Game of Writing

As a novice academic in the field, I have experienced the joy of publishing and presenting my papers as well as the sorrow of being rejected in publishing my manuscripts. Three years ago, my mentor and one very well-respected scholar told me that I had to balance the bright and dark sides of the 'game'. They said, 'If you play in this writing game, you need to comply its rules. However, there is no guarantee. This game could be very brutal to your professional life or could be very helpful in your career.' At that time, I had no clue what they talked about and thought that this piece of advice was a riddle. Now, having joined the field for some while, I comprehended the underlying meanings of their advice and learned how to 'balance' the joy and sorrow of publishing. Obviously, at the moment, I do not write for money nor career advancement. Instead, I would like to try different things before I am too old. In addition, I want to explore my potentials. To me, there is still a long way to go in the area of publishing but as long as I enjoy what I am doing, I have no complaint and won't regard this game as a pain in the neck!