Read.

I have been doing a lot of reading lately. Not books so much (except my latest great find, which, by the way, is fabulous. Go do yourself a favor and buy it or check it out or sit on the floor of the few remaining Borders and read it!!!) but also blogs and articles and just stuff.

In my quest to be the best at this writing thing that I can be, I have searched out sources. I have started following a few blogs of writers (which tend to be not that great) and agents (which, overall, are fabulous). And in this quest I have learned a lot. For example:

• Only 20% of books published actually turn a profit.
• That means 80% of books out there are depending on the other 20%. Sounds like life.
• Right now most agents (the people who peddle books to publishers) are not accepting manuscripts from new authors.
• As one agent said, "In the words of American Idol, 'The talent tonight is rediculous.' But we know only one person will be chosen in the end." Which, goes to show, that just because you book is not chosen does not mean the talent is not there, but rather the space for it.
• All in all --> to get a book published is pretty much an impossibility. Not 100% of an impossibility, but more like 99.99999%.

That's OK, though. Because I have learned some other things, such as:

• There are completely respectable self-publishing options out there.
• The book The Shack was originally self-published because everybody rejected it.
• All in all --> Whatever happens, happens. The end. I do not need nor expect this to be a blockbuster. I do expect that it will be published either by Pacific Press or another publishing house or by me. Any way that goes down, I am OK with that.

But, once again, I am looking at the end when I am still smack dab in the middle. I need to focus on my writing. But before I do, let me share some other things I have discovered in my reading.

I am following a blog called "Rachel's Rantings in Rio", which as you might have guessed is a woman (American, married to a Brazilian) in Rio, ranting. Well, not always ranting, but sharing thoughts mostly. It is like an online, ever developing ethnography. She is witty, crass, sweet, brutally honest, and overall happy. I love it. One day she might be writing about the different views of Brazilian waxes (and the crassness comes out) and the next she is talking about being a stay-at-home mom with her little Brazilian boys who only want rice and beans while she really wants to enjoy a PB&J with them. I have something to laugh about everyday, and I learn more and more about my husband's culture through the eyes of someone who has been immersed in it deeper and for a longer period of time than I have been.

Ah... I must get back to writing what I am supposed to be writing, although I do find this a little more entertaining. In the words of the author of The Sex Lives of Cannibals, "Like many writers, I believed that clearing brush under the equatorial sun was preferable to actually writing..." Oh, J. Maarten Troost, how you know me so well.

(Photo courtesy of weheartit.com)