing, serving, and believing.

You may be in the pit today. Or, you may be serving in Potiphar’s house or feel forgotten in a prison-type situation. Don’t assume that your current location is your final destination.

God was preparing Joseph for the palace—and He is preparing you for a platform you can’t see yet.

Ready to take the next step? Partner with EA Books Publishing and discover how we can help you publish, promote, and build your author platform.

Schedule a call

Learn more about how we take your book from seed to shelf.

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