Nate Carpenter, the protagonist in my story The God of Trees muses, “Unlike relationships, my line of work is dirt simple…you grow trees, you cut trees, you plant trees. I’ve planted thousands of seedlings during my life, some grow, some don’t. It all boils down to location and luck.”
I’ve been posting the first chapters of my story to a British website called YouWriteOn.com since October 2006 and found that so much depends on luck. Who YWO assigns to review one’s story makes/breaks its overall ranking. The top five in the month’s ratings get a professional review. The effect is akin to having dozens of teacher’s assistants grading papers.
It’s sort of like a writer’s Russian roulette for word geeks. Some of the things people write cut to the bone. Words have tremendous power. I heard a Barnes and Noble “Meet the Writers” interview with Chuck Palahniuk. He has people faint at his readings. After some reviews and ratings I consider suicide by pastry.
Ah well, it is all part of the writer’s development of thick skin. It’s natural that we want people to like us, I suppose. And, therefore we want people to like our writing. Ain’t gonna happen.
Would you pass another scone please…oh yes, slathered in jam and butter would be great!
Nullius in Verba 
Your family sure has a lot of extra time on their hands.
I think of it as focusing on what gives joy.