deviating from my original plan
it did not occur to me until some time last summer that i might want other people to see the things i was writing before i was dead. the original plan was to spend as much time as possible writing, editing, compiling and organizing these things, then after i died it would be someone else's job to decide what the hell to do with it - burn it, disperse it randomly, whatever.
suddenly i went "JESUS! maybe people could read this now! what a novel, strange and insane idea!! i... i wonder if they would WANT to...."
so, i began with a few short stories i was pretty satisfied with, sending them to webzines etc., practicing dealing with rejection and ignorance and genres that make no sense. my first story was not accepted but HELD for further review - for months. i was paralyzed and unable to write until it was ultimately rejected.
eventually i became brave and started posting installments of my first piece of genre fiction on a free site. it was exhilerating and terrifying for ANYONE to be able to see these things.
so the question i put forth is....
is it worth it?
is trying to publish the written word worth the fight? was my trunk o' junk a better plan? should i go for something like createspace rather than paralyze myself with waiting for approval or disapproval? what are the pros and cons of putting thigs out in the open, and does it make any difference at all if money is involved?
please, anyone and eveyone, tell me what you've learned, are learning, and WANT to learn......
Sales and marketing.
Remember.
There are a brajillion great authors that have never been published. The ones who do are the ones who hit the streets and sell themselves.
Good luck.
This is why we can't have nice things.
No one can tell you whether its worth it or not. Cause its worth different things to different people. Rejection, well yes, is an important part of it. I also associate with you when you say how while waiting for response over a submitted story can leave you kinda paralyzed. But its all about what you want from your writing. Not everybody who writes reaches greatness and neither does everybody who gets published reaches greatness as well. One such example that comes to my mind every time I think of this is David Karp's One. A book that I found on the street about five years back. I picked it up for twenty rupees (about 50 cents) and read it. It was awesome dystopia. Better written than 1984. Lost my copy, dunno how and I curse myself for it. Then I went looking for it and nobody's ever heard of it. Googled it and found it nowhere except an old html page where someone mentioned three good dystopian books: 1984, Future Shock and One. (Btw, now there's a wiki page for the book, but that's it.)
So well, you gotta do what you gotta do. If there's self-doubt, know that there always will be. If there's rejection, someone once said, to get published you gotta aim to collect the maximum rejection letters. If there's any thing that's wrong due to circumstances in life, give those more attention and deal with them before you lose yourself to your writing. Just make sure nothing comes back and bites you later and you regret taking any such decision. And even if you end up doing something else, don't stop writing. It doesn't make sense to stop.
Finally: Nothing that any of us will say can help you more than yourself. Cause, this is not really a "career" choice. Though you CAN make a career out of it.
For comic relief: http://www.viruscomix.com/isntitironic.jpg
I can see the others taking aim with slings and arrows but I'll say this:
The only difference between a writer and someone who wants to write is that one's doing it while the other's thinking about doing it.
It's clear you've got talent and passion. I guess I'd find a good writer's group and go for it. Submitting here is fine, but if my shit sucks I'd rather someone have the stones to tell me in person in a coffee shop or living room or whatever. Also, reading others' work tends to energize me to get back to work. A group is like a lifting partner, you'll make bigger, better gains.
Submit like a mother. You can only polish so much then you've got to get it out there. Get some pointers on query letters. Honestly I don't know how heavily fictional writing relies on query letters, but learning to write one well is crucial. Bust out the Writer's Market and tab everything that looks like it's down your alley and submit your ass off. I submitted/ queried about every magazine I thought might get me some tiny bit of recognition (ever hear of Buttime Stories? Porn pretty much writes itself).
On being published: Have you seen some of the shit that makes it to book form? Chad Kultgen wrote an entire book about his penis and sold a ton. Good for him. I think it's mostly about a good agent. But it starts with you, so go for it. As for the posthumous publishing, just put away all the shit that you wrote between grades 7 and your fist summer back from college/Americorps/the Army etc. and that'll keep your grandkids set for at least a couple years.
That's more than my two cents. I'm sure other members have got some great input as well.
"In a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning"