Many were expecting me to be an asshole.

John Gilstrap and The Dark Side (Part Two)

John Gilstrap’s 1996 debut novel, Nathan’s Run, hit the big time––quickly. He was 39 and unknown and suddenly the most talked about author in the New York publishing world. Within a week of Harper Collins acquiring his manuscript, Warner Bros. offered him more than $1 million for the movie rights.

It was every writers’ dream.

Reactions, however, may not have been. His wife Joy couldn’t believe his novel was that good that someone would offer her husband that kind of money, but of course, John wasn’t about to turn it down.

Publishing is one big match game where agents pair the right manuscript with the right editor. It’s that simple, and that difficult. If successful, they just might set off an explosion under a writer’s career. Gilstrap will testify to that. Failing to make the correct match, however, means the same manuscript goes nowhere.

An agent’s biggest fear is taking a pass on what later becomes a bestseller. In Gilstrap’s case, twenty-seven agents suffered that fate. Alas, even the experienced pros can’t always predict success in the subjective book publishing industry.

In Gilstrap’s case, long after his big payday, he ran into one of the twenty-seven who rejected Nathan’s Run. “Okay,” she told him, “you’re my mistake.” She was gracious, which is what agents are in this business. And as awkward as it may be to whiff on a big one, it happens all too often. Yet, no one is looking to leave hard feelings in their path in this relatively small community because, well, you just never know who you’ll be working with next week. Now, more than ever, publishers are churning through their editors at breakneck speed making it more difficult for to lightning to strike. (Ask an agent.)

And then there’s the comical and clueless reaction in this business. Six months after Nathan’s Run was published and became a worldwide bestseller, Gilstrap received his final rejection from an agent living under a rock (or who needed to fire his intern).

Gilstrap’s success gave him entrée into top mystery, crime, and thriller author circles. Yet, no matter how well-earned his fame and fortune, some reactions to his success showed him a side of the business he’d never experienced.

One of the attributes of the crime-writing community is the generosity displayed by those authors who’ve made it big toward those still aspiring. Getting a book published is not a zero-sum game. One success lifts many and helps direct the industry as it feels its way toward the next trend. Visit any writers conference with major players in attendance and you’ll experience how generous they can be. The choppy waters of publishing are not easy to navigate so advice from someone who’s been there can be invaluable.

“The dark side,” Gilstrap says, “is you become very aware––once you’re in the club and start meeting people­­––not everyone embraces your success. Many were expecting me to be an asshole. I really was humbled by it all.”

Gilstrap remembers well one experience where Harlen Coben introduced him to a famous crime author who refused to shake his hand. No explanation given. To this day, the only thing Gilstrap can think of to account for such behavior is jealousy. He’s never talked to that author again.

“There’s lightning strikes and serendipity in everything in this business,” Gilstrap says, “which is encouraging and terrifying at the same time.”

And generosity and jealousy.

I’m Rick Pullen, former investigative reporter, magazine editor, and author of the best selling thriller Naked Ambition, its sequel Naked Truth, and a stand-alone thriller The Apprentice. I’m also a magazine columnist and feature writer. Currently, I’m working on my next crime novel and a non-fiction book about many of the authors who appear in Idol Talk. Literary Agent Terrie Wolf of AKA Literary Management represents my work.

Thanks for reading Idol Talk! Subscribe for free or support my work with a paid subscription. — Rick Pullen