Publishing: The Waiting Game

Most of you know that I've submitted my historical novel, The Freedom Thief, for publishing. I originally submitted it last November, and waited patiently...uh...well, maybe not so patiently...to hear from them. Which I did...in February of this year. They rejected it. But nicely! And they asked for revisions, and then for a resub. Thankfully, while I agreed with all but one of their issues, none of them was something major, like making it a contemporary novel, or changing my MC from a boy to a girl. Even the one issue I wasn't too happy about, I understood their reasoning and went on to revise it. Five weeks later, I resubbed it. That was in March.

Here it is mid-July, and I've heard nothing. Nada. Nyet. Not a word. But since this publisher promises to let you know the decision, even if it's a No, I am confident I will hear...something...one of these days.

So I'm playing the waiting game. Isn't that the very worst part of publishing? Waiting? And waiting. And waiting some more. So what to do while I'm waiting. Every one...every writer one...says, start another book. So, okay, I've done that. But then I hit a stumbling block about 2 chapters in, and realized I needed to do more research, since I was writing wa a a a  y out of my comfort zone. Now what? Well, I came up with a list of "what to do while you're waiting." Besides doing the required research, that is. See what you think!

1.  Take a long walk.
2.  Plant some new flowers in the hanging baskets: the old ones are looking...old.
PROBLEM: It's 100+ outside, so numbers 1 and 2 are out.
3.  Make some iced coffee and watch a TV program.
PROBLEM: I hate daytime TV.
4.  Make some iced coffee and read one of my free books on my Kindle
5.  Clean the kitchen.
6.  Clean the parrots' cages.
PROBLEM: I'm really not in the mood for cleaning, and besides, I can't drink my coffee and clean at the same time. Or so I tell myself. So numbers 5 and 6 are out.
7.  Brush the Porky Corgi. Again.
8.  Go to the library and get that research done!
9.  Get on the Internet and see if I can find some SIMPLE AND EASY instructions on how to make a book trailer. UGH! I hate trying to learn some new technological thing...I'm about as technologically inclined as the Porky Corgi, but everyone says you need a book trailer.
10. Stop messing around, and get Building The Plot going for my new book that is out of my comfort zone.

As you can see, making this list didn't help me a whole heck of a lot! The PC wanted to play ball instead of getting brushed, so he was not cooperative. I told myself that getting outside in the heat, even in an air-conditioned car, was not a good idea, so going to the library was shot down. Besides, these were all temporary "fixes."

So... I made that iced coffee ( my super deluxe Keurig, a Christmas present from my husband, is such a delight!), played ball for a while in the house with the PC, and then sat down and started to write...seriously...on Building The Plot for my new novel. Still working on that, but at least now I'm up to my 7th chapter. Oh, yes...and still waiting!

No, all of this didn't occur on any ONE day. It's kind of a silly list, I guess, but it takes up a small bit of time while you are waiting. And it takes my mind off of... you know what.

About that book trailer...that's what is known in my world as Procrastination. But more about that later.

Tell me...what do YOU do when you are... waiting?

Until next time,
That's a wrap.