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Here's a guest editor from literary personality Krishan Trotman, the former Simon and Schuster recently launched her own editorial consulting firm. Below she shares tips of the trade about becoming a publishing superstar.

A Big Secret that No One Ever Told You
By Krishan Trotman
Ktrotman3@nyc.rr.com

You have a supportive agent and you love your editor. You've written a book fantastic book. It's a winner, for sure to be a bestseller. Now what?

"Now what?" is the big pink, purple elephant lingering over every smiling newly acquired author during their celebration dinner.

The contract has been signed, when does my fame start? When do the big billboards books go up in Time Square? When am I inducted into the Hall of Fame? When is my impressive moment?

Unfortunately, the amount of authors on the New York Times Bestsellers list is very slim compared to the rows and rows of books in the "New Release" section of Barnes & Noble. Books almost never get billboards. There's rarely an author being stalked by paparazzi or featured on Entertainment Tonight.

So what is the real secret behind becoming a published superstar?

Simply put, create a wonderful relationship with your publisher and everyone in the publishing house that you meet.

This sounds ridiculous, too simply, and you may be annoyed that you've read this far into the article for such a mundane secret...but it's true.

Don't be an isbn number. Get to know your publishing house and team. President Obama knows everyone in the White House.

Many authors only know their editor and then meet their publicist three months before their campaign. Huge mistake.

Your publisher should definitely know who you are. That's the person who signs all your checks and makes the big decisions. No need to try and make a new bestfriend but you'll need him or her to know your name, and maybe even, if you're lucky smile when it's mentioned. 

If you haven't met your publisher before signing the contract--either by phone or in-person--make this happen asap. The publisher is the Godfather, the Mother Theresa, and the Almighty of your publishing experience so you should know whether their interest, character and expectations compliment your book.

The publisher is busy running things so this may take a while but be sure it does happen. If the publisher and team like you, you instantly have a greater opportunity for fame.

Schedule a "meet and greet" meeting with your publishing house. Ask your editor for a list of people working on your book in various departments--marketing, publicity, sales, production, design, etc. Make sure you invite their assistants ("the gatekeepers") as well!

It is very important that in this meeting you're not asking or demanding anything (i.e. how are you going to make my book a bestseller? what television programs will you book me on?). Me, me, me, me. Publishers meet with too many "me's". You're job is to be unique, a superstar. Show them your talent so that they're asking for "you".

This meeting should be more like a first date. You are just getting to know eachother. If the publisher is interested, it'll feel more like a dance than a meeting. A friendly conversation can get you much further than a planning meeting. Eventually, when you need something, you'll know who to ask (because you'll get everyone's business card), how to ask (because you've gotten an idea of their personalities), and most importantly, you'll be more likely to receive a response when it's time to get down to business (because they'll remember you and not just your isbn number).

It often seems a bit annoying and mind-boggling to authors as to why it is necessary to schmooze in an already established business relationship. They should naturally be extremely supportive and attentive to you since they bought your book. They even paid you a lot of money for it. And you are right... Your publishing team really does like you; they have proven it because they've invested in you. But they are busy.  They have a bunch of other brilliant and talented investments as well. Therefore it is very important for you to standout in the bunch.

Most authors only feel inclined to speak up once they've already started to feel neglected. Don't wait. Send a friendly email. While at Simon & Schuster, I loved "thank you's". Whether it was in a nice sincere email or a pleasant voicemail, it always made my day because it was rare to receive one.  A little gratitude went a long way and it made me want to work even harder for that author. .

Your relationship with the people working on your book is vital to your success. An unspoken secret within the walls of publishing is that some people on your publishing "team" will not read your book. Realistically, how could they read all of them. This does not mean you should force feed your book to anyone. However, you want everyone in-house to be compelled by your superstar personality and great body of work so they can talk to their friends and colleagues in the kitchen about how great you and your book are. Their praise must spread like wildfire from the kitchen, to their office, to the bookstores.  

Krishan Trotman is a former editor at Simon & Schuster. She recently started Trotman-Ink, an independent editorial and marketing consulting firm in New York. Contact her at Ktrotman3@nyc.rr.com.