Last week I said I had something important coming up this week. It was yesterday, my meeting with agent Ann Byle of Credo Communications. 

That was a day that I had been waiting for my entire writing career: The opportunity to talk with some one professionally about my novel. It was more encouraging that I could have imagined.

My novel is high adventure fantasy and I was not sure how that would be received as their publishing house is not known for that genre. However, after talking with her she asked for chapters and said she’d read them.

I don’t know where this will go. But I am thrilled to get this chance and will keep you all informed. As our meeting came to an end I asked Ann what I should be doing to promote myself now. Here are five things she recommended I do:

1. Get a website
2. Join a Fantasy Writers of America group or something similar
3. Outline all seven books of my series so I could pitch the series to a publisher
4. Think about endorsers and who I would want them to be
5. develop a marketing plan

Now, a lot of these items are not exactly the most fun things to do. Writers write, don’t they? Yes, but successful ones promote, advertise, and otherwise market themselves and their book.

The writing part is not over, but I am beginning to think that getting a book published is 1/3 writing and 2/3 marketing, promoting, and speaking.

Keep writing.

Cheers,

Bob