A kindred spirit! I'm 21 and a writer - unpublished, with three novels under my belt, a five-book series (unfinished), and hundreds of short stories. I've talked to many published authors (including Doug Allyn and S. J. Rozan), who have told me that they at least know people who were rejected over a hundred times before they finally got an agent to bite. How many queries have you sent out?
You can't expect to get published right off the bat. Someone out there will eventually like it, but not everyone will. You absolutely cannot take this personally. If you do, the writing biz isn't for you. You'll wind up depressed and self-loathing. Take rejections with a grain of salt. They aren't rejecting YOU - they're simply saying your manuscript isn't what they're looking for at this point in time. You MUST develop thick skin for this type of world. All artistic fields are incredibly cutthroat, and you must be, if not amazing, at least persistent.
Head to your local Borders book store and find a copy of the Handbook of Literary Agents, if you haven't already. There, you'll find a list of agents looking for just the type of story you wrote. If you've already done that, look for another book of agents. Contact some college professors of yours, explain your situation, and ask if they have any useful contacts (not in those words, they won't get you anywhere). Networking is your friend. It doesn't reflect negatively on your writing. It simply means that you have someone to contact who can help you get what you want. There's nothing wrong with that, and I guarantee there are successful authors out there who've done the same thing. Look at what happened with J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer...I guarantee you and I are both better writers individually than both of them put together. Well, J.K. Rowling after the fourth book. After that, her prose went waaaaay downhill...anyway.
If you'd like a friendly opinion on your work, or just someone to vent at, feel free to IM me - SirenCytherea on AIM - or look for my e-mail on my column.
If you choose not to contact me, I wish you strength and luck in all your endeavors.
-Siren =)

It's not so much personal. I just have all this pressure on myself to succeed before I lose my chance. And I've always been easy to hurt emotionally. Physically, it's another matter altogether. Ironically, I may not have thick skin, but I don't want to give up writing. So far, I've submitted to like a dozen agents. Not all of them have been kind in their remarks, the last one outright making me feel stupid for trying.
I doubt I'm any better than Rowling or Meyer. I just know what I like, write it, and people seem to enjoy it when I do. I don't have many writer friends, so yeah, I wouldn't mind chatting about it. AIM: Ksawarrior
Thanks again.

I'm a laid-back 26 year old with a Psychology BA, starting my MA program, and working my way into the field as quickly as I can. It took me an extra Bachelor's degree (in vocal performance and creative writing) to figure it out, but I was put on this Earth to help, to heal, and to love.

I have made the decision to dedicate my life and career to helping others. I am here to do just that.

I've been a member since 2004, and since I signed up, I've gone through quite a lot and learned quite a lot from it. I'm here to give guidance where I had none; no one should have to go through the difficulties I went through alone.

Feel free to visit my website/blog, if you want to read my experience with domestic violence and my thoughts on it.

***While I do tend to answer mental health and other health-related or medicine-related questions, I am by NO MEANS a licensed physician or practitioner of any sort. Any and all advice I give for these questions is from my own experience or studies.***

If you need to get a hold of me quickly, my screen name on AIM is SirenCytherea. Just let me know you found me here.

I'm a strong believer in the idea that there are no stupid questions except the ones left unasked, so, please, keep an open mind, heart, and mouth.

Siren

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