Thursday, December 8, 2011

The Waiting Game

I am not staring at my Inbox. I am trying my best not to look at my recently finished novelette. No doubt I will find something I want to change, some paragraph that needs just a little something more. Too late for that, it's submitted.

Does one ever stop editing? I know I don't. That might be part self defense and part fear of rejection but we all have that in us. Wanting to put your best face on a piece of work is normal. Being a perfectionist can be a double-edged sword - on the one hand you perfect your work but on the other, you never really finish. It did feel good to type The End on something.

As of this posting, this will be my first submission, possibly my first acceptance and quite possibly my first rejection. Whatever the outcome, it has been an interesting experience. I want to document the occasion just in case. Admittedly it is not the piece I wanted to debut; it was the piece however, that grabbed me by the throat and said, "Come on, it will be fun - a quickie." It wasn't so quick but it's done. It's out there.

And so the wait begins. Wish me luck! Whatever happens with it, I am not anywhere near done telling my stories. Hell, the characters inside my head won't allow it.

4 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the submission! I imagine the waiting must be nerve-wrecking, but still... so exciting! :D

    And hey--whether it gets accepted or not, the fact is that not many people can say they've written a novel. And you are a damn good writer and whatever happens with the manuscript, I hope I'll get to read it some day.

    And whether it ends up being this one or not, you're going to publish some day. Fact :)

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  2. Thanks Renee, it was nerve-wracking hitting the SEND button in my email. Trying not to check my email every 5 minutes was also a challenge. This has been a learning experience and whatever the outcome, I don't regret it at all.

    I won't say this was a novel. It was a short story slightly over 10,000 words written to suit a submission call. I put my novella on the back burner so I could finish this. With luck Sweet Spot will be done by the end of the year and a couple of sequels will be outlined.

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  3. Good luck! You know what will probably help the wait? Writing more. Get to it. ;)

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  4. So true Nina! I pulled my other project out of the cabinet and started dusting it off. I've got fresh eyes on it and can't wait to finish.

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