OK, he's not for everybody. But there are those that will not read Dune, Foundation, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc...

When was the last time any of you wrote ANYTHING worth reading - I mean for someone else? Obviously, you have NO IDEA what it takes to get a story published. You don't just write a bunch of crap down then take it to a printer - get real.

1.) If your agent doesn't like it, you rewrite it until he is comfortable sending it to the publisher.
2.) The Editor(s) must approve.
3.) Five rewrites and a half dozen levels of approval later, the story might be approved. (steps 4, 5, 6, 7)

So, now you have a book published and people are buying it like water in the desert. They want more and more. So you try to please, you try to hurry, you try to connect A to B.

I've just written my first complete short story (6500 words) to send to a publisher. The whole process of creating characters and having them live or die under you "pen" is...breathtaking. I had tears in my eyes after I killed off the main character.

I've started my second short story and have instead, found myself writing the first, second and third chapters of a book. I have no idea where any of this will go, but the joy of doing it and the (local) feedback on what has gone to paper has been humbling and worth every minute of my efforts.

If you have any ideas of what other people like to read, just try to do it yourself.

Be humbled...it doesn't hurt that much.
Mark