Waiting Doldrums?

Mellanah · Apr 13, 2014

At the end of March, I did a query workshop, and the agent requested my full (woo hoo!). Encouraged by the success of my query, I sent it out to four more agents. I received a nice form rejection from one, but it's been two and a half weeks now of waiting.

And...I find myself inexplicably down about it. It hasn't been that long. Most of the queried agents have a 4-8 week turn around time, and of course the full can take up to 3 months (for this agent). I'm not sure if it was the spurt of excitement descending into endless wait or what, but suddenly I'm doubting everything. "Is my query bad? Is my story bad?" asks my brain.

I'm confused because there's no logical reason to feel down. Is this a common waiting experience? :Headbang:

Antonin · Apr 13, 2014

Yes. Rejections suck. You learn to make them suck less. But they still suck.

Also, form my super non-scientific observations, inboxes have been quiet for everyone for about a month or so now. There was a big agent thing going on in Europe that a bunch of people went to and now there's other stuff. So don't take that the hard way.

While some agents don't respond at all, give them at least 2-3 months before you write them off.

Personally, I like to think the queries I sent out to "no-response-means-no" agents are "eternal maybes."

emily · Apr 13, 2014

I'm right there with you, Mellanah. Waiting is awful and it makes you second-guess everything. My solution is to work on something else and keep my mind off my inbox. I find it makes the rejections less painful, because you weren't just sitting around waiting for it.

Antonin said:
Personally, I like to think the queries I sent out to "no-response-means-no" agents are "eternal maybes."

I love this.

Mellanah · Apr 13, 2014

Thanks, guys. It makes me feel better to know that this has happened to others. It seems like such a hurry up and wait process. I guess I just need to remember that no news is....no news. Not necessarily good or bad, at least at this point.

blacbird · Apr 13, 2014

Mellanah said:
At the end of March, I did a query workshop, and the agent requested my full (woo hoo!). Encouraged by the success of my query, I sent it out to four more agents. I received a nice form rejection from one, but it's been two and a half weeks now of waiting.

"At the end of March"? "Two and a half weeks"? By my calendar, today is April 13, which amounts to less than two weeks from "the end of March".

That said, you ain't even 1/4 of the way to the standard wait for responses.

A good bottle of Talisker or Laphroaig will run you ~$50 at your local liquor store, and is probably the best cure for your ill feelings.

caw

Mellanah · Apr 14, 2014

blacbird said:
"At the end of March"? "Two and a half weeks"? By my calendar, today is April 13, which amounts to less than two weeks from "the end of March".

That said, you ain't even 1/4 of the way to the standard wait for responses.

A good bottle of Talisker or Laphroaig will run you ~$50 at your local liquor store, and is probably the best cure for your ill feelings.

caw

Well, it was March 26. And I realize that this isn't rational and that I'm just starting out. That's why the feeling caught me by surprise. I didn't expect to feel this way for months. Heck, maybe it's all the writing articles and blog posts I see. 'Does your novel have...? Don't forget to... Never...' All these helpful articles make me worry.

Maggie Maxwell · Apr 14, 2014

The nice thing about the waiting doldrums is you're rarely in them alone. I'm playing the waiting game as well, my first one. I made it two weeks myself before I found myself checking my status daily. I know it's silly, I know the wait time for the magazine I subbed to is around 5 weeks, but you can't help wondering all the "what if"s. It'll pass, though. It got easier for me, at least. Good luck on your subs!

ap123 · Apr 14, 2014

I'm not new to this and the waiting drives me nuts. I've been trying to decide if it actually is harder than when I first pursued publication, and material was sent by snail mail, or if I've just put a rosy glow on it with time/distance.

I swear every day of waiting for response on requested material is 3000 hours long.

Phaeal · Apr 14, 2014

A spin-off rant from another thread:

Do your work.

As hard as you can.

The rest is beyond your control, whether you agonize or not.

Work.

(Repeat until you believe. But only between bouts of work.)

kydelaney · Apr 15, 2014

I'm in the same boat! It's so hard to wait. I thought waiting was worse than getting rejections, until I started receiving rejections.

I find it so hard to concentrate on working when all I do is check my email constantly. But I think trying to focus on churning out new writing is helpful.

Mellanah · Apr 16, 2014

I've just been plugging along on my next one. I got my latest rejection earlier tonight, so there's one I can stop wondering about. It could be a month or two before I hear back on the other two queries and the full I have out.

:scared:

Jo Zebedee · Apr 17, 2014

It doesn't get better - I have an agent now and still find myself waiting lots! Publishing is a slow business. I find the old adage of write the next book is the only thing that keeps me sane.

Cochinay · Apr 18, 2014

I sent out ten query letters. I got two quick rejections, like they were shedding
germs of the plague before anything nasty could stick. I've read and reviewed my others. I'm convinced they're not bad, but in two I see an error. I dropped the word "of" in an edit. Feel like a fool, but the message and context remains clear. I just wonder whether cramming an entire novel with characters and a complex plot, all into a one page synopsis, is really possible, for me, without somehow scaring the reader away. I've decided I need to get someone else to read it. I'm too wrapped up into what I know is lovely.

MorganicMoon · Apr 18, 2014

I get the doldrums too and I think it's a side-effect of rejection. Even with positive responses (I have two fulls out right now) those rejections are hard to take. It paves the way for worry, self-doubt, negative thinking. You've got to keep writing, that's all you can do. Move forward and hope for the best. Anyway, I'm right there in the doldrums with you!

Waiting Doldrums?

Mellanah

Antonin

▐п╣�▀╪? ╧ы§�Й!

emily

Mellanah

blacbird

Mellanah

Maggie Maxwell

Making Einstein cry since 1994

ap123

Twitching

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

kydelaney

Mellanah

Jo Zebedee

space opera-popcorn lover!

Cochinay

MorganicMoon