Feeling crappy?

Here's a spot of reading for those days when you feel a bit cynical about the writing industry, and weary of the whole writing-as-a-lifestyle thing:

Getting Published is Not a Crap Shoot
Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

Many of the writers who contact me with Writer Beware-type questions seem to be convinced that the process of getting published is equivalent to a crap shoot. There are enormous numbers of people trying to sell a book, and very few publishing slots to go around. What slots there are go mostly to insiders and celebrities, rather than new writers. Agents and editors are so [pick one] busy/arrogant/sadistic that they're as likely to toss your query as to read it. All in all, you’ve got a better chance of getting struck by lightning than you do of getting published.

Read the rest: http://www.sfwa.org/2010/11/getting-published-is-not-a-crap-shoot/#more-10004

Now, pick yourself up, dust yourself off...