Waiting is the Hardest Part

You are busy writing new work while you wait, right? You must, otherwise you'll go Quite Mad(tm) with the waiting. Trust me on this one. ;-)

I'm impatient by nature so I know this feeling. I hate it. The best way to get through it is just like steveg said, write something else.

Dear Agent:

Thank you for requesting my full manuscript. I understand that you receive a lot of submissions and I am honored that you feel my manuscript is worth a glance. However, I must follow up and see if you have yet come to a decision. You see, my cat is starving. I haven't been able to afford kitten chow as I quit my job as a circus elephant dung-scooper to work on my writing (the smell was interfering with my ability to concentrate). So, as you see, it is of the upmost importance that you respond at your soonest convenience. If not sooner. Yesterday, in fact, would have been great.

I mean, it's been fifteen minutes.

Best,

The author of a starving cat.

inkkognito said:

"You take it on faith, you take it to the heart, the waiting is the hardest part..."

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That was Tom Petty, who also said, "Coming down is the hardest thing."

So which is harder, coming down or the waiting? And did Tom change his mind, or is he one o' them dad-blamed flip-floppers?

I'd ask him directly, but for some reason he ain't returning my emails...

Dale

I find that waiting is not nearly so hard as the two seconds before I actually open the reply.

Well said. As a defense mechanism I'm like "oh yay my rejection is here" automatically. Then if I'm wrong it's like a little Christmas on my laptop.

IdiotsRUs said:

I find that waiting is not nearly so hard as the two seconds before I actually open the reply.

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They do say patience is a virtue... ( I'm going crazy waiting for the publishing world to decide on my novel). Maybe I should work more OT.

I'm rolling around never getting any kind of sleep at all, wondering about my partials and fulls.

IdiotsRUs said:

I find that waiting is not nearly so hard as the two seconds before I actually open the reply.

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That's how I feel. I don't obsess about the answer when a story is in the slush pile. It's when the reply is there, but I don't know what it says.

You are right, waiting takes a toll on your spirit and you're desire to continue. When I started I set a goal of two years to succeed or fail. I was two months away from saying "the heck with it all", when in the same day I got two stories accepted, and a week later another. I've since come to learn that was very naive and that many truly successful writers go 5, 6, or 7 years till they break the barrier. Funny thing is how look some editors take to respond. I actually had two come back voicing interest 12 and 14 months after I submitted. I had already signed with someone else, but the lag time was amazing to me.

Big Mike

Michael Davis
Davisstories.com - “Stories that touch the heart and mind"
TheWritersVineyard.com
[FONT=&quot]Tainted Hero[/FONT], “Sometimes good people do bad things for the right reasons.” Champagne books,Dec 07
[FONT=&quot]Forgotten Children[/FONT], “Greed is blind to human suffering.” Champagne books,July 08
[FONT=&quot]Blind Consent[/FONT], “Where the heart and mind collide.” 09
[FONT=&quot]The Treasure[/FONT], “A lonely heart can impair one’s judgment.” Forbidden Speculation paperback, Dec 07

hi

I have to agree with the other posts .
I am just to busy to think about stuff like this .
There is me and my calender - I try to write all there so I don't forget .
Its a great tool not to forget and of course my mobile .

I absolutely need instant gratification. Actually, I need everything instant. I expect answers immediately. I expect everything immediately. I drive everybody around me crazy. I am the 'refresh' king.

tomothecat said:

Well said. As a defense mechanism I'm like "oh yay my rejection is here" automatically. Then if I'm wrong it's like a little Christmas on my laptop.

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With me it's more like "oh, a rejection (or two, or three....). Good reminder for me to submit more work, better get out the manila envelopes and a fresh pack of paper and start stamping those SASEs....."

I agree...waiting is the hardest. The pain of rejection is much better than the floating expectation of waiting. At least you know where you stand and can plan on trying again.

Writing helps to pass the time, no matter what you're waiting for.