The Waiting Game - pt. 2

I've said before that I hate waiting. I'm not a patient person by nature, and writing is hardly a field where things happen bing-bang-boom!

So, I'd been waiting on a query. I received a request for a partial manuscript. The waiting game began. I heard back last week with a request for a full. Woo hoo! Happy Dance time! I boogied all around my office, chanting 'A full, a full!" I sat down to run a last spell-check (found a few more errors, whew!) I fixed what needed to be fixed. I sent it off.

I was originally on cloud nine from the request. It's a great feeling to read that request. Still. I was happy and cha-cha-ing around my office.

I hit send.

Then, the happiness faded.

The wait, part 2, had begun.

Oy. I waited a month to hear back - which felt like an eternity, though it's more like the blink of an eye in publishing. I obsessed over the e-mail. I checked it about once every ten minutes. I just know it's going to be there when I log on. That became my mantra. As time wore on, I yelled at the computer because the response was nowhere to be found (like it was the computer's fault.)

Then, it happened.

And now I'm back at square one. Only I haven't yelled at the computer just yet.

The worst is not knowing. Sure, if it comes back as a decline, I'll sink down into a mini-funk. But at least I'll know. No more waiting. No more obsessing over the e-mail. Time to put butt in chair and work on the next query.

But if it's an acceptance...

You'll hear me whoopin' it up no matter where you are.

Keep your fingers crossed that the waiting pays off. I so hope it does.