Waiting

(August 2018) WRITING WEDNESDAY: Much of a professional writer’s life is spent waiting. It’s from the very beginning. You send out queries and sample chapters to agents. And then you wait, sometimes for two, three months. You finally get the agent (this could take years, BTW) and then she sends out the sample chapters to editors. And then you wait again. It used to be the waiting at this point wasn’t that long, maybe a month. But these days, it’s longer–two, three months. It’s a wonder that any of us can make a living, not to mention the psychological toll of waiting. Over the years, I’ve learned how to better handle these times of waiting. One is to snag short-term projects–I call them cash crops–to financially buoy myself in these “in-between” times. I’ve been lucky, because usually I haven’t had to seek them out. They float my way and it’s up to me to say “yes.” (In other words, I’ve been able to sort which projects makes the most sense to agree to.) The second action item is to work on the next book. Don’t put all your eggs in the basket for the project that is on submission. This writer’s life is not for the weak-hearted. You need to be skilled in writing, but just as important is learning how to deal with the waiting.