The other day, I was thinking about how I view things a bit differently now than I did, say, ten or fifteen years ago.

One thing I’ve learned is that nothing is ever written in stone. I’m a rules girl—a by-the-book kind of gal. I am a Good Girl, after all. Generally, I drive the speed limit—or slightly over. If the sign says “NO PARKING,” I don’t park there. If the deadline is April 1st , I have my manuscript in by April 1st.

It’s ironic that I’ve picked a career field where NOTHING is written in stone. The publishing industry is as changeable as the West Texas weather. Even if you’ve got a contract and a pub date, as the song says, it “doesn’t mean a thing,” until you see the book in the bookstore. We even have a technical term for when things go bad, the kill fee.

I’ll admit that when I dreamed of writing a book, I thought mostly about how wonderful it would be to see my name on the spine of a book. When I got serious about writing, I concentrated on capturing my words on paper and molding those thoughts into something sellable. I cleared the publishing hurdle and I now have a new perspective on publishing. I understand how delicate the whole structure is. One change in a company’s aims, one budget revision, one whim, and I could be done.

I often interview authors for another blog of mine. I usually ask them what they wish they’d known about the business of publishing or the craft of writing when they first started writing. Most authors say “nothing.” Many say they’re glad they didn’t know how hard it would be, otherwise they might not have attempted to write a book and get it published.

I think I’m somewhere in the middle. I wish I’d known more about craft—the ins and outs of plotting, how to write a synopsis without running through a ream of paper, stuff like that. I wish I’d enjoyed life without deadlines, but I wanted them so badly that I spent my time wishing I had them.

Well, now I’ve got them and they rule most of my free time. I’m glad I have a multi-book deal and the security of knowing my publisher wants my next book. But it probably is a good thing that I didn’t know what a fragile house-of-cards-type thing the writing life is because, in the end, even though there are so few things I can count on, I can’t resist the pull of those ideas, those characters in my imagination. The fact that I get to put it all on paper and then other people enjoy it—well, that’s priceless. So I’ll take the volatility. It makes for one heck of a ride.

What do you wish you’d know about writing or publishing?