So, I'm in that waiting-to-hear phase of the querying game. Several letters have gone out and now all I can do is wait. It's been a week, but I feel like no news is good news. As long as I don't open my email to an inbox of Rs, I'm okay. I did receive one R, but it was expected and I was actually grateful for it because it allowed me to feel like it was game on. Once you get that first one, it's like a strange sort of initiation into the process. I was even congratulated by some of my writer buddies and it didn't upset me. It made me one of them, if that makes any sense.
Anyway, I do need to do things to distract myself so that I don't check my inbox 8,473 times a day. Of course, I have my girls which are a fantastic way to keep my mind off things and God knows they keep me super busy. I'm almost finished with my synopsis, which I will need for the batch of agents I will query that require one. I'm also beta reading for a few people which is extremely helpful for keeping my thoughts occupied. And then I have my group of writer friends who through emails and AW forums, keep me encouraged and full of distractions. As soon as I finish with the beta reads, I will begin working heavily on TwinSouls, my recently out of the trunk novel, which I'm very excited to be working on again.
For those of you who are in the waiting game, whether it be in response to query letters, agent requested edits you made, or waiting to hear that a publisher has decided to take on your novel, what do you do to keep yourself distracted?
HELLOOOOO MONDAY!
5 days ago
Great question, wish I could answer it. Kids are driving me nuts today. Dylan sprayed on a ton of Sze Jee's cologne and while the smell regularly makes me giddy (god I love Armani), it's a little over done. Keep us up to date!
ReplyDeletehahahaha...sorry, that's kinda funny angie :-) thanks. will do. hugs to you and the fam!!
ReplyDeleteOh man, this was tough for me while querying. I'm unhappy if I'm not writing, though, so I pulled out my first novel (had been trunked like yours), rewrote large sections of it, and put it back when it was just too overwhelming to tackle. LOL I felt lucky to get my answers - requests and rejections - quickly. I think giving yourself permission to freak out a bit can help. Sounds counter-intuitive, I know, but just being okay with the process can help calm the nerves. So crossing my fingers for you!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I am loving your blog girl!
ReplyDeletegood luck mel!
ReplyDeleteand Angie ~ my kids are driving me nuts as well :) we're in week 5 of the school holidays ~ trying to keep them entertained :)
xx thinking of you!
Thank you so much Joann!! Yes, I have been giving myself permission to freak out a bit, but it isn't anything a little glass of wine can't calm :-)
ReplyDeleteNomes, as always, thank you for your support! summer holiday's must be fun and tough with no breaks. Hang in there!!!
MichelleL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As in twinstuff MichelleL???????????? If it's you...THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!! :-)
Hey Melanie. Yes, the caramel popcorn is pure evil. As for the waiting game, why not just get back to your trunk manuscript? You know, keep working. Just like any other writing day.
ReplyDeletehey whisk :-) yeah, going to work on it, but to be honest i have two manuscripts i need to read for people and i've been working HARD on my synopsis so i can query agents who request them with the query. as soon as i finish those things, it will be all about my trunked novel. i actually can't wait to really dive in because 1. I miss just writing (even if it's revising editing) and 2. I miss those characters tremendously and can't wait to be immersed in their lives again :-)
ReplyDeleteToo bad you can't find a way to sneak in a few pages a day. Just to take the edge off.
ReplyDeleteI started my new manuscript and it's fun. Not all together sure where I'm going but I have the main character set and she's a lot of fun. So ... tomorrow morning it's back to the blank page before going off to work.
I know, I really, really want to, it's just i have a really hard time concentrating when my soon to be five year olds are here in the house with me. I try to get stuff done, but there are constant distractions and i don't do well with distractions so i wait until the go to bed to get any real work done, but that only leaves me a few hours to get anything done. :-) it's all good though, in about a week, i should be done and back to my out of the trunk novel. best of luck with yours. nothing like a great character to motivate the words on the page!!!
ReplyDeleteIt is hard when you have so much going on. I can understand that. My writing space is in our bedroom. No TV. No Internet. No phone. No noise. I love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the good wishes. I'm sending them back at ya. Congrats on the two pounds. That equals eight sticks of butter.
hahahaha...thanks whisk!!! I love the idea of losing lbs in butter. that's it. for now on i go by butter. So, I have 20 sticks of butter to melt away :-)
ReplyDeleteJust think, when you hit 20 pounds it will really be 80 sticks of butter.
ReplyDeleteOh, oops, calculated that wrong! haha...yeah, math was ALWAY me weak spot :-) 80 sticks of butter? Okay, that's kind of gross to think I'm carrying 80 sticks of butter in my body. Eeeewwwe...more motivation. Thanks! :-)
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