Woot! You're on submission! Erm...now what?

As many of you are familiar with, the querying process is largely a waiting game and it feels like for the most part you are just sitting on your hands. This should be expected! After all, agents are people too, and their schedules are filled to the brim with work involved with their current clients, so filtering through an inbox of query letters takes a lot of effort!

I'm sure you also realize that the same goes for editors at publishing companies! There's a reason why this industry is a slow paced game. There's a limited amount of hands and a bazillion (yes, that number is accurate for this blog entry) manuscripts waiting to be read.

Now that I'm finally part of the submission process, I'm beginning to understand first hand that the publishing process really is a waiting game. And the key is to be as patient as possible. Surprised?

You've edited your manuscript, and you've gotten the all clear from your agent. Your proposal is glistening, and you couldn't be more proud of it. Now it's time to kick back, and let your agent get to work. He / She already has their sights set on a slew of editors that they think will be interested in your epic masterpiece.

So now what do you do? Much like querying, it's time for you to relax a bit, and take on some new projects. And I'm sure your patience will be well rewarded when you get that awesome phone call from your agent. 

Since I'm currently riding on the submission train, I'll let you in on what I've been doing to keep myself busy. Feel free to apply any of these methods to your "waiting game", whether it's during the submission process or the querying process.

So what do you do?

1) WRITE A NEW BOOK!

That's a given! Come on people, we're writers! It's what we do! At the moment I'm working on three books...that's right three. Am I crazy? Yes, of course I am. I've got the sequel to COPERNICUS NERDICUS in the works (which will most likely change if / when I get a publishers lol), and I'm also working on a brand new MG series as well as my "famed" Villain Intern book. 

Let me tell you how hard it is to jump from writing MG to an adult black comedy...it's impossible. A book has never stressed me out as much as NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY. Ah well...

Seriously though, keep your creative juices flowing and get to writing a new book!

2) BETA FOR YOUR FELLOW WRITERS!

There's no better way to improve your craft than to beta read for your writer pals. I've got two beta reads to complete and I apologize again to those waiting on it, but I tell ya, you learn a thing a two from doing it. I notice so much more about my own writing through others. Not to mention, it makes me realize how many awesome writers I'm actually associated with. 

The writing world is huge, so get to know your writers through the best means possible. READING THEIR MANUSCRIPT!

3) TAKE ON A NEW HOBBY

I've taken this opportunity during the submission process to really get back into my artwork (unfortunately now, my PC that I use for art has been on the fritz for over a month and I need to build a new one....). But yeah, I've discovered my passion for drawing again, which is a great thing because I actually want to do a MG book with illustrations in it shortly.

Dawn has brought up that she has been wanting a choose your own adventure styled book (those were the best), and doodling again has help me come up with a few ideas. We'll see where it goes.

But seriously, pick up a new hobby to kill time. Try baking, sewing, a new sport (go go hockey), anything to kill time!

Just don't take up drinking...come on, Indy.

4) TAKE A VACATION

Seriously, you've been working so hard for so long, you've deserved a break. Go on a trip, and forget about it all for awhile. You need to get your mind off things and let your brain reset. Everyone deserves a little R&R, even us crazy writers.

So jump on a plane, and go somewhere. (I suggest Sardinia off the coast of Italy. It's breathtaking!)

5) ABOVE ALL - DON'T STRESS OUT

This is the most important thing to do. Just relax. There's no point on focusing on the "what if's..." - just let things happen on their own. You're going to end up killing yourself by stressing out so much during the submission process. You need to be patient. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE!!! (I've learned that from the Ultima video game series lol).

Seriously though, if you let the submission process get to you, you're going to end up like this....

And nobody wants to see you like that..

So what do you do to kill time during the submission process? (or the querying process!)

What's your problem?

My name is Rob, and I have a problem.

I like to write. That is not my problem.

I get excited about ideas I want to write about. And that, by itself, is not my problem.

But when I write something that I think is pretty awesome, I become like a four-year-old who just drew a picture.

That is my problem. Well, part of it.

example: Let's just say said four-year-old drew (in her view) a most excellent horse. She would be so excited and proud of it that she would run to mom or dad as soon as possible to show it off right?

That's me. That's my problem.

Sometimes I get so excited about what I'm working on, that I rush to a point where I try to query it too soon, or rush a query and don't slow down, and BAM! - I've burned a bridge.

DO NOT RUSH

If only there was a hidden force that would kick in right before I hit "send" that could punch me into caution mode. But there's not. (Although I'm sure Tom, Brooks and Daniel are working on that app as I write this.)

I'm not by nature a patient person. I've had to learn it.

I learned some patience when I owned my tree care company a few years back. In that business, whenever I got in a hurry, something bad happened.

example: One Saturday, I was removing a large branch over a house and wanted to finish before the Nebraska Cornhusker football game started. So I quickly tied two rigging ropes onto the branch (without double checking the knots) and cut it loose. As the branch fell, one of the knots slipped. The branch rolled and spun and as I watched the tip of the branch swing close to a house, the fat end of the branch swung back and smashed my foot into the tree - all while I was suspended on rope about fifteen feet off the ground. I broke several bones in my foot that day and learned a valuable lesson - several, in fact.

 

Be deliberate and check your knots!

Although you can't be killed or break any bones if you rush through your revisions or spit out a super fast query, you can kill your chances of earning representation. Do you really want to do that?

I can't un-break my foot just like I can't un-send all my poor, early query letters. But you know what? I'm learning.

In tree work, I had great incentive to slow down, and I used to tell my employees, "Before you fire up the saw, know what's going to happen when you cut that limb loose."

So, fellow writers, before you send that query and manuscript, make sure they are the best you can make them.