Pat Forde

It is extremely easy to state that someone is "one of the good guys" in his or her profession. You may not even know them, but a smile on television or a well placed handshake can quickly elevate a coach from "just on of the guys", to a standout amongst their peers. Let me tell you flat out...Pat Forde is "one of the good guys". In a writing business where its hard to speak with the editor of some college papers, I was surprised and excited to receive a response e-mail to a brief letter I wrote to Pat. Like most young writers, whether serious or casual, I asked for advice on entering/thriving/surviving in a profession that I knew little or nothing about (basically what I saw in a trailer for "The Devil Wears Prada", apparently its about a journalist). Instead of a glorified pat on the back, which is only slightly more valuable than no reply at all, Pat gave a me a straightforward, no frills response. Actual advice from an actual writer. This was no handshake or feigned smile, but a statement of truth about the difficulties of becoming a professional writer. Even though the advice itself was "boiler plate" as a small disclaimer stated, the beginning of the letter still took time to address me, wish my Demon Deacons luck, and say hello to a mutual friend. On a larger scale, it is easy to estimate that any number of people such as myself have written similar letters and received very similar responses. Coming from a busy journalist at ESPN, one can see the value of the advice contained within, and no I am not talking about a bluprint for similar success. So if I sound cliche please forgive me, but Pat Forde (a "homie" from Louisville) is one of the good guys, and a really good writer too...check out the link.