Your sound advice with respect to your approach to writing and the issue of getting published is really appreciated.

The proliferation of the internet certainly has its good (Dionne’s website as an example of the good) and bad points. There are those walk (and type) amongst us who I think can be equated with the “school yard bully”, and they essentially “get their rocks off”, by maligning the work of others, no matter what that work happens to be. It’s really quite sad, and their problem really, which is best left to the psychiatrists of the world to deal with. So I guess the best course of action is to ignore this type of behaviour and for a committed writer to get on with their dream of getting published.

At this point I write for myself, and don’t have any “delusions of grandeur”, about getting published. Maybe I will test that murky water some day but right now in answer to your question, “Would I write if I was the only person who ever saw it?” Most definitely. Yes.

Thank you again.

Yeah, I think it’s one thing to say: “Here are the odds. Here is the journey.” But it’s not okay or even accurate for anyone to determine who will and who won’t make it. I’ve seen some truly horrible writers become really good over time. It’s a growth process. We all sucked at one point (and I might still be at the suck point lol) The difference is, I think it’s so much easier for people to share writing now before it’s really ready. Due to increased technology.

On the odds thing, once a writer gets to a certain level of proficiency, they aren’t competing with “every other writer out there.” They’re competing with the other top 5-10%. I think the goal should be to get the quality up, not look at all the people not yet ready to publish as “the reason you’ll never get published.”

And I’m totally with you on the genius thing. I think the only proper time to tell someone their writing is stunningly amazingly fantastic is when it’s already in print and it can’t be changed.

That said, I think the folks that go around being as vicious as possible and taking glee in pounding the life out of people’s dreams are fooling themselves when they say it’s for the would-be writer’s own good. They’re doing it because they want to hurt someone, plain and simple.

I’ve never liked either extreme—people who tell every writer that she’s a genius, or people who slam folks just because they can. Neither helps the would-be writer, and neither accomplishes anything useful.

In the offline world, in a bookstore I was buying some writing magazines a few years ago, and the kid behind the counter took it upon himself to tell me it’s hard to get published and its unlikely I’d ever “make it.” It was like: “Well thank you for that completely unsolicited advice.” In hindsight I think he was probably a writer himself and got discouraged and gave up, and somehow thought it was his civic duty to enlighten me and save me from myself.

But seriously, I’m not sure where you’re traveling along the intertubes, but I’m glad I’m not stopping there. Everyone I read/talk to has been very kind, funny, and very supportive. But then I’m a bitch. If anyone ever gave me that attitude I’d avoid them like the plague and then work that much harder to make it.

Personally, I haven’t gotten the impression of “quit, you’re no good” over the internet, but then I don’t spend all that much time on it beyond reading email.