I don't know if any of you have ever written a book, novel, whatever going through the process of trying to get someone to pick it up or publish it, but here is my advice if you ever try to:
1) Live near New York City
2) Be a female
3) Either "know someone" or "find someone to blow".
And if you don't meet any or all three then your odds go down substantially--and if i were you, i would self-publish.
It's not easy to get published, but I don't think being a woman offers such an edge -- Plenty of men seem to be able to get books published.
It's better to be a woman writer because there are more women readers. The market is served according to the demand. Check the reading lists sometime. You will find more books written by women who live within 100 miles of New York City than any other such area in the world. So there.