Well it’s June 14.  It’ll be the 4th of July before we know it.  Time for that promised Summer series SO without further ado I present Mr. Thomas Wick!

So Benito said I needed an image/signature so I went with the most cliche one I could find.  Perhaps the problem with my writing, see I am an unpublished author, have been since 2007.  My goal with this series is to let aspiring authors know what it’s like out here, not from the vantage point you normall hear from, the small minority of successful writers, but from guys like me.

I probably have alot in common with a lot of you.  I am up to my eyeballs in student debt, I have a stack of academic credentials I’ve never used, and I am constantly unemployed or underemployed.  Between that and being a failed writer I get DOUBLE the rejections.  My self-esteem is at an all-time high.  Please read for my initial writing experiences and a few tips…not that I am really in the position to give any.  This first entry is going to be a sort of overview/summary of what I’ve done and where I am.

So, I have always wanted to be a writer and severe bouts of unemployment gave me the opportunity to try.  My first two manuscripts I just sort of dove right in.  When I was finished I went to the bookstore and read Idiot’s Guide to Getting Published and learned about writing a book proposal, query letters, and how to market one’s work.  I sent out tons of letters and got tons of rejections.  A few wanted to see my work.  I never heard from them again.

It wasn’t until my third attempt at writing a book that it occurred to me that the writing itself might need work.  Sure, arrogance was a big part of that, but let’s not forget what passes for literature in our society, or am I the only one who has read Twilight? Also, I am a hater, you should know that up front.  I read a book called How Not to Write a Novel and it took my skills to the next level.  I then discarded my second novel and immediately began my third novel.

I queried the third novel and got a much larger response.  This was my hopeful phase.  I was SO SURE I was going to be the next big writer.  After all, with so many agents wanting to take a look, one was BOUND to represent me, and then it was only a matter of time.  Then weeks passed…then months.  I followed up and was promised a response in ” a few weeks.”  Finally I got impatient and tried to impose my own deadlines on Agents who didn’t even waste their time telling me to go to hell.  I was extremely depressed.  I compared myself to every great writer I could think of and pitied the world for it would never be graced with my message.  The depression was worsened by a six-month stint where I was represented by a self-publisher/scam artist masquerading as a real agency.

Finally, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and took a real writing class.  Then I started my fourth book, called Student Debt, found Benito’s blog while doing research and here I am writing my first post for it, quite possibly the only thing I will ever write that someone I don’t know personally will read.  This is actually a really big deal for me so be nice in the comments…though Benito already warned me that commentary is sparse.

Thanks Benito!  Here’s to 1 Million hits on Debtor’s Prison and Student Debt becoming a best seller! Ok, that was lame but I had to write it.