Heya guys!
As you know, I have recently sent chapters 1-3 of ‘The Black Rainbow Slayer’ out into the big, wide world again and am waiting to hear back from the respective party. As most of you guys who see this post will be on Twitter, you’ll also know by now that there is nothing in the world that is going to stop me from getting my dreams. I’m the type of person that doesn’t allow opportunities to slip past me. Whether this is a good or a bad thing, I’m not entirely sure, but what I can say is that it makes life damn exciting.
Through talking with me via tweets, you’ll know that I’m filled with adrenalin whenever I send my novel out….. but what I don’t show as much is that I am also terrified. My head has conjured up all manner of realities, including that cheeky little demon. At the moment, he’s saying things like: ‘You’re not good enough.’ ‘You missed this sentence out.’ ‘Why didn’t you describe their appearance?’ ‘You could have checked it over more for errors’ ‘Why do you think you even have a chance?’
This is only my second query, but I think I can speak for everyone when I say this waiting and wondering process doesn’t get any better no matter how many letters you send to lit agents and publishers. I suppose, being so imaginative, (and I always view imagination as a double edged sword) we can allow our worries to consume us because we see these situations a lot more vividly than people who aren’t writers. What I mean by this is…. I’m believing that whoever is reading my manuscript is wrinkling their nose or shaking their head. I’m envisioning that they’re scrunching up the paper.
In my last posts, I have talked about banishing the demon that sits on your shoulder, the one who is creating all these negative images, but sometimes, it’s just unbeatable. The creature does overpower you. For two nights, I’ve been tossing and turning in bed, going over what I should have added into the submission from the other day, dreading that I didn’t send the best to the agent…. During the daytime, I’m happier. Everyone always says that night is the worst for anxious points in your life, as the worries swarm you.
As a crux for these feelings, I have made a short list of activities we can do while waiting to hear back from queries. These have been collected from past experience or thought of just now but I’m hoping that within these bullet points, you’ll find something useful.
Top 20 Distraction Methods:
- Get your teeth into a really good book
- If you have pets, spoil them rotten
- Meet up with friends for lunch and or dinner (What I’m doing tomorrow)
- Plan your blog for the next week
- Focus on planning your book/series
- Watch a film you would never usually see
- Sing and dance in your room
- Pin up some positive life changing quotes
- Treat yourself to a shopping trip
- For writing, go somewhere you would never usually go.
- Act out a scene from your favourite book
- Sort out your room and give it a DIY makeover
- Take a break from writing and do some baking
- Pick up a pencil, do some sketching
- If you must worry, get it all down on paper, read it, scrunch it up and throw it away.
- Give yourself a clothes makeover
- Eat your favourite snack
- Revisit that old story you didn’t think would be touched and edit it
- Write fanfic or make a banner for an old fanfic on Photoshop
- Get relatively early nights as you’re more likely to sleep, but always talk on Twitter to other writers. Support is wonderful.
Hopefully these points will give you some things you can do while waiting to hear back from that scary little query and – remember, whatever the outcome recite this quote: ‘Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’
rebauthor 