Tip: Go to Readings, It Helps

Enough of my musings, now, here's some practical info. Something that has been really helpful to me in my writing career is meeting other professional authors. This was particularly encouraging before I was a professional author. A good way to do this is to go to the readings that so many local bookstores, as well as the big chains, have.

Unless the author is a gigantic name, these are not usually packed -- sometimes the turnout is downright spindly. Authors are very pleased to have a few extra folks there, and you can usually ask questions both during the formal presentation (usually a reading and question-and-answer period) as well as by just going up to the author afterward.

Authors are in general very nice people who have gone through what you are going through now as you try to get published. I have never once experienced an author being snooty or annoyed or anything but pleased by my interest when I ask them about their work.

This doesn't mean the author will magically give you their agent's name and refer you to them. Honestly, they probably won't. But if you, say, mention that your writing is similar to theirs in some way, and ask, very nicely, if you might email them or write them to ask advice, they might say yes. You might run into them another time. You might notice who their agent is (remember the trick of looking in their acknowledgments?) and ask if they would recommend that person. You might begin to develop a small network of people in the field who know your name.

Of course, you always want to be polite, never over-demanding, and be willing to take no for an answer; people have different personalities, different wishes about privacy, and different fears about stalkers. But in my experience, most authors are pleased to have intelligent fans and happy to give a word or two of advice. And often they will give you a few words of encouragement to keep on trying. That, I found, can be worth a lot.