I received my first rejection letter when I was seventeen. It was all because of the influence of my high school teacher, who'd been giving positive feedback on my submitted assignments. What made me naively think I could get published? Strangely enough, a representative from the publisher came to my school, which was 3 1/2 hours from the city, to speak with me about my submission. Nowadays, that is as unlikely as pigs flying, although I could be wrong.