Thursday, August 12, 2010

Patience is a Four-Letter Word

So you can tell by the title that I am not a patient person. I want what I want when I want it. Is that so much to ask? And lately what I've been wanting most is that phone call from an agent telling me that my book is fabulous and exactly what XYZ editor is looking for. It hasn't come yet.

Le sigh.

So while I've been waiting for this, I've been revising the book and query. And guess what? It's better than it was before! Yippee! So now I want to shoot off queries to a batch of new agents, because now they'll love me for sure.

But wait. Breathe. Be patient.

These are the lessons I learned from the first go around. I won't query again until it's as spit-shined-polished as I can possibly make it. And since I've found a fabulous new critique partner, I'm seeing the manuscript in a new light. It's getting better each time I go through it. And I need to get all the way through it once (or twice) more before I wrap it in a bow and present it to that fabulous agent.

Waiting is hard. But being patient is divine. Like shredded wheat, it's *gulp* good for me. Yikes!

7 comments:

  1. Ain't that the truth! I'm waiting to hear back from an agent on a full request and in the meantime, I'm revising another work-in-progress. I'm trying not to think about it 24 hours a day...trying being the operative word here. ;)

    Patience is NOT something I was born with.

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  2. I'm not patient either. The publishing world is changing that about me, lol!! Good luck with your new query!

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  3. Patience is a virtue... which I do not possess :) Good luck!

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  4. The hardest point for me is setting it aside for a while so it feels fresh when I look at it again and I can be more objective. That's the hardest thing for me.

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  5. I know exactly what you mean! (both about waiting for agents and seeing your ms in a new light after a new CP goes through it) Best of luck to you! :D

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  6. oh my, reading this..it's like I wrote it myself!

    Glad to know I'm not the only impatient person! :)

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  7. the waiting is really hard. i know. i've been there. i'm still there. and i wish i could tell you it gets easier....

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