The waiting is the hardest part… ~ Tom Petty

Most people think writing is hard. I’ve said before that for me, writing is the easy part. The stories fly out and my characters take over. I don’t even dread editing. Usually I find errors or conflicts and add a lot more to the story during this process & usually end up liking my story that much more. Seems each book that I finish, becomes my new favorite.

Finding an agent or publisher – that is the hard part. You have to be prepared for “Thanks, but no thanks,” 100 times over & for me, that was just unbearable. I remember complaining in my forum that I was getting sick of the gratuitous “30 second read” the agents give a query before being shot down. After reading a blog of an agent that stated, “you have 15 seconds to get my attention”, I was really blown away. In my sarcasm, I never realized I was doubling the time.

This is not a rant by any means. Been there, done that, got the shirt. I understand all the reasons they do what they do & can’t see a fix for this process. When you get 300 + queries a day – they have to & can afford to be picky & yes, sometimes probably look back & cry at what they passed up in their haste as well as probably wanting to set their eyes on fire & put them out with an ice pick for what they did decide to read….

Most of you know my story. After almost running out of agents, I decided to go straight to a publisher & finally got someone to read the 1st 10 pages & got them hooked enough to ask for the full & now I’m getting published. So, no agent = more work for me but I’m willing to do what it takes & I have quite a schedule planned for book signings when it comes out to help get the ball rolling.

When being the operative word here. The wait is killing me. I learned in Oct ’09 that it was accepted & would be out in Aug ’10 – then realized August was e-release – print a few months later. So my “waiting for my baby” analogy isn’t true – it’s longer than that. Again, not a rant. I understand all the work that goes into it – it’s just still hard.  (TWSS) *rimshot*

I’ve recently gone through 2 rounds of edits and I’m waiting on the final. I am also eagerly awaiting the teaser, back cover blurbs & cover art. I love my publisher & try not to bother her (often) with things but patience never has been my strong point. To stay away from my google in-box that I reserve for my editor & publisher, I am compiling a list of things I can do while I’m waiting -  in attempts to help keep me from going (even more) insane. Anything you can add will be appreciated.

10 things to do while waiting the 10 months for your book to get published:

  1. Write more blog posts
  2. Mess around on Facebook
  3. Delete spam from blog
  4. Look up embroidery patterns
  5. Clean up my yahoo e-mail in-box
  6. Look up The Office clips on you tube
  7. Stalk the Battery
  8. Play the Onion’s Sony Clip for the 1,000th time. (over 18 only & my mom not allowed)
  9. Go on a rep-ban spree in the ORPCC
  10. What could 10 be….. Ah yes…. Write another book!

Of course there’s an 11…. Bite your fingernails waiting to hear of your 2nd book has been accepted!!!

We are gluttons for punishment… aren’t we?