Why isn't life fair (or even fairer)

Paul Jessup on newbie publishing.

Excerpts:
"Publishing is not a just meritocracy."--Jay Lake
"Lots of good writers never get published."--Paul Jessup

*sigh*

But he's wrong about one thing. There IS a Sekrit Formula! A Sekrit Formula for writing a good story. It's just that nobody knows what it is--not even the people who can do it. It's part serendipity. It's part a blessing from the Universe. It's a little bit just plain accidental. AND to do it at all requires/assumes a baseline of a certain skill level. AND when you send it off, you'll need the luck to appeal to a certain reader (editor/agent) who is in the mood to like your tone and voice and style and doesn't get turned off by something you inadvertently did, such as naming your villain Jake when her sweetie's named Jake. . . .

It helps if you write in the same language the reader reads in. There! That's your Tip o' the Day!