In Memory Of David Pate

My writing friend died suddenly, in his sleep. And the worst part - well there are so many worst parts - but one of them is that I had to attend the online funeral alone with no one to text, because that was the role he played in my life. We all have that friend we message during meetings and boring calls, virtually rolling our eyes as things play out on screen. David Pate was that guy for me through our entire MFA program and beyond, and now he’s gone.

On the Bright Side though

his first ever book is scheduled to come out this fall, titled “Changing our Tunes: Why National Anthems Fall Flat” (Dundurn Press forthcoming 2024).

Before he sold the book, he

recorded a podcast to help position himself as an expert in national anthems. He also did some related stories for the CBC and other news outlets, until people started referring to him as “anthem expert”, which he became, and that helped him sell the book. Note that he became an expert just by researching and writing about this topic, so you can become an expert in your field too, just by working in it.

The key is work.

To be an expert, you can’t just think a lot about anthems (or terrestrial planets, or the legal assembly of British Columbia, or Judith Leiber bags). You would have to actually produce content and have it published, either by submitting it to enough outlets that someone actually bites or by publishing it yourself. What the content looks like is up to you - you might be a Substack person, you might be an aspiring local newspaper columnist, or maybe you’re thinking podcast or vlog.

Persistence in this case meaning

David did everything he could to personally move his project along. He submitted his book to agents and publishers. He wrote, produced and released 18 episodes of a brand new podcast. He pitched stories and hooked them into current events - Canada Day, World Cup, anytime there was something anthem related he had a story in.

Don’t Wait.

That’s the unfortunate lesson here. Don’t wait until you have an agent or a book contract to start developing yourself as an expert. Don’t wait until your book is published to start pitching related stories.

Don’t wait until you lose a friend to tell them how much you appreciate their snarky texts.

David, your group chat misses you already.

Thank you for being a persistent human being and writer so that I can dedicate this Substack to you and still share a valuable lesson.

The Group Chat (L to R): John Larsen, Fay Martin, David Pate, me and Jenny Chen