I read Wil Wheaton’s blog and he and I are feeling pretty close to the same right now. I don’t have his uh, really gross after-symptoms from my surgery, but I need to get out of here!
So, you guys get a “sort of” mini rant today. 😉
I’ve picked the pay-work back up and while I’m very happy to have it, the job itself involves sitting for hour after hour and zooming in and squinting at old documents… My poor creative brain goes a little numb after a little while.
However, I think my surgical recovery combined with the wait for agent replies might very well drive me nuts right now.
I know how busy they are–in fact, if you want to get a taste of what a brand new agent goes through, check out Colleen Lindsay. She just announced she’s joined the FinePrint Literary Management and is sharing info about the flood of queries on her blog. (No, I haven’t yet queried her–I decided to wait a little to see if I hear back from one of the seven who have parts of my book.)
The numbers are mind boggling and she’s brand new! It makes you realize that just getting a request is a big, big deal. We have to stand out among hundreds of queries.
So yes, I fully understand how difficult their job must be. It’s just the writer in me is so very anxious to get the ball rolling. And yes, there is a creeping self-doubt that invades every so often. The very real possibility that this book is just not good enough–that it might take the next to find an agent who wants to represent my work.
These sort of doubts are merely a part of the process. Believe me, I understand that fully and spend way more time upbeat and positive than I do chewing fingernails–so don’t worry. EDIT: Okay the “way” part is a slight exaggeration. <g>
While laid up on the couch, I have been productive–for others. Finished up my critiques for Rachel. I’ve learned so much working with her. It’s been the most interesting thing to watch our writing styles change as we learn more and more about the process. The best part of the relationship is our productiveness. She’s still beating me, hands down, but her consistent work habits keep me on my toes and I LOVE that. At one point, I finished three books in a year and working with her is bringing me back to that sort of output.
I also read a fantastic story. Sometimes, I swap full manuscripts with my good friend TL Schaefer. With TL, it’s a read through for fun and man, did I have fun with her latest. She’s also going through the agent query process (So she’d love some positive support, too!) and I have to say, if she doesn’t snag one with this manuscript, the world is just off. It’s a very, very cool story. Dark, gritty and damned tight!
This weekend it’s rainy and cold and since I’ve finished my reading for others, I’m going to focus on getting the proposal finished for BOAA–book two in my urban fantasy series. The proposal was done but I changed my mind on the beginning. I added in a funny character I’d removed from the first book.
I will say that all this sitting has given me many, many ideas so I need to kick this restlessness and settle in to write. I’d planned to walk around the neighborhood first, but freezing rain and snow are keeping me inside a few more days. I’d go up and down the stairs, but stairs are still a no no. Grr. My OKRWA meeting is today and I could catch a ride with TL, but I uh, overdid it a little this week, so I’m supposed to completely rest a couple of days.
It is kind of hard to rest when every couple of minutes you want to jump up and scream and run around the house. heh heh