Hurry up and wait

Here's the thing about being a professional writer: there is a lot of "hurry up and wait" involved. And if you let it, it will drive you nuts. Crazy. Batty. Around the bend.

But I digress.

What do I mean by "hurry up and wait"? Mostly that when things happen, they happen fast. And you suddenly have a lot of deadlines and things that need to be done all at the same time. And in between those times, you are mostly waiting.

As you know (since you all read this blog religiously), I got The Call at the beginning of last week. I finally had an agent! Yay! (Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency, double yay!)

And for a couple of days, there was a flurry of activity. I had to blog about the experience, of course. And post the news on Twitter and Facebook, and tell all my writer pals (and a number of innocent bystanders who no doubt couldn't care less...). And Elaine asked me to rework my query (which she said, and I quote, was "PERFECT, PERFECT, PERFECT" bless her) into a longer and more detailed pitch for her to use when pitching the book to editors. Be still my heart. So I made myself a tad crazy (see above) for a day or two, trying to come up with the perfect pitch.

And then I waited. And waited. And a week later, I'm still waiting.

What am I waiting for? For Elaine to start pitching the book (which in theory she was going to do today, if nothing came up to push it off her desk for another day or two). To have another phone conversation with her, so I could ask my myriad of undoubtedly silly questions. To find out if I should be working on the follow-up book for the series we are trying to sell, or the contemporary romance I had already started. And if it is the first option, whether the intro chapter I've gotten done actually works or not.

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.

So what do I do in the "waiting" period, so I don't go too crazy? I write, of course. Because, really, no matter what else is going on with my career, that is my main job. And as long as I am actively writing, I am mostly focusing on the characters, and the plot, and how on earth to describe my protagonist without resorting to cliches. And that way, I'm not focusing on the waiting and the twitching. Much.

Of course, I'm also keeping up with my online writing class that I'm giving, and going to my day job, and writing my blog. Because even with the major ups and downs of being an author, real life goes on.

Today, for instance, I'm waiting for the guy to come and do the yearly cleaning and service on my furnace. And you thought my life wasn't glamorous. *snort*

Thanks for waiting with me...the company makes it easier!