What’s the one thing…?

I asked novelist Steve Berry the following question at the Southeastern Writers Association workshop a couple of weeks ago: “What’s the one thing you know now that you wished you’d known when you started writing?”

He didn’t hesitate with his answer. “How tough it was going to be,” he said. It’s a topic I’ve touched on before.

If anything, the market has gotten even more difficult over the past year or so. With the economy in the tank–well, let’s be blunt, in the toilet–publishers are struggling to survive and bookstores are fighting to stay in business. Some haven’t. So you can’t blame agents and publishers if they aren’t beating down doors to get unknown authors, like myself, into print.

As one agent at the workshop said, “There are going to be writers who die with good [unpublished] novels stuffed away in drawers.” Not very encouraging. Yet, if I bail out of the game at this point, I most assuredly will be one those writers. Thus, I’ll keep on keeping on. I still believe in EYEWALL and I’ll come back to it after I take care of INSIDE THE WEATHER CHANNEL.

Yet even landing an agent for ITWC, nonfiction, is proving to be challenging. I’ve dispatched query letters to 31 agents so far and have gotten a number of nibbles, but no bites. But at least three agents are still considering the book, so there is hope.

A little luck wouldn’t hurt, either. I met novelist Brad Thor (The Apostle) last night and he told of how his career was launched. Even before he began work on his first novel, he had a chance meeting on a train in Europe with a representative from Simon & Schuster. That person later become his gateway to getting his first novel (and seven succeeding ones) published.

There’s an old saying that “I’d rather be lucky than good.” I don’t kid myself. Luck helps, but Brad obviously is good. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be on book number eight. I haven’t read any of his novels yet, but purchased The Apostle yesterday and can’t wait to read it.

By the way, don’t miss a chance to see Brad in person if you get the opportunity. He’s outgoing, personable and gracious, taking time to talk for a minute or two with each person seeking to get a book (or books) signed.

But, boy, I wonder about those two dudes with him. A couple of guys decked out in stone faces and dark suits (on a steamy Georgia evening) hovered protectively near him throughout his visit. I think they were Secret Service agents. It got me thinking: Brad must know some deep, dark government secrets.

Like I said, I can’t wait to read his book.