After we got off the phone with him, I turned to my wife and we were clearly thinking the same thing. I simply said "I'm thinking about God and a boat" and sure enough she was thinking the same thing. Let me explain.
There is a joke we both love. I'll paraphrase.
A guy is caught in the middle of a hurricane drenched area. The town around him has been flooded, the water is rising and things are not looking good. Now he is sitting on top of his roof. Eventually a boat comes by and a guy says, "Hop in, I can get you to safety." But the guy on the roof turns him down.
"No, I appreciate it, but I know God will save me."
The water continues to rise and eventually a second guy comes by in a boat and says, "Get in and I will take you to safety, but again the guy on the roof turns him down.
"No, I know God will save me."
The water is now almost at the peak of the roof and the guy has very little space left, and again another boat comes by to save him and again, the guy turns him down.
"No, I know God will save me."
Finally, the water level get too high, the currents come in and sweep him off of the roof and he drowns.
He now finds himself in heaven and is confused. "God, I believed in you. I knew you would be there for me and in a time when I really needed you, you weren't there."
God simply said, "I sent you three boats, stupid."
My son has always had a problem with this, much like the guy on the roof. Opportunities land in front of him, and he always has a reason why this really is not something he wants, until the opportunities passes and it is too late.
Just recently, after a swim meet, he was thinking that one thing that could really help him was a particular coach. This coach is now no longer in the state and was there for him in the past, but my son passed on those opportunities.
He had a chance to go to a particular training trip and chose a different option. His choice was fine, but after the fact, he realized he potentially missed out on some things that could be bigger for him in the future.
Publishing is just like this. Opportunities for networking, meeting people, submitting projects, starting a new concept are always out there in front of you. It is a matter of you paying attention to those chances and when those opportunities arise, you jump on the chance.
I have worked with a lot of authors over the years and some have taken that leap and others have regretted not taking it.
One author took a random chance when sitting at a lunch table. A book buyer asked to see her manuscript and she took the chance. That book buyer took it to a senior editor at a major publisher and it launched her career. Opportunity taken.
Another author, during a time when we were discussing proposals decided to take a different one then the one I suggested. Her option worked out fine and she is doing well. The other option ended up launching into something bigger for another author. Missed opportunity.
Go to a conference and you will see the same thing. Writers all get together and fill up a table with all of their friends for those large luncheons and in walks the editors and agents looking for a seat. Because they were so eager to be with each other, they lost an opportunity to connect.
Harlequin is constantly putting out their SYTYCW program. So You Think You Can Write is a chance to really get past that slush pile and get your story advanced with some great comments. And they often find that the number of submissions are just not there. The funny thing is hearing how many authors skipped out on the chance and then regretted it later.
You have to quit making excuses. You have to take those chances. Looking back in hindsight and seeing you made a big mistake is not going to help you!
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