Waiting for the first rejection

Well, the manuscript of my women's fiction novel has now been sent out into the world ready to receive its first rejection. I would like to track the number of rejections from publishers and agents it receives over the next few years... I am not sure I would self-publish again, but if I do, expect it will be a little more straightforward than trying to market feminist erotica. All speculation of course. Or maybe I was just rubbish at it.

"Uncertainty" has been sent to a small publisher currently accepting unsolicited manuscripts. I had been thinking of trying an agent first, but somehow that feels more daunting than sending straight to a publisher. I wonder if anyone has advice on that matter - I am sure there must be a blog somewhere devoted to the topic. So I just had a quick look and found these useful ones: The Darling Axe and Nerds Like Me.

Let's see how it goes - it may be six months before I hear anything back. In the meantime, I've started writing novel number three, about mental health and family. And better start planning where to send number two for its next rejection!