Today is the seventh in a series of posts by San-Diego-based writer Thomas Shess who has decided to keep a journal on his journey to find a publisher for his novel.

WEEK SEVEN

Ah, Wilderness. Seven weeks and still no nibbles as my journey to find a literary agent/publisher continues. I feel a lot like the main character in the recent Academy Award winning flick Million Dollar Baby. The main character nagged and scrambled to find a trainer for half the film and that's a lot like not being able to link up with a literary agent. I'm confident I will find a literary agent and they will sell my novel. That's my mantra as August shoots by like a shotgun blast in Texas.

Notes from an Author. So far, I've made the usual rookie mistakes: wandering query letters and weak opening chapters. But, thanks to this column I've accepted with humility plenty of good advice. My latest solid input came from author Joseph Mailander, who kindly is reading (on his vacation) my opening chapters. He points out he likes the pace and the styling and "at various turns you seem to have something real deep to bring off but you shy away from it instead, opting for irony." He adds, there's nothing wrong with irony but suggests giving the reader more real meat upfront. Joe is the author of The Plasma of Terror and A Summer Away.

Read my Mind. From another source, I was asked if my novel started out with a subplot? I admitted yes. It made me realize leading off with a subplot is tough on a prospective literary agent to figure out the direction of the novel. Hmmm. Like I said this journal is about rookie mistakes and then followed by beginner's errors that led to redundant miscues.

Speed of Light. Feeling daring I zipped off my first E-mail query to a literary agent. I sent it off about 1 am Pacific Daylight and the rejection arrived the same day before noon. I'm checking Guinness Book of Records.

Old as the Hills? Are you older? The very nice voice asked me over the phone if I "was older?" Compared with the Cuyamaca Mountains that are within view of my den, I'm not. But do I foresee a 40 year career as a novelist ahead of me? No. But I do have an AARP card in my wallet (a wallet hand stitched by my summer camper grandson). OK, you get the picture. The woman on the line pointed out that my writers who are getting a late start in publishing might want to self-publish their work. New writers or writers that don't have a lot of time or energy to find a literary agent or publisher might consider self-publishing.

Author Bob Mayer in his work: The Fiction Writer's Toolkit points out while you're trying to sell novel number one start writing number two. That way at the end of the year if your inaugural effort is unsold-at least you have number two ready to place in the pipeline.

As tempted as I am to go with self-publishing, my decision is to follow Bob Mayer's suggestion and start a second novel while searching for a publisher for number one. But, I'm keeping all options open.

Networking R-Us. An e-mail from author Roger Conlee announced he was conducting a book signing aboard San Diego's newest tourist attraction, the U.S.S. Midway. I couldn't make it aboard the vintage aircraft carrier but I did make my first book signing event at a neighborhood library. Roger wrote Every Shape, Every Shadow, a historical novel set in the jungles of the South Pacific during WWII. His novel was published by Pale Horse Books, a small house in Virginia. It's available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble.com. He was happy with sales "something like 600 of the print run of 1500 have been sold, they tell me," said Roger. I was able to ask questions and he was kind enough to answer them. Book signings. I'm now a fan. You can find Roger at his website.

Life because of Mediabistro. After reading The Zoo on Mediabistro, Jamie Reno, a Newsweek correspondent called me to chat. He asked what my face was doing on a national blog? I told him the obvious-seeking a literary agent or publisher for my first novel. One thing led to another and he asked me what I thought about the rising cost of gasoline prices. I suggested America should boycott one gasoline brand per month to slap the oil companies in the wallet where they've been spanking us. He liked the idea and five emails later, I might be in Newsweek as an oil expert. Pretty slick.

* Because it's a jungle out there.