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Anyone looking for a great blog for writing inspiration and advice would do well to drop in at Writing Fiction, just one of Crawford Kilian’s many blogs. Crof discusses the progress and setbacks of his own fiction with an honesty that most writers could never muster, me in particular [yesterday’s post will tell you why.] Recently Crof received this email from a reader:

I have written many stories for kids and youth. I want to publish.

It’s a common enough question and one that busy writer/bloggers/teacher would justified in ignoring, but Crawford takes the time to offer some more great advice for anyone who is cursed with the desire to publish a book. I share his belief that being a successful writer means, unfortunately, being a good salesperson:

If writers were automatically also good salespersons, more of us would get into print. But many of us, including me, find the marketing of a novel a lot harder than the writing…and the writing is hard enough.

It’s only recently that I’m tuning into the idea that I have to actually sell myself as a writer. For many of writers who have hermit tendencies [me], selling yourself or your writing can be a painful process that enduces a feeling of slime growing on your back. But it must be done and remember: this isn’t a time-share in Flordia your trying to unload, it’s you and your babies. Presumably you like yourself and if you don’t, hopefully you at least like your writing.

So, the only answer is sell as well as you write. Who knows? If you sell enough, you’ll eventually get an agent who will do the selling for you.