This week, I’ve been thinking a bit about luck, persistence, and success, but not in that order.  Like Lucille Ball once said, “Luck? . . . Luck to me is . . . Hard work – and realizing what is opportunity and what isn’t.”

Whether in writing or in any other aspect of life, we’re all looking for success, and hoping for a bit of luck.  Benjamin Franklin once said, ” Diligence is the mother of good luck.”

I’m a firm believer in that.  Work hard and luck will come along eventually.  One of the tricks is recognizing it though, since the very effort required to move forward can blind us to good fortune when it strikes.

“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.”  (Confucius)

Another problem we often face is that opportunity often comes from unexpected quarters.  It’s important to drive toward our goals, but also remain flexible.  We might get our break through a completely surprising channel.

I faced an opportunity almost two weeks ago that drove home this point for me.  I attended the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland, OR.  This is a great conference, with exceptionally well planned pitching opportunities.  Writers can pitch their novels or manuscripts to both literary and film agents by signing up for scheduled slots instead of having to hunt them down in the halls and tackle them before they can escape.

I had not planned to pitch anything since I am already working with a literary agent on two of my completed novels.  However, the unexpected opportunity came when I sat in on one pre-pitch practice session.  I went hoping to learn how to pitch to film agents, and I learned – the hard way.  Since only a few people showed up, I was invited to pitch something to the panel.

That was the moment, and I almost missed it.

I did have a novella recently complete, one I’m prepping for e-publishing this month titled ‘Saving Face’.  I hadn’t planned to pitch it, had not really considered it as a film property.  But even while protesting that I wasn’t really prepared, I signed my name on the list and stepped up to pitch that novella.

Although my pitch was pretty awful, the agents all agreed I had a compelling concept, and encouraged me to sign up for pitch sessions with film agents during the conference.

So I did.

Despite having to scramble to put together a ‘one sheet’, including a good tagline, I pitched to two agents and one independent film company.  They all liked the concept, and all of them asked to see more material.

Wow.  I’m pretty excited about that.

Totally unexpected, but very welcome.  So not only am I finalizing plans to e-publish the novella this month, but I’m also preparing the requested materials (hard to do with crossed fingers, but I’m managing).  Maybe they’ll even want to buy it.

So here’s an opportunity that popped up out of the blue.  I recognized it, and I was prepared.  I took the chance and stepped way out of my comfort zone.  They may decide not to option the script, but that doesn’t diminish the thrill of the experience.

As Jonathan Winters said, “If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to it!”

I’m going to keep swimming.

I’d love to hear about experiences you’ve had with unexpected opportunity.