Three weeks ago at the last meeting of the Southern California Writers Association, Christopher Reich, the author of Numbered Account and a dozen other best selling thrillers, told us that the number one ingredient to become a writer is confidence. You must believe in what you write. Of course, a little luck and the right connections might help, too. Take for example his story of how he got his agent. A family member worked at an ad agency where James Patterson was his boss. Patterson read Reich’s manuscript and got his agent to represent him. Still, it took him 9 months to sell his first book–for which he received a…