I get calls all the time from new writers bursting at the seams with questions about publishing. Don't be bashful. Ask away.

I don't mind. I remember what it was like. I had just written my first novel, and I had so much to learn. It was all so scary and bewildering to talk to printers about my baby---about my creation a year in the making---as if it were mere ink on paper.

It was more---much more. It was my heart, my soul, and a year of my life.

And to them it was just page count and signatures and 100 pound natural paper and perfect binding and 12 point C1S matte finish, shrink wrap and truck freight. It was like putting an infant on the auction block.

All the technical jargon was so confusing. But what hurt most was that to them it was just another job. What I wanted...what I needed... was someone to talk to. Someone to ask all those questions I needed answered. Someone without an axe to grind or something to sell. I had no one to ask. Since then I've published almost 300 plus titles, five of which were my own, and spoken with thousands of authors, but I remember...

What I try to be is the person I so desperately wanted and needed to talk to all those years ago---a man who knew the business and was willing to share his experience with a fellow writer. I've had writers be pretty surprised when they find a mentor in the industry. And, you know what? It feels good. I've had some fun, too.

There was the call from London by a writer who needed advice. He had recently signed a contract with a subsidy press and had in hand an order by a UK store chain to buy 20,000 of his books. I advised him to hire a solicitor to break the contract, and get a literary agent. A few days after we spoke he called back with the story of how, against all odds---he was a chef, not a writer---he had in fact gotten in to see a literary agent in London and been taken on. The agent assured him he could sell the book. Miracles DO happen.

There were calls from folks who wanted to mortgage their homes to publish so they could make millions---I've lost count on how many of these I've discouraged.

Students, missionaries, people with limited means on limited incomes I refer to free and inexpensive publishing services like lulu.com.

Sometimes writers ask me how I can give the advice I do when I have nothing to gain? It's simple---I believe in karma---and it's easy to be generous when you're having a ball.

There have been calls, emails and submissions from writers who were naturals, writers who had never read how to write, but just wrote the way they spoke, with a naturalness most of us can only pray for. One, the boat captain who saved hundreds of lives in the tsunami had written a wonderful memoir and had been advised to Bowdlerize it in order to win a book prize. He'd ruined it, of course, and I told him so. Much great writing has been ruined by well meaning advice. PS: of course he hadn't won the prize. The lesson here is this: never write for anyone but yourself and never change what feels right to please anyone---especially critics---or your writing is sure to please no one.

If you've just completed a book into which you've poured your mind, your heart and your soul, you're just finding out how stressful it can be. You're not alone. We writers understand what you're going through.

If you need someone to talk to about your writing, give me a ring. Who knows? I may have the answers you need. If not, maybe I can give you an idea who can help.   My number's right down there on the left. I look forward to our chat.

Dave St.John

Executive Editor