How I Found My Voice and Gained 130k followers

By Kerry Chaput

A year ago, I cried. A lot. I’d racked up three hundred rejections over seven years, and my author dreams kept hitting wall after wall. I had written the best manuscript of my life, and you know what that led to? More rejections.

At a writing retreat last spring, I had a meltdown—ahem—breakthrough. 

Beyond the writing, I held a message I wanted to tell, and I kept waiting for approval from some industry professional to tell me I was good enough. Rejections meant I hadn’t earned the right to take up space, so who would want to listen to what I had to say? At that retreat, I realized how “chasing” my dreams kept me quiet and small.

Why not start living my dream in real time?

On the drive home, I asked myself what a successful me would do. The answer was clear. I needed to blast my message to the world. I’d been quietly talking about badass women in history for years, and it was time to start talking about it—loudly. Stop begging. Stop chasing an end game, because I could just be the endgame.

I went home and created a reel that reached over a million views.

And I didn’t stop.

Badass Women in History came to life. I transformed my fledgling Substack and built my tiny Instagram page. My newsletter subscriptions climbed while my content reached a new audience. One reel hit six million views and gained me forty thousand Instagram followers. I trademarked the term Badass Women in History and about to launch a line of merch. All because I had a clear message that was bigger than my book.

That book everyone rejected? It’s called The Secret Courtesan. It found a home, and marketing this story has changed my life. Preorders have already far exceeded any of my previous books. Marketing for this project has felt energizing and fulfilling (I know, weird, right?) because people finally hear me and resonate with my message. I found my voice.

I want all authors to feel this kind of response from their marketing. It’s why I’m here to tell you what I’ve learned. Plenty of people will give you great advice on how to build a platform. Don’t skip the important step of uncovering the why before you build.

First thing: Marketing is an emotional promise to the reader for how they will feel when they read your book. Make that promise. Plot points and tropes are great, but if you don’t offer a feeling with it, you’re missing an opportunity. I follow a Korean Grandmother on Instagram because I love her message. Her content is her routine of skincare and exercise, but beyond that, she’s showing us that aging isn’t scary. She’s laughing and cooking and shopping, and it gives me peace to think how satisfying my older years might be. She made an emotional promise to her viewers, and I want in on that.

Start by making a list of descriptors of how you want your readers to feel. Mine are: powerful, energized, brave, and fired up. Maybe yours are soft and grateful or open-minded and accepting. Something happened in your life that draws you to those stories. Maybe it won’t be readily identifiable, but if you really examine your writing, an answer will appear.

What life problem do you consistently explore? This is bigger than the theme of the book. This is about the real reason you write. Understanding your deeper why is the gold waiting to be mined. A belief that drives you. It’s what makes you explore the stories you do. This builds relationships.

I write about women who did amazing things, but history erased them. Why? Because I felt forgotten and silenced growing up. If I had women’s history to look to, maybe I wouldn’t have been so afraid to use my voice. But I can find that voice now through storytelling. And I want other women to find that inspiration too.

A deeper meaning might be tied up in the soft parts of yourself that you don’t like to look at too closely, let alone share. This tenderness makes your story relatable. It’s an answer to a larger problem in someone’s life. Do your rom-com readers need the overwhelming power of love because life handed you a tragedy and your fiction is a lifeline? Do your suspense readers need to believe in redemption because it’s what gets you through a divided world? Maybe your literary exploration is how people live in the gray space between right and wrong because that’s a truth you carry in your own life.

Your promise should be to explore what people feel might be missing. You don’t have to have the answers, just the desire. Simply opening that discussion is often soothing because people feel seen. 

Authenticity. Badass Women in History works because it’s me. I grew up listening to my father’s US history lectures in my living room. My senior project highlighted ten women from history I discovered in the library. When your content flows from a place of truth, viewers want to be a part of it. Let it be niche and weird but always remain loyal to who you are.

I’ve published seven books, and The Secret Courtesan is hitting different because it’s the first to really align with my message. It’s taken this long to find my voice and feel brave enough to stand in the truth of it, while delivering a book that fulfills the emotional promise I’ve made on my platform. Women erased from history will leave you empowered, and here’s a fiction story that will do just that.

In this book, historian Dr. Mia Harding must authenticate an unearthed statue that’s taken the world by storm. She must prove the sculptor wasn’t the famous male artist everyone believes, but a courtesan erased by history. And this theory lands her in the crosshairs of the most dangerous people in the art world and angry internet vigilantes.

