Somewhere Over the Sun

Hi there, dear reader (by the way, as much as I love names, their consonants, vowels, nuances and how different they are from each other even when they’re exactly alike, I love addressing you as my dear reader).

I apologize for how long it took me to respond to your question. I like being accessible to my readers, especially fellow obsessive writers, so please don’t let my lack of timeliness keep you from asking other questions.

Now to actually answer your question. There’s absolutely no need to live near the Publishing Mecca that is New York, or even near any independent publishing house or literary agency anywhere in the country or the world. Everything is achievable electronically. As long as you have easy access to a computer and the internet, you can do all you need to do to get noticed.

You can query agents, promote yourself with a website, Twitter and Facebook profiles, even communicate with self-publishers to get your first project done and build a name for yourself, all from as remote a location as Mexico City.

Having the means to travel is probably helpful. If you’re lucky enough to draw the interest of an agent, you might want to meet face to face to make sure the match is right. And signing contracts, although it can be done electronically, is something that might call for a trip to New York or wherever the literary agency or publishing house is.

Aside from that, our profession is a rootless one. We can live anywhere we like. So continue to dream about publishing books, dear reader. Distance is nothing these days.