I still like the idea that you can get the agent, get the traditional publisher (protecting yourself from bullshit) and also go on to self-publish, or vice versa. There's no shame in trying from both ends. As long as you don't reliquinsh your power to any party. But again, that takes a lot of know-how and courage, I think.
It's funny because you'll always hear of those ppl for whom the process was simple. M3liss@M@rr for example...I think she said she got an agent two weeks after subbing and sold the weekend after or something like that. Quite a few people have those ridiculous timelines from finishing the ms to seeing their books on the shelves, but most have to struggle for years. Even I had a relatively easy time finding an agent (just half a year). So I know that even if I haven't been able to pub anything yet, I'm still one of the luckier ones.
Ink, I'd open another document and just start ahead with revisions, like kell said. Even if your agent comes back with different notes that take you in another direction, you might be able to use what you've already done in that other document as a jumping off point.
If you don't want to do that and you don't want to start anything new, then maybe just spend your time reading (other books in your genre, articles etc) and researching and brainstorming? Just random 'what if' ideas so that when your agent gets back to you, you have a pile of ideas already swimming in your head. You have to drive things. There's ALWAYS something else you can be doing other than wait for your agent, even if it's not writing related.
Trust me, I get you. Well, I know I haven't been waiting that long for my agent to get back to my on my ms, but it's been 20 days so far. But I've tried to spend those 20 days immersed in another project, that's been both infuriating and exhilarating to thing about. Plus I have about three papers I might be able to publish for academic journals that need rewriting and researching (not starting the hard phD stuff til June though as per my schedule) and tons of books to read. Still, in my quieter moments I have to talk myself down from emailing her for a status update (though I wonder why emailing would even be that bad?).
Oh yeah, MORNING ALL