Tick... Tick... Tick...
Every morning I have a routine. I wake up, grab my phone, and check my email. I am looking for one thing in particular. I scan quickly past any and every thing that is not that one thing. I am searching for a response from one of the few agents I have queried regarding my manuscript. Many blogs and advice columns I have read suggest stopping at nothing short of flooding the market with queries. The idea has merit, like chumming the water for a shark sighting, but I prefer to be a bit more methodical. I am working my way through specific agents who seem to be looking for my specific genre, are rep'ing books I respect or have them listed as books they also enjoy, and who have a social media or blog presence that reveals a character or humor I can relate to. At this time, I only have around ten queries out there. I have received two rejections (form type, both), and I am hunting often to find the next person to add to my list. If you are that person, or know that person, give me a heads up. I want to find the right agent for my manuscript and myself. I don't just want the deal. I want someone who I can relate to that will really care about the work and help me to make it the best it can be. So, I wait.
While I wait, I work, because I hate to wait. I am one of those people that just has to be doing something all of the time. One look at my craft room will tell you that. I am normally in the middle of several projects at any given time. Quilting, painting, cooking, floral arrangement, wreath making, dollhouse building, etc.... And the beat goes on... and the beat goes on. All of these little distractions keep my brain from burning out and give me a tactile place to go when I'm stuck on a particular scene in book 2. Yes, you can add another thing to add to that list of stuff I'm doing. Book 2 is the follow up to Elhannan, the novel manuscript I am seeking publishing for now. These characters, the world I've built, and the stories blooming there are constantly on my mind. Driving to work the other day, I found myself hashing out a conversation between two main characters and doing a mental storyboard to lay the scene out perfectly. I needed to find something useful to do with my mind. (Driving and waiting are very similar... too similar. I speed and drive defensively. A lot. Seriously, those handles on the passenger side and in the back seat were created solely for the frightened people who ride with me.)
My Granny Rose told me "patience is a virtue" so many times when I was young. Each time I find myself overwhelmed with the tedious annoyance that prickles under my skin while I wait, I can see her sweet, soft, wrinkled face looking down at me trying not to smile as she says those words. Bless her. I just don't see that particular virtue ever pertaining to me.
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