I think I learned a lot from reading in general - even from reading badly written books.
I think there's a lot projected on beautiful women, period. At least, maybe this is just my fear, but I do sometimes feel dismissed before I've even been allowed to participate. I have moments of feeling really wounded. But I am pretty optimistic, and I do enjoy a lot of my life.
The future of publishing lies with the small and medium-sized presses, because the big publishers in New York are all part of huge conglomerates.