ONE week from today, on March 2nd, The Wayward Spy will be available for the world to read. With only ONE week remaining as an unpublished author, I want to talk about ONE thing. And it’s a simple thing — Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.
The journey to March 2nd has been two decades in the making. In early 2001, when I began writing, the story’s villain was Osama bin Laden. Back then, few people outside of national security or international relations circles had ever heard of him. But then, when the attacks of September 11th happened, the entire world learned exactly who he was. (In late 2001, I axed him from the plot. He didn’t deserve a prominent role in my book.)
The journey from 2001 to March 2, 2021 is replete with near successes, gutting disappointments, and uncertainty about whether this book belonged anywhere but in the trash. What did I do as an aspiring writer over these two decades? I quit. I quit writing so many times that I lost track. But…wait, didn’t I just say, “don’t give up?” Yes. But quitting isn’t the same thing as giving up. Deep down, I never gave up. I knew, as one fancy literary agent told me long ago, that this book “belongs on the shelf” with other thrillers. But, still I quit. I quit for many reasons. Disappointment. Fear of failure. Fear of success. I’m-not-good-enough-ism. Dramatic author temper tantrums (usually in my head, but those still count). I quit because of competing committments that were far more important than this book.
Despite all my quitting, I never truly gave up. I went to writer’s conferences every now and then. I’d rewrite The Wayward Spy (multiple times). I wrote a sequel. I tried again to get published. I’d fail and then I’d quit.
And yet, here I am. An unpublished author for just six more days.
Whatever it is that makes your pulse quicken, the thing you do that makes hours pass like seconds…go ahead and quit if you must. Quit ten or 50 or 77 times. Quit, but don’t ever give up.
Follow Me