This story arose from my experience talking about women’s history and the unexpected resistance I’ve encountered. Speaking of Mileva Einstein or Maria Anna Mozart angers people who see my content as an attack on the famous men we idolize. My fictional historian struggles through the frustration I’ve encountered in the real world.

Promoting women’s history has taught me about resilience, something I highlight on my social media content regularly. Women identify with the struggle to define ourselves and find our voice, even when the world tries to shame and silence us.

I want you to go beyond the book and sit with whatever resonant belief you carry about life. What change do you want to see in the world, and how do your stories fit that big, life-altering question? This is bigger than a hook or a tag line, it’s a message to readers that you see their struggle and can offer a perspective to help them through it. To find this, we need to go deeper than genre and tropes and themes. I would argue that the answer to this question is somewhere in your childhood. Maybe a life lesson you learned or a pain you’re still trying to heal.

The moment I first wondered why there were no women in my father’s history lectures, I was around eight, and it was just that—a moment. A fleeting thought that instantly dissipated as I went back to playing with my Lite Bright. That question lived in my psyche where it percolated, growing and deepening through life. I hadn’t remembered that moment until recent years, when I asked myself these very questions about my writing and my platform. Why do I care so much about women’s history? The answer started way back then.

Find a place of vulnerability that is still comfortable for you. You don’t need to share your deepest trauma to be resonant. It took me years of refining and adjusting before I landed on a clear, accessible tag line. Badass Women in History just escaped in one of my rantings on social media and it struck a nerve, so I stayed with it.

When you show up with a message you care about, it’s easy and fun to build a platform. Marketing isn’t about pitching anymore. It’s about opening your world to readers. Sure, the well runs dry sometimes, and I get overwhelmed with the time required to write and research articles, but I enjoy marketing my books now. The message guides me online and in my writing. The more unexpected stories I uncover of empowering women in history, the stronger my vision grows.

For me, the two hardest moments were deciding that yes, I am a writer and yes, I can build this platform. Because those declarations took a clarity that was years in the making. Accepting that resistance will inevitably come and criticism will be part of this journey. It’s welcoming the whole messy adventure of it, knowing you’re building something you care about.

Focus. The clearer your message becomes, the more it will turn off certain people. Own it. You cannot be authentically you and have everyone adore you. It’s not possible. This message is yours and those who don’t resonate will fall away. Let them.

I’ve now built a social media following of 130,000 and a newsletter list of nearly 10,000. My content reaches between two and three million people a month. Social media can be your greatest tool to show your storytelling. Men sometimes message that they sent my article to their daughter or wife, stating they love learning about women’s history. That’s a better reward than any of those thousands of followers. My platform has opened my world to unexpected connections, lovely discussions, podcast invitations, and collaborations. And it’s all because I shared a belief I hold about the world—that history is for us all, and the bravery of disobedient women has been withheld from us to keep us quiet. That changes now, because I have a voice to use.

Stop selling. Start connecting. You have a unique, powerful view on the world, so share it with us. People will line up to read your book, and other authors will wonder how you do it. But you’ll know, the answer was waiting there all along and all you had to do was start speaking your truth.

—

Kerry Chaput is a multi-award-winning historical fiction author dedicated to badass women in history. Born in California, she now calls the Pacific Northwest home, where she spends her days hitting the trails, chasing historical rabbit holes, and feeding her addiction to espresso and doggy cuddles. Connect with her on Instagram @kerrywrites, Substack @kerrychaput, or on her website www.kerrywrites.com.

 

THE SECRET COURTESAN

For fans of Kate Quinn, a dual-timeline adventure novel of a historian who risks everything—including her life—to discover the truth about a female Renaissance sculptor unjustly erased by history.

Two determined women four hundred years apart. One mysterious statue. And a bombshell that could change history.

Art historian Mia is running out of time to prove her theory that the sculptor of an unearthed erotic statue was a courtesan erased from history—a scandal no one will believe. Chasing through Venice, she tracks down hidden details of Sofia, a powerful courtesan who seems to have left a trail of sex-fueled art buried across the city, but Mia’s now being followed, and even her boss might be in on the lie.

Meanwhile, in 1609, Sofia defies Venice’s unfair laws to create illicit art that could ruin her future. Her aspirations to become a great artist go up in flames when her patron’s wife steals her work and threatens her lover.

Four hundred years later, it’s up to Mia to discover the truth, but now she’s uncovered a world of art theft that could leave her ousted—or, worse, right in the crosshairs of the most powerful crime family in Italy, who will stop at nothing to force her to authenticate the famous statue. Mia’s only hope is to prove Sofia’s existence before everyone involved silences them both forever.

BUY HERE

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: How To and Tips, On Writing