the waiting game
One of the hardest parts of an author’s job is the waiting.
Quelle surprise, right? You’d think it would be the deadlines or the revisions or the fear of never selling another book. And those are all there, believe me. 
But there’s nothing worse than hurrying to plot a new story, work up a synopsis or proposal, rushing to send it off…& then having to WAIT to hear back.
Will the editor like it? Will I need to make any changes? Did I dot all my Is, cross all my Ts? Is there enough sexual tension between the hero & heroine, & do all my plot points make sense?
At the moment, I am waiting—rather impatiently, I might add 
—to hear back from Editor C on the outline I turned in for my “Dynasties: The Kincaids” continuity book for Harlequin Desire.
Is he taking an exceptionally long time in getting back to me? Not really. In fact, if I weren’t watching the clock like a husband timing his wife’s contractions, I probably wouldn’t be giving it a second thought.
But I happened to turn my outline in a full week before they were due, & I suspect the editors were waiting for all of the proposals to arrive before they started reading them, since the stories are so closely linked. Which means I unintentionally created a full week of extra nail-biting waiting time for myself.
Yeah—way to go, brainiac! :ubermad
And I’m so darn eager to start this story that I really want to know if my outline is okay. If it isn’t, I’ll have more work to do, of course. (Fingers crossed that isn’t the case, since I’ve got my brain really firmly wrapped around the current idea. LOL) But if it is, I can start writing. I could be writing already!
But alas, I cannot do anything until I get the okay from TPTB.
To paraphrase Alvin & his chipmunk brothers, “Hurry, Charles! Hurry, fast!”
Comments
15 Comments • Comments Feed
Laura J. says:
See this is another reason why I can’t be a writer. I have 0, zip, zilch, nada, no, none, patience. You could probably even say I have -10 level of patience. I want it and I want it right now!! Now, NOW NOW!!!!!
On March 10, 2011 at 9:24 am
Laura J. says:
Yes, you can call me Veruca Salt.
On March 10, 2011 at 9:25 am
Heidi says:
Thank you, Laura, for finally showing me how to spell that dang girl’s name! Love her (well, you know—love *&* hate her) but her name has always been a tongue twister for me—& not in the good way! :beerlaugh
I’m very big on instant gratification, too, which makes my job a hard one sometimes. Altho I will say that I happen to work with some of the speediest folks in the biz. Truly, my agent & editors are so quick about getting back to me. This project just happens to be a bit of an exception because they’re looking at 6 outlines & The Big Picture for the entire series. :blinkie
On March 10, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Laura J. says:
debating on whether or not to admit that I looked it up. hmmmm….decisions, decisions :happyjoy
I have that love/hate thing with her too. I can totally relate to her, but if that was my child I wouldn’t wait for her to fall/get pushed down that chute, I would have pushed her myself (and not followed after!!).
On March 10, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Heidi says:
Hey, if I could ever think of it when I’m near a computer, I’d have looked it up, too. I actually thought her last name was “Sulk.” LOL
I think this is a lesson, tho, for writers & movie makers not to get too creative with their character names. It just confuses folks. Altho, in the case of Willy Wonka, ya gotta go a little crazy. :happyjoy
On March 10, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Laura J. says:
Sulk?! bwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
That is so appropriate!
I’m an imDb.com junky! You know there is always an actor or show and you just can’t figure out the name of either, but it’s on the tip of your tongue and since the discovery of this site, I get quick answers (most of the time) and it has nipped “arguments” in the bud many times!!!!!!
Oh and sometimes there are some really hot pictures of my boyfriend there! :Pretty
On March 10, 2011 at 4:56 pm
Heidi says:
Well, see, that’s why I thought it was Sulk…it would have been so very appropriate for her personality. :tpspspspt
Oh, yeah, IMDB is one of my go-to sites, too. Esp. when I’m watching an animated film & *know* I recognize a voice but can’t place it. :ubermad
On March 10, 2011 at 7:57 pm
mary k says:
Yeah I don’t have any patience either. I want it now, I want it done now and it just irritates me when everyone else doesn’t feel the same way. lol
On March 10, 2011 at 11:36 am
Heidi says:
LOL Isn’t that always the way, too… WE think something is urgent & cannot figure out why everyone else is moving so slow. But I’ll bet they look at us & think, “What’s the big hurry?” :kitty
On March 10, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Leigh Duncan says:
I hear ya, Heidi! I have one full proposal with my editor now, and she & I talked about another one yesterday. It’s definitely nail-biting time.
On March 10, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Heidi says:
LOL I’m not very good at keeping my mind set on only one project at a time, either. Just ask my agent—he rolls his eyes at me all the time cuz I’ll call & say, “I have this great idea!” & he has to remind me, “You need to write you 53 contracted projects first.” Sigh. :tpspspspt
Good luck, btw! Betcha your editor gets back to you on both really soon. :happyjoy
On March 10, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Jessica Lemmon says:
Hi Leigh! :hi I read your debut novel way back, will have to check out what’s new with you!
On March 11, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Heidi says:
Btw, I can’t believe no one called me on my massive faux pas…which has now been corrected.
I said “Hurry, Charles! Hurry fast!” was stolen from The Grinch, but once I got to thinking about it, it’s totally from “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late).” Duh! :crazy
On March 10, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Laura J. says:
AAAALLLLVVVVVVIIIIIINNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On March 10, 2011 at 11:26 pm
Jessica Lemmon says:
I believe that. …And am going through it – though on a different level than you are, for sure. :notworthy
Yesterday at 1:10 p.m. my query, synopsis and first chapter arrived at Harlequin… and now I wait and wonder and worry about lots of things – mainly about receiving another xeroxed generic rejection like I did the first time they reviewed the full MS. EEK!
So I wait. And try to look busy. :stalker
On March 11, 2011 at 8:07 pm