From writer to marketer

Hello world! This is my first real blog post and an important milestone in my transition as an author.

In 2011, I decided to write a book about canoes and British Columbia as a result of the positive feedback I had received from talks I had given on the subject over several previous years. I learned how to structure a book, researched the topics in more depth, talked to some of the most active canoe people and actually began to write the manuscript. In early 2013, I submitted a proposal on the book to Heritage House Publishing and that summer they told me they wanted to publish it. I finished the writing in November and then spent two months collecting photographs. In February and March, 2014 I worked with the editor and designer to improve the writing and finalize the photo selection and then we sent the work off to be printed.

And that is when the transition from writer to marketer began. I worked with a designer to create a website, sent out advance copies of the book for comment and lined up a series of speaking events. Meanwhile the publisher’s publicist worked in parallel to seek media coverage, get additional reviews of the book and prepare supporting material.

This blog is an important part of that transition. I hope to use it to communicate my efforts to spread the word about the canoe culture in BC as well as information I gather about the canoeing community that is not in the book. I hope you enjoy it.