[em-bee]

Once I really internalized that, I found it was pretty easy to get published.

yes, but then you only write what publishers want and not what your creativity drives you to write. i am not sure that letting publishers be gatekeepers is a good thing.

this is a hard problem though. and i don't know what is the right answer.

[JohnFen]

That's not precisely true. What you do is find the right publication for what you want to write. There's a HUGE variety to choose from. The odds are that there's one somewhere who is on the same page as you.

But it is also true that it's a business, and if you want to be published (and don't want to self-publish), then you'll have to do business-related work in addition to creative work. Or, if you're lucky or successful, have a literary agent who will do it for you (for a price).

[pmontra]

> this is a hard problem though. and i don't know what is the right answer.

The hard problem is always the same, how to be happy making what we like. Sometimes the solution involves making a reasonable amount of money.

> then you only write what publishers want

Most software developers write only what their customers / bosses want and not what they would like to write. That allows them to pay their bills and live their lives. Local optima, often easy to reach.