also I thought that finding a publisher would be gruelling, because I applied to 100+ literary agents and only got one acceptance, BUT a surprising percentage of the publishers we've applied to have been interested???
having an agent who knows how to describe your book as something marketable is such a boon. I think a lot of my trouble when I was still on my own is that I had no idea how to sell myself
this is why one of my fave songs is "if it wasn't for the nights" from ABBA. peak life after divorce vibes about keeping busy during the day and then having to be alone with the thoughts at nighttime, and yet with upbeat disco tunes. honestly. like someone said. gotta upbeat our way through the suffering. I actually prefer when these subjects are sung like this, and abba do it so well
Oh, and one more thing: Can I just point out that the "I dun fucked up, I guess I'ma wait outside your room all night until you'll let me grovel and atone for my misdeeds" is not, and has never been, a platonic trope?
(I mean, we all know who wrote this episode and how she felt about these two as a couple, but it bears mentioning that even administering a heavy dose of Death of the Author here doesn't absolve this scene from being way more shippy than it deserves to be.)