The smell of printer's ink

So today I tackle #5 "With additional editing and tightening, In Between Goodbyes might have luck being shopped by a reputable agent." 

Would you like to see my rejection stack?  That's it.  In order to be "shopped by a reputable agent" you must first land a "reputable agent."  82 rejection letters later, all from "reputable agents"  (perhaps some were not so reputable) I couldn't even land that.  

These days most publishers don't want author submitted (over the transom) manuscripts.  In order to land a publisher you must first land an agent.  Perhaps you also need to land a friend who knows an agent.  I'm not sure what the answer is.  By the time the 82nd rejection came and by the time I had gone through 81 rewrites of my query letter, my ego said "uncle."  I self-published.

This is not to say that self-publishing should be relegated to the land of the totally rejected but I can tell you that when I had my book in my hot little hand I was elated akin to heavy, heavy drugs for at least a few weeks.

You see, my joy in writing comes from just that, writing.  I don't really care if I sell, just that I write.  The soft, shiny covers and smell of printer's ink was a bonus.