Can’t Wait
03 Apr 2012 4 Comments
in Writing Tags: Ambrose Bierce, Crashing Eden, patience, query, waiting, writing
Who doesn’t hate to wait?
The facial expressions of people in post offices and waiting rooms across the globe tell the story. Waiting is hell.
From childhood onward we’re told to be patient. But as Ambrose Bierce succinctly put it, patience is “a minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue.”
Many jobs and professions entail a good deal of waiting, but perhaps writers have it worst of all.
We query agents and editors, and then wait weeks or months to hear whether we can submit a manuscript. (These days, we may never hear back at all; an increasingly popular policy among these folks is to reply only to queries that interest them.)
If you’re lucky enough to receive an invitation to submit your work, entire seasons may come and go before a response arrives.
And if you’re fortunate enough to receive a contract from a publisher, you’re waiting has just begun; it can easily take two years before your book hits the marketplace.
Currently I’m waiting for an illustrator to complete the cover art for my novel, Crashing Eden. I’m also waiting to hear back from reviewers who have advance copies of the book.
The usual advice writers hear for dealing with this ongoing dilemma is to start work on your next project. Makes sense. Now I just have to wait for my damn muse to get in the mood…
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