This week, our links take you on the publishing lifecycle.

No matter where you are in your writing career, there’s something here that (surely) you can relate to, be it the struggle to know your characters’ fears, the struggle to be seen in the marketplace, or the struggle to be acknowledged as the literary genius you so obviously are.

• If you’re still hashing out who your characters are, consider these 9 Fundamental Fears That Motivate Your Characters.

• You’ve figured out your characters, hooray! Now it’s time to figure out the story. No big deal. To make the daunting task of revision more interesting, consider taking Pictures of Your Book Being Made, as this author did. Pictures make everything seem a bit more fun, no?

• Your book is complete! You’ve revised. Others have read your revisions. You’ve revised again. Now, it’s time to query. Jane Friedman offers advice on How to Find a Literary Agent for Your Book.

• You got the book deal. You have passed Go! Oh, wait. What? It’s not what you thought it would be? Well, you’re not alone according to this survey, Grumbling, but not quitting: what authors really think of publishers.

• Let’s be honest. True success comes when someone recreates scenes or settings from your book using Legos.