"When I write, I aim in my mind not toward New York but toward a vague spot a little east of Kansas.  I think of the books on library shelves, without their jackets, years old, and a countryish teen-aged boy finding them, and having them speak to him.  The reviews, the stacks in Brentano's, are just hurdles to get over, to place the books on that shelf."--John Updike

I suppose why you are doing this is sometimes all too easy to forget.  But the reasons are there.  I won't try to spell them out.  But they're there, and you can count on them.  You wouldn't have read this far otherwise.  So, take care, don't be afraid, and send a note when you get work.   ###