writing about writing about writing

My post for The Gloss today is about trying to get a book deal. In truth I felt a little strange talking about it in a forum outside my own blog where at this point I feel pretty to free to indulge myself in getting all meta by writing about being a writer. I don't know why I always find talking about the process of trying to get published vaguely embarrassing, like it's some indecent combination of hustling and searching desperately for love and attention.

After a couple of months of cooling off the agent search to focus on my column and the blog and just give myself a break from rejection-apalooza, I'm struggling to gear myself up to jump back in. It was easy not to think too much about all of it when I was in Argentina, but then I got back and LIFE started happening again in a big way as it's wont to do. 

I feel really reticent about getting back out there. The agents and editors of the world are not going to stop bringing the pain because I'm going through a rough time in my personal life. But then, I also wonder if my other troubles might not put the whole thing in perspective; there are much worse things than not getting your book published after all.  

And at the end of the day, when IS it a good time for this all too often brutal process? Is there no time like the present or is it sometimes best to sideline yourself for a while?