The best piece of advice from the Chesapeake Writing Workshop

In my time as a professional writer I have picked up many nuggets of gold from connecting with other writers, being in writing communities, and reading about the business. Up until the Chesapeake Writing Workshop that I attended at the end of July, I thought the best advice I ran across was recognizing that writing and publishing are two separate businesses, both of which have to be mastered if you want to self-publish. But at the workshop I picked up a nugget that makes a great deal of sense. Robin Sullivan, Wife and Business Manager of successful author Michael J. Sullivan, held a session on The Secrets to Self-Publishing Success. She offered several nuggets. She had her finger on the pulse of successful self-publishing, replete with knowledge about current trends, industry standards, and future directions of the field. The most influential piece of information I heard was this: Until you've written at least three books, your focus needs to be on writing three books. She even went on to say that getting those three books written is more important and consequential than marketing what you've already written. This initially seemed counterintuitive, but upon further processing made great sense. The concept was reinforced during another session presented by author Robert Bidinotto. He spoke of the same concept and added that when a customer has read your book and enjoyed it, he/she wants to read more. This is what brings in sales. Robert stated that every time he releases a new book, the sales of previous books increase. If you only have one book or two, you don't get the benefit from that uptick in sales from someone who likes your book buying other books of yours, because there are no other books for them to buy. This advice helped me to prioritize my focus. I am now planning how to get another two fiction books to completion. There were so many words of wisdom that resonated at the Chesapeake Writing Workshop, but this piece of advice will shape my writing career moving forward!