Waiting sucks. No truly, it does!
When you sit back and think of how many times in your life you have wait for things, it's astronomical. You get to work in the morning and can't wait to go home. You can't wait to have fun with your friends this week. You have something fun planned for the weekend and can't wait to celebrate. The vacation of a lifetime is coming up and you can't wait to experience the adventure. Wait, wait, wait... it seems like that's all we ever do is wait!
As an aspiring author, waiting is torture! You submit to several contests and patiently wait to see if you're one of the finalists. Sorry, the results aren't out until 2011. You'll just have to wait. You finish your next chapter and give it to your CP. God help you if it's given to her on a Friday. You'll just have to wait until Monday to find out if it passed. Sitting on the edge of my seat until Monday, CP!
What I've learned is to forget about it. No matter what, you will not change the outcome. So why sit and drive yourself crazy? Move on. Submit, deliver and forget about it. If it was meant to be, it was meant to be. Did you try your best? Then that's all that counts. Focus on the now and do not think upon the future. *Repeating several times to self.*
With all of the hustle and bustle in today's society we all have to wait in traffic, wait at the doctor's office, wait in a restaurant, wait in the check-out line, wait for 'the call.'
What are some things you cannot stand waiting for?
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Waiting IS torture, Victoria! At the moment, I'm waiting on word from a publisher (11 1/2 months now). I also sent another manuscript to a different publisher only about 4 weeks ago. I know it's going to be quite a while before I hear anything on that one!
ReplyDeleteAlthough we can't change the outcome, I still worry and obsess. Still, I also jump write back into the fray and keep myself busy. I know with writing that helps keep me focused on the ultimate goal, a career as a fiction writer.
My grandma used to say, "Don't wish your life away!" But it's hard not to fall into that trap when we're having to always "hurry up and wait". Well said, Victoria. I just wish I could do it (the forget about it part). :-)
ReplyDeleteKeeping busy is a must, Alexa. When you least expect it, that's when the call will come.
ReplyDeleteHang in there!
Maeve, the whole RT experience would drive a sane person over the edge. You can forget about it after the 24th :)
ReplyDeleteVictoria, we might as well get used to the waiting. I'd rather wait months for a revise and resubmit than receive a quick NO! We're going to make it through this phase soon and look back and laugh at our lack of patience.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother used to say, "Patience is a virtue, get it if you can, sometimes in a woman, never in a man." It's true that the secret to patience is to keep busy, but that's not always easy to do when you're stuck in traffic or a doctor's waiting room. With writing, the best thing to do is keep on writing. Interesting post, Victoria!
ReplyDeleteVictoria, I agree that the best way is to be pragmatic. Write it and move on, submit it and move on, enter it and move on, show it to someone and move on. It's mind over matter - you know - if you don't mind, it won't matter. And you're right, the waiting expectantly doesn't change anything or make it happen faster, it just makes you crazy. Like this isn't a crazy enough occupation, why add to it.
ReplyDeleteI HATE waiting!!! Traffic, appointments, phone calls, emails, submissions, laundry... I can't stand it! But you're right, you can't agonize about it, you have to do other things, move on. Especially with writing, you could be waiting months to get a response, some people even a year. Work on something else, so when you finally get a response you have something else to offer. I tend to multi-task. I'm waitin gon a load of laundry now. I bring books and paper with me everywhere, so if I have to wait, I can read or write. Great post :)
ReplyDeleteI think I remember not so long ago waiting for Eliza Knight to love or hate my m/s! I drove my CP crazy a time or two ;)
ReplyDeleteI hate waiting in traffic only to get almost clear and realizing the main cause of the hold up were all the rubberneckers in vehicles trying to see what happened.I hate standing in line to finally reach the checkout lady at Wal-Mart smile and tell me she was told to close and take her break!But most of all I hate being too chicken to send out queries for my finished MS.
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