Fifteen years ago, I thought I had my first publishing deal all sewn up, but when it came to the nitty gritty I was out of my depth. As a freelance journalist I was accustomed to selling my writing and negotiating payments, but book publishing was a whole new world and I wasn’t coping.
By chance I interviewed another journalist-turned-author at that time and told her of my difficulties.
She suggested I speak to her agent, Selwa Anthony. She told me that Selwa mainly worked on recommendation – she believed that the people she was meant to work with would find her.
I loved that philosophy and felt fortunate to be one of those recommendations.
In our first phone call I explained my publishing difficulties to Selwa. Within a few days my problems were solved, my first book was published within the year and I had a solid support system behind me which gave me great confidence as a new author.
I quickly wrote and had two more books published with Selwa’s help, and when I decided to flip genre Selwa backed my gamble, and a bestseller and three-book deal with Random House followed.
Selwa has been a terrific sounding board. She offers a dependable litmus test of what is most likely to work, not just in the market, but also for me as an author.