SUBLIMINAL THURSDAY: The Waiting is the Hardest Part

I know it's not Monday, but subliminal messages come whenever they damn well feel like it, and I have no real control over them. You'll just have to deal with it. [Or not.]

I love Tom Petty, and in my fantasy life, I know him personally. [Yes, in the biblical sense, along with Ashton Kutcher, George Clooney, and Robert Pattinson, though not all at the same time. Hmm, that might not be such a bad idea...] Therefore, I'm allowed to rip off his song lyrics whenever it suits my needs. Like now, for example.

I'm waiting, and it's undoubtedly the freaking hardest part. AA has the fifth draft of my [awesome, Earth-shattering] YA manuscript, and she even claims to be reading it. So far, two beta readers have finished reading this [mind-blowing, put-Twilight-to-shame] draft, and absolutely loved it. Of course, one of those readers was my mom, but unlike other moms who read their kids' books, my mom's opinion counts. Why? Because she's my mom. [I'm a princess, which makes my mom a queen.] The other reader is a 20 year-old, female, YA fanatic, who is my target audience. Theoretically her opinion should count more than my mom's, BUT, she's not my mom, so she's got less street cred. [I had to add this in case my mom ever reads my blog.]

These [resounding] reviews give me a drop of confidence, but we all know that AA's opinion is - at this [every] stage of the game - the only one that matters. [Please don't tell her I said this. I'd hate for her to think she has the upper hand.]

In the meantime, I'm filling my days with important things like playing spider solitaire, napping, tanning by the pool, and searching for a shore house on the internet. [Usually, in that order.] I would be writing, but I'm not one of those [annoyingly gifted] people who can juggle more than one writing project at a time. If I dive full on into the sea of a fresh, new novel [lousy cliche left over from my 7/8 post], then I will have a hard time redirecting my attention back to my current WIP to make whatever revisions AA deems necessary. ["How can a perfect manuscript need revisions?" you ask. GREAT QUESTION! I have no idea, but I'm sure AA will have the answer.] THEREFORE, I wait. And wait. And wait some more.

So, tell me - what are you waiting for in life? An agent? Book deal? New car? House? Different significant other? [You can leave it in the comments. I won't tell.] Whatever it is you're waiting for, I hope it/he/she shows up soon.

After all, I'd like to think I'm not the only one besides Tom [one of my many hot, rich, famous boyfriends] who believes the waiting is, indeed, the hardest part.

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When You're NOT in the Driver's Seat or as Tom Petty Says, "The Waiting is the Hardest Part"

First of all, thanks to everyone for chiming in on the "Does Reading Make You a Better Writer?" post. What a way to rile up the masses! I'd also like to thank Alan Orloff for featuring the post on his illustrious blog in a post entitled, "Smackdown: Reading vs Writing."

The result? As with most things in life, do what's best for you and follow your instincts. Read when it's right for you to read, and write when it's right to write!

Now, for today's topic: Waiting. Don't you hate it? For a bus, a letter, a phone call, a decision... When you're waiting for something in life, you're not in the driver's seat. Whatever the "thing" is you're waiting for takes the wheel.

In the case of writing, you may be waiting to hear back on a query, partial, full, word from an agent or editor, or you may have your work out on submission and be waiting to hear if it has sold. In all of these cases, you are in the submissive state of handing your power over to someone else.

What got me thinking about waiting and being (or not being) behind the driver's wheel is twofold. First of all, I took the picture at the top of this post yesterday when my son and I had lunch at the new Olive Garden in town. Yes, we have a new Olive Garden and that, in itself, was well worth waiting for. The puppy was in a car in front of the restaurant. He seemed to be waiting, too. (Most likely for the shrimp scampi and all-you-can-eat bread sticks and salad, and who could blame him, really?) Secondly, I'm waiting back to hear from a specific agent on a specific submission. I have other submissions out as well, but this one has a time-frame wrapped around it, which makes it far more nerve-wracking.

My question to you is this: What do you do when you're waiting for news? If you're a control freak like me, how do you get past the doubts, the fears, the clock ticking ever-so-slowly yet loud as thunder in your ear?

I've never been good at waiting. I blame it on my Brooklyn DNA. Really, it's not my fault. I can't help that I was born there. In the meantime, I write, tweet, play spider solitaire, write a new blog post, and check my email "in box" like a hundred million times an hour. (Native NY'ers have a reputation for exaggerating. No idea where that comes from.)

What do you do?

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