By Rex Hurst
Having now sold two books and a number
of short stories, I can honestly tell you that having the perfectly crafted
cover letters and hunting for an agent to pass your work onto the “big
publisher” is no strategic match for actually meeting people in the flesh,
having a few drinks, and making a couple of jokes.
Networking! Networking! It’s all down to
that.
Everything I sold is because I knew
someone. Another author gave me a tip. A guy I knew became an editor. Another
author gave me a recommendation. Like the mafia, you have to be vouched for
before they let you in. If they can put a face to that name, get a sense that
you’re a human, they’ll unconsciously associate your work with those good
vibrations. It’s natural.
It’s human.
The old cliché once again rings true, “it’s
not what you know blah blah blah.”
At this point some may be thinking, “It
shouldn’t be like this. I just want to write.”
With ten thousand other people in the
same room, all screaming to get their work published, this is how you stand
out. Go to the conventions, to the meetings, to the writer’s groups. Schmooze.
I’m not saying suck up, you’ll come
across as desperate.
Ask advice of those writers attending
the event. People love to expound and be the sage. And if you’re still having
trouble, brush up your skills with a reread of Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People.
It might seem phony, but it works.
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