Finding the book in you

So I had a meeting with an agent. I pitched a nonfiction book. The agent was positive about the idea. He asked for a proposal and gave me his card.

So I tried. But I couldn’t see the book in my head. And I couldn’t figure out what to do. I wrote about 100 pages. And I still couldn’t see the book in my head. So I dropped it.

I didn’t do the proposal. And of course I worried because I needed to come up with another idea. The agent is pretty high profile.

So then last week I’m doing an interview for a news story. Bam! I run head-on into the book I want to do. I started it and I could probably finish it in a week if I didn’t have a life otherwise. I connected with the passion that will enable me to do the actual writing--the endless hours of tapping the keys, revising, reworking and polishing. You gotta' love your subject, that's all there is to it.

Sometimes you just have to let the book find you—I think it’s a lot like falling in love. Look for it and it will never happen. Turn your back and forget about it and there it is.