I am sure all writers have heard this before. Once they "come out" and tell people they are writers, they find out that every other person has also started their "Great American Novel." Unfortunately, many of the writers who send manuscripts to editors and agents are just those people. They have written a novel and it will make of the great authors in the Canon of Literature look embarrassed for what they produced.
Sorry to say this, but "it ain't happening!"
There are two reasons for this.
First, writing, like every other craft out there takes time to learn. It takes education. I have said this before and I will say it again. We go to college for a reason. To LEARN how to do what we want to do. This is a career and there is no difference between what we do as writers and what we would do at a teacher, lawyer or doctor. We have to learn the craft.
Secondly, I am sorry to say this, writing, in many ways, is like being professional athlete. Some people have it and some people don't. I remember one year a P.E. teacher at my school came to me about his son that I had in class. He was overly frustrated that his son was not earning A's in everything. I told him his son was great but his son was a solid B+ student. He could not accept that. So, with that, I threw him a curve ball (we are in baseball season of course!). I told him that I totally loved basketball and I wanted to be a NBA player. I would come down to the gym every day and he could train me.
At that point, he told me these players had some inherent skills that they were born with......
And then he realized what he said.
Look, writing is for everyone, but we cannot all be that Great American (or any other country) Novelists. Some of us have it and some of us don't.
Now, I don't want to obsess over the second point here. This is just a matter of "where" you could be published. I am more focused on the first one. LEARN TO WRITE! LEARN THE BUSINESS! LEARN THE CRAFT!
I promise you will have some better success.
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