By Richard Jay Parker
It’s a scene that most writers have been part of at some point or another. The project is finished and submitted to agents/publishers etc. But the very second it’s been sent out into the world your home becomes a vacuum, the seal of which can only be broken by ‘significant news.’
Every phone call is a potential release and you feel guilty to be disappointed by convivial calls from friends and family. Every Friday begins with fresh-faced optimism and ends with a dour-faced resignation to another weekend to wait before you can start to wait again.
And then there’s all the second guessing – visualising which point your project is at – being read, being discussed, being rejected, being used as fuel to warm the feet of an editor. It’s when the imagination of a writer is at its most potent. You know it’s a waste of time but the mundane reality is very probably that nobody has got round to looking at it yet.
It’s because every writer believes his or her work to be of vital importance and that it has to be read immediately. Thank the stars this is the case otherwise it would never make it into the post/leave your outbox. However, as soon as it leaves your clutches, its urgency is stripped away by so many factors beyond your control - slush piles, full diaries, office politics, holidays, book festivals, cancelled lunches and any number of human health frailties.
Yes – you’ve guessed it – I’m enjoying that particular, finger lickin’ experience myself at the moment. Bargain bucket of suspense, with side order of mental torture. But I’ve learnt from these many occasions in the past that no news is…no news and the best thing is to focus on other projects in the meantime.
It’s a scene that most writers have been part of at some point or another. The project is finished and submitted to agents/publishers etc. But the very second it’s been sent out into the world your home becomes a vacuum, the seal of which can only be broken by ‘significant news.’
Every phone call is a potential release and you feel guilty to be disappointed by convivial calls from friends and family. Every Friday begins with fresh-faced optimism and ends with a dour-faced resignation to another weekend to wait before you can start to wait again.
And then there’s all the second guessing – visualising which point your project is at – being read, being discussed, being rejected, being used as fuel to warm the feet of an editor. It’s when the imagination of a writer is at its most potent. You know it’s a waste of time but the mundane reality is very probably that nobody has got round to looking at it yet.
It’s because every writer believes his or her work to be of vital importance and that it has to be read immediately. Thank the stars this is the case otherwise it would never make it into the post/leave your outbox. However, as soon as it leaves your clutches, its urgency is stripped away by so many factors beyond your control - slush piles, full diaries, office politics, holidays, book festivals, cancelled lunches and any number of human health frailties.
Yes – you’ve guessed it – I’m enjoying that particular, finger lickin’ experience myself at the moment. Bargain bucket of suspense, with side order of mental torture. But I’ve learnt from these many occasions in the past that no news is…no news and the best thing is to focus on other projects in the meantime.
But maybe I’ll hear something before the weekend…
You've given my torment eloquence. However this is the first time around for me. If I didn't immediately submerge myself in some form of writing task, I would surely go mad. (Hugs)Indigo
ReplyDeleteThanks, Indigo. Sorry to hear you're going through same. At least you know you're not alone...
ReplyDeleteWhy wait for an agent or publisher to arrive? Self-distribute instea. Build your own audience and sell direct to your fans. With social media, marketing is essentially free. As you write the book, share snippets of it with fans as way to engage them... then ask them to "pre-buy" copies as a way to fund the book and fuel demand.
ReplyDeleteCheck out Dark Mountain. The writer is pre-selling copies and other cool perks as way to fund the book using IndieGoGo - a crowdfunding platform for creative entrepreneurs and artists. He's building an audience and demand for it at the same time.
http://www.indiegogo.com/darkmtn
Check out 5 Benefits of Crowdfunding too:
http://www.indiegogo.com/blog/2010/01/benefits-of-crowdfunding.html
Hope that gets your business juices flowing!
Danae