Waiting is hard.

But finding out the answer to your question is a little terrifying.

I submitted some additional requested material almost 3 weeks ago. In the email reply from the agency, it said to give them about 2 weeks to review it before expecting to hear from them. So for 2 weeks, I was fine. Once the 2 weeks passed, I started to get a little nervous every time I'd go to open my email.

I still haven't heard from them, and will wait another week before sending an email asking about the status of my submission, but even then, I'd have no idea what to say. How do you sound professional when asking if they've had a chance to read your work that you've SLAVED over, and whether or not they liked it enough to read the whole thing. I only got to send them 3 chapters, and while I think those 3 chapters have greatly improved since the first draft of this story, I still wonder if they are good enough.

So anyways, I'm waiting to hear, but kind of not looking forward to the answer. I sure hope it's not a no. But if it was a yes, we'd like to read the rest of it, then I get to go through the whole process over again.

Baby steps is all I can think to call it.

What kinds of things are you waiting for?

Laura

How I feel when I'm reading a book.

Click on this: I'm reading a book. You have to click on this link to see a hilarious video about how I feel when I'm reading a book.

Some times you just want to escape into a world where it is so different from your own real life. And some times you just don't want to come out of it either.

Not quite the same way I feel when I write in my "book" but it gets kind of close too.

What is your favorite type of book world to escape into? I love the fantasy.

Working on enjoying the writing process again.

I had almost given up hope on the work I've sent out to agents when I get an email saying one agency is interesting in reading more.

Isn't it funny how things can almost seem hopeless, then you get a ray of sunshine that makes you think its still all worth while.

Now I have no idea what will come of this request for more material. Experience tells me to expect a thank you for sending this, but we regretfully must pass and good luck as you continue to send it out. But then hope tells me to have faith and say, they're gonna love it and ask for the whole manuscript.

There are so many steps to the whole process of writing and becoming published. When I first started out, it was just for fun to see what I could do. Then I started to imagine how fun it would be to become published that the fun of writing left me. I've been working on ignoring the things out of my hands and just trying to write for fun again. Those times I can do that and forget about the whole publishing thing is when I enjoy my writing.

I do enjoy writing, and someday hope you can enjoy reading what I've written, but until then I'm just going to write for me.

Laura

What is stopping me?

I have been stuck on a portion of my work in progress for some time now. I feel like the whole story line is a good one, and it's something that I don't think has been really done before, so I'm anxious to see what will come of it, but man, I just can't get myself to buckle down and write the next part.

I've been working on this and sending it through my fabulous critique group so I'm really encouraged by their responses and have found their suggestions very helpful and I have a good idea of where I want it to go and I know how it needs to end, but just the part of getting it down on the page is what is stopping me.

This one is taking me much longer than the first manuscript I wrote. That one was done for fun to see where it would lead, but this one I know so much more about the writing process, and yet I'm struggling more with it.

It also doesn't help that I'm allowing myself to be distracted by other things. Yesterday I even forbid myself from opening up netflix or hulu. However, the fabulous spring day called to me and my children came first so we played outside.

Today I'm having my crit group, and once we are done. I'm going to sit at this computer and get cracking. I only have a few more months until we add a baby to the mix so I'd better have all the story written so I can focus on raising a newborn and only have to do some editing instead of the whole shebang of writing it.

So what is stopping me????

Just myself. I'm gonna stop stopping me and start starting me.

Wish me luck.

Laura