Tuesday, July 3, 2012

The Insecure Writer’s Support, July 4th




Hosted by Alex J Cavanaugh



Hi everyone! It’s the first Wednesday of July, (okay, I know it's Tuesday, but July 4th is a US holiday so Alex mentioned we can post early) that means it's time for my IWSG post.

In June, I sent a handful of queries to agents, and now I’m in wait mode. You know what I’m finding? The waiting is the hardest part. That’s such a cliché, but it’s so true. To make waiting more difficult that old Tom Petty song keeps creeping into my head. While I can’t remember if I liked this song when it was popular, I can honestly say I’m starting to hate it now. It’s a constant reminder that I’ve never been known to be a patient person.

You may be wondering how this falls into an IWSG post. Well… wait mode just gives me time to wonder if the writing was truly tight and if the first pages were gripping. Will they grab an agent’s attention and make him or her want to read more. And then there are the agents that only want a query letter, and what if there was a typo in that all important first impression? That always leads me to re-read it, and I’m glad I was able to breathe a sigh of relief that there weren’t any typos. It would be so much easier if Ms. Agent would open my email the moment it hit her inbox and reply back that my story is exactly what she hoped to receive when she woke up. Now wouldn’t that be nice. J

The funny thing is, I’ve been here before and I’m usually really good at sending off my queries and putting them out of my mind. I start a new project or revise an old one. I’ll catch up on my ever-growing TBR pile or spend a little more time outside. I’m not really sure why this time I feel like it’s been FOREVER, when in reality many of my queries haven’t even been out two weeks and even the ones that have been out longer haven’t reached the agents’ noted response times. Maybe if a different song would worm its way into my thoughts: Sideways by Citizen Cope or Patience by Guns ‘N Roses (that’s appropriate). Or what about Bubbly by Coco, because—well—it’s bubbly and makes me smile and it has absolutely nothing to do with waiting.

On a positive note, I finished the first draft of my sequel and I’m very happy with it. I’ve tucked it away for now and plan to go back to it after a month or so. 

18 comments:

  1. This writer's life is a test in patience at every stage. I have no patience so I am not the right person to offer advice except to say, your not alone. Good luck with queries.

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  2. Hi Cherie,

    While you're light years ahead of me as far as getting a book out there, I can honestly say I hope to have problems like you, someday :) I'll bet waiting IS the hardest part, but just look at it this way...

    You've already fought the hardest battle. You wrote a novel! The rest is just a learning game so just do your best to learn all you can to help with the next time you have to wait :)

    Best wishes,
    Mark

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    1. Great way to look at it. :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  3. Change up your music! How about ELO's Hold On Tight? Or Triumph's Somebody's Out There or Fight The Good Fight? (Sorry, those are really old school, but more recent music of mine is really heavy and you probably don't know any Shadow's Fall.)

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    1. I should make a play list to keep my mind off that Tom Petty song. That's not a bad idea. I'll have to work in your suggestions. :)

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  4. waiting stinks!
    and we are turning into a culture that thrives on immediate feedback! text, twitter, etc.
    waiting can feel like rejection.
    keep busy with other stuff, if you can! or just read =)

    good luck!

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  5. Waiting is awful, but try not to second guess. The more you write, the more you'll improve, and one day that "yes" will arrive in your inbox. Just keep writing, and the waiting won't feel so long.

    Good luck.

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  6. Hi :)

    Just popping by from the IWSG to wish you good luck! :)

    I haven't submitted anything yet, so I can only imagine what it feels like....very scary!

    I hope you hear soon and that it's a good response. Fingers crossed for you.

    Xx

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  7. Oh gosh wishing you the VERY best of luck with your queries, can't wait to hear how you get on! Good luck!

    Visiting from my first IWSG!

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  8. Waiting is definitely the hardest part. But someday, you get a nibble-- then a bite, and you look back and think "Wow, that didn't take long at all."

    Found you through IWSG. I'm following and praying you get your 'nibble' soon.

    Kelly
    www.kellymartinstories.com

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  9. Oh, the wait, and wait, and wait. I'm doing the same thing on a pb manuscript I sent out in May! Nothing, nada as of today. :(( I'm thinking the world of picture books is a'changin for us new authors. Oh well, moving on to other things.

    Keep your chin up. :))

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  10. Hey Cherie,

    (I love that Tom Petty song). Kudos to you for querying agents! That's awesome and I hope you get good news soon.

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  11. Waiting is awfully hard -- but seeing rejections in the inbox is even harder. Unfortunately, there's no way to avoid them. They're part of the business. It's good that you have the sequel to focus on and revise to take your mind off it. That always helps. Good luck with your submissions. May the requests outweigh the rejections. :-)

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  12. So my question is how many queries do you send out before you stop querying and just wait? I mean, could you keep sending out queries while you wait for the others to pan out?

    Thanks for stopping by my blog.

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  13. Good luck! I agree with you that waiting is hard. Good for you for finishing up the sequel- that is awesome! Hope you hear back soon. :)

    ~Jess

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  14. Yes, I agree with you that waiting is the hardest part--even harder than getting rejected, in my opinion. At least then you know!

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  15. Thanks everyone!

    Brent, I usually send five or so to start with, and then if I see an agent I think might like my novel, I'll send them a query even if I'm waiting to hear back. I know writers who send 10-20 queries at a time.

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