Thank you all for your input.
It's ok to be picky. That's the best way for me to learn. I noticed that one of my problems is I don't really see a photo the way seasoned photographers do. I didn't really pay much attention to the stone until it was mentioned, but taking a second look it could well take someones attention away from the pen. The simple solution to that is to do what was recommended and get something more plain to support the pen.After reading this I took this shot of a different pen today and changed the support system. Let me know if this is moving in the right direction.
Don; Your headed in the right direction !! First, and only thing I see when looking at this photo, is the pen itself with no visable means of support. To me this makes one stop for a moment and wonder how you did that. Anytime you can make the eye stop, you have someone's undaunted attention, if only for a few seconds. I personaly am not a fan of black bachgrounds. You tend to lose the fine detail and edge of your subject if it is also a darker color. Your pink and chrome would realy stand out on this dark background however!! Those of us who have been makeing pens for quite a while, taking photos, and looking over thousands of them , like yourself, tend to look at them in a different way. I guess a simple way to explain what I am trying to say would be this example. If you show someone a.photo of an apple, some only see the apple, some see what variety the apple is, others see the color of the apple, some look at the background, and than there are those who look at the composition, subject matter, and exposure of the photo. Hopes this helps you in some small way. Jim S