good advice is hard to find

But when you find good advice, it's unmistakably good.

I found mine at the Harvard Writer's Workshop, a continuing education course for MDs. I attended as a reporter, covering the course for Harvard Medicine. The opportunity fell into my lap on Thursday during a chat with the editor, my friend and colleague Paula Byron.

I almost said no. I had a long run planned for Saturday and I was semi-holding Sunday open for a not very good reason and I'd had a long week already.

But then I remembered that whole bit about showing up. You have to show up, meet people, be a part of it. So I said yes, as long as I could attend the fiction workshop too, which turned out to be wonderful, like icing on cake.

The advice I got came from Rusty Shelton, a highly regarded publicist in Austin, TX. He gave a talk about hiring a publicist, which I've been considering, and among his parting words, which included "Write a great book," he said, "Get good advice."

I've been wanting good publicity advice for ages but haven't known where to get it. So I approached him after the session and asked for some. "How do I get the most bang for the buck to promote my book?" I asked. "Should I hire a publicist to help me get reviews?"

Before answering, he asked, "What's your goal?"

Luckily, I knew the answer. "I want to be a novelist." There. I said it out loud to a stranger. In the publishing business. Kindly, he didn't laugh. Instead he gave me some really great suggestions for how to build my online presence.

Now, I was recently a panelist on Books and Blogging for New England Science Writers and I'd left that event feeling inadequate compared to some of the other panelists. I also left thinking that what I needed to do was start tweeting and blogging about science.

This is what I get for hanging out with a bunch of journalists, few of whom would ever consider uttering the words "I want to be a novelist."

Instead, Shelton suggested blogging and tweeting about fiction. Review books. Talk to authors about writing. And consider giving away the eBook version of The Blind Pig just to get it into more people's hands. In hindsight, it's kind of obvious. These are the kinds of things that novelists do.

Interestingly, earlier in the day, Jeff Brown, author of The Winner's Brain, had encouraged us to act "As If." By acting as if I'm a novelist, I am sending messages to my brain that I already am what I aim to be. If I keep activating those self-image brain cells, I'll start naturally seeing myself as who I want to be.

I cannot overemphasize his caveat to avoid going overboard on this one. Acting insufferably "As If" will only make people say "As If" about you behind your back.

So I'm off to get my "I'm a novelist and a winner" brain cells in gear (and also to get my laundry done).

Incidentally, Brown will be in the medical tent at the Boston Marathon finish line. I very much hope not to see him there.