The time has come. Reality check, people. My baby, all 294 pages, is hitting the post office today and whisking off to New York City. She's going all alone out into the big bad world - Manhattan of all places. That's a dangerous place. She might get mugged, or worse - REJECTED! I'm worried about her. Now, they're expecting her and I'm sure they'll take good care of her, but I still worry. She's never left Alabama before. Sure, a couple of her chapters went to Tennessee and NYC before, but never the whole thing.
I know I have to let go. She's been read over my myself and several other highly trained professionals. :) I've edited it to the point of blury vision and confused tenses. There's nothing else that can be done. I just need to drop her into the mail. And wait.
It seems like I was just doing this waiting game. I was waiting to hear on the partial. Then waiting to hear on the revision. Waiting to hear back from CPs about whether or not it's crap. Now it's time to wait again. This is the big wait, though. I've never gotten this far. After this could come the call. THE CALL! Most likely would come another revision request first, but still...they might call to talk to me about it first. This could be it.
Or, it could be back to the drawing board. A quick piece of letterhead could end it all. Like Chutes and Ladders, it doesn't matter how high you climb, you can still hit that big slide on the top row and end up all the way down at the beginning again.
Negative Ninny. Those kind of thoughts will make me pray for the opportunity to visit RevisionLand again. Hopefully I won't have a panic attack at the post office. How about you? Have you ever sent your "baby" out into the world or something similar? If not, ever had an anxiety attack at the post office? I want to have one everytime I go in to buy stamps...
SP
(By the way - it's September 1st! Check out the new playground articles, the new contest, and of course - September Horoscopes on AstrologyZone!)
10 comments:
Hel-LO come join me in Hell's waiting room.
We'll practice breathing together. Play cards while we wait. Something...
I panic before mailing away each and every manuscript. And the only time I ever really freaked out at the post office was when the girl said they couldn't mail it without a phone number to contact the receiver on the other end (in the Uk!). I ended up running across the highway to the bookstore and tearing through their copy of agents and editors looking for Mills and Boons phone number (which is now on a scrap of paper in my wallet)
But yeah, I think all writers get a little antsy sending their 'baby' into the world :o)
I put off that moment at the post office as long as I possibly can. Which is kind of funny because then the "baby" goes to sit in someone's office for months on end, but still....
One hard thing about going to the post office is worrying that your book is dressed right. Did you put the right address, include everything you needed to, who the h*ll here knows about IRCs (certainly not a single post office employee I've talked to in northern Alabama).
I bet normal people have no idea how much time authors have to spend just in preparing submissions to go through the mail. I know my local post master hates to see me coming... and most times the feeling is mutual.
Angel
Right now I'm trying to remember what goes with a full. I've never sent a full...a cover letter, an unbound copy of the MS...what else? If I don't want them to mail the whole thing back, can I include a small SASE and put in my cover letter to shred it?
SP
Yep you can ask them to shred it and just use the small envelope. A syn - sometimes they want it sometimes they don't but if you've got it it can't hurt to send it. A copy of the request letter is never a bad idea.
I usually have my panic attack before I leave for the post office. Once I get ther I've got my 2 yr old in toe and I honestly don't have time for a breakdown when I'm trying to assemble my package, corral her, and keep her sticky fingers off the stuffed animals and brightly colored box display - why does the post office have stuffed animals?!?
Instigator
Angel! I'm surprised at you! You used the H word.
SP, the work speaks for itself. The sell will come. And remember you'll never find out if you don't send it out.
I get palpitations just thinking someone will read my stuff, whether that will be a CP or and editor or agent, and the thought of going to the post office gives me hives. I've done it before. I've seen the look in my postmaster's eyes when she stamps my envelopes. A writer, eh? And in the back of my mind I hear her maniacal laughter.
Hang in there. You'll never know unless you actually mail the ms.
Kathy
SP, even after making that first sale, I've never gotten over the "turning it loose" syndrome. I wish that I could tell you that it gets better, but for me it never has. I wait with bated breath until my ink and paper baby has been inspected by my editor and deemed acceptible. Use whatever coping method works for you and just let her go. She's going to be fine. :-)
Congratulations!
Ack - she's gone. The postman took her and put her in a bin, leaving me only a delivery confirmation slip to connect to her.
(sob!)
Off to hell's waiting room with PC and Instigator...
SP
We welcome you.
(insert evil mwha-ha-ha laugh)
Did you bring something to do? Something interesting? Nail-biting and whining has lost its charm...
Yep, checked out my horoscope on Astrology Zone for this month. Lots of bad things going to happen. Yay...
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