The best thing about running for any political office (and losing), is that it prepares you for completing your first book (maybe your second, third; a short story, a poem, a script or a magazine article), and then trying to find an agent and being rejected by them. I ought to know. I have run for political office and lost, and I'm going through the process of looking for an agent, even though I have a proven track record with my first novel "Swap."