So, I wrote another book.

Most likely what will happen now is, I'll tell people I wrote another book and they'll ask me why I wrote another one when the first two haven't sold yet. (Unless they got the point after the last time when I tried to explain the process.)

I think people outside the writing life don't fully understand what the whole thing is about. Thus the attitude I mentioned above. To the outside world, you write a book and if it's any good, it gets published. No muss, no fuss... Boom. Publication. They don't understand that it might take years to get the right agent. They don't understand why an agent is necessary at all. They think all you have to do is send it to a publisher, and the publisher prints it. Maybe that's why scam houses like PublishAmerica suck so many hopeful writers in, and scam agencies prey on the uninitiated. I know I assumed the process would be so much easier than it has been. (And yes, I even considered PA for a short time.)

So, if you know a writer, be encouraging. Ask them about their work sincerely, and don't wonder why they are still churning out manuscripts when the first ones haven't sold. That is part of the process, too. Writers write. Sounds obvious, but it bears saying. If each writer waited the interminable amount of time it takes for publication before they began another work, they'd be wasting their abilities.

And if you are a writer, don't let the rejections get you down. They are all part of the business. Everyone gets them. (Okay, almost everyone.) Finish one book and work on the next; improve your craft and develop the thickest skin you can manage. If you work hard, and stay on course, the rejections will someday turn into acceptances.

Good luck and success to us all.