Like Dave Barry giving writing advice (am I dating myself?), Resnick's book is a somewhat humorous collection of anecdotes focussed on reminding writers bad things happen, it's a career not a hobby, and the rewards aren't always greater than the investment. And yet we keep doing it. ( )

A Brutally Honest, Hilarious Account of the Demoralizing Garbage That Pro Writers Deal With--Highly Recommended
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This is the most brutally honest account of a writer's life, complete with some good general advice and tons of good humor, that I've read out of dozens of books on the subject of writing. And it's not a close call to put this one at the top of the mountain of "most brutally honest." By the way, don't be confused by the "Romance" part of the title, as this is not a book for romance writers. It's a book for all professional writers, or as Laura says they are sometimes called, "the filthy pros."

I found Laura when she was sharing *the* most candid things I've ever read an established writer say about working with literary agents on another writer's blog. This showed me something about her and her generous spirit when it comes to helping out other writers. She'd spent many hours on another writer's blog sharing, as openly as anyone can share, her experience in working with four agents over the course of her pretty long career (20+ novels under her belt). I was blown away, and this book (Rejection, Romance, and Royalties) is in that same spirit.

I contacted Laura to thank her for her generous comments on this other writer's blog (Dean Wesley Smith's blog), as well as her own excellent blog. She says she doesn't spout to be generous, but to get things off her chest because BS (only she didn't say BS) DRIVES HER CRAZY. In any case, this book is very well written in an almost conversational style, and it gives you the sense of hearing the honest truth from a good friend about how insane the business of publishing can be.

As other reviewers have said, this work is also downright hilarious. Read it and you'll find out why one poor author, through no fault of her own, is now known as the "raccoon author" (hint: insane editor/publishing house who changed one of her human characters for her).

She covers so many of the practical snafus that the writer's life can involve, and also shares some lessons learned about the craft. This work also functions like a good old friend who understands your seemingly insane decision to spend so much of your life in a room alone making up stuff and banging it out on a computer. Not only has she done that since the late 80's and lived to tell the tale, she's done it with her sense of humor much more than intact. I think this is a great companion for amateurs who want to know the minefield ahead, and filthy pros who want to laugh some more at their existence. ( )