When Jacob Wonderbar went out to editors I really thought I was going to be completely cool about the submission process. I’m an agent! I’ve seen this before! I’ve sold projects that were out on submission for six months and even a year! How hard could it be?
So. Being a Big Bad Experienced Agent, how long did it take me to crack?
A week and a half.
A WEEK AND A HALF.
That’s how long it took before I woke up in the middle of the night to check my e-mail and whisper, “It’s not going to sell! It’s not going to sell. I can’t believe it, it’s not going to sell.”
Now, bear in mind that I know that even when books sell they almost never sell in a week and a half. I know that!! A book selling in a week and a half is almost unheard of. But for some reason everything I knew went out the window. It’s like I turned into a doctor who’s afraid of needles.
Luckily I was able to keep my panic within the walls of my apartment, but all the same. The experience gave me a huge new respect for just how hard it is to be waiting to hear about your manuscript.
Writing is hard. It’s hard, it’s time-consuming, it’s solitary… it’s hard. But at least it’s within your control. You can change things, you can work harder and revise more, and it’s all within your reach. Writing is the fun part.
The frustrating thing about submitting to agents and editors is that there’s nothing. you. can. do. about. it. Once you hit send you’re at their mercy. The stress of always wondering if today is the day you’re going to receive good or bad news, of always sneaking peeks at your e-mail, and trying to be cool and composed in front of the people who are invested in your work, and hearing all those nos before you get your yeses…. it’s a steady stress that wears you down.
Everyone has their breaking point. Turns out mine is embarrassingly short.
Now that I’ve gone through this myself, I really really try as much as I can to avoid keeping people waiting. I try so hard to keep waiting to a minimum. At the same time, a certain amount of time is just built into the process simply because it takes a long time to read a lot of different projects.
How do you cope with the waiting?
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Art: George Goodwin Kilburne – Awaiting the Return of the Fleet
Anonymous says
I decide that I totally don't care and it was a stupid idea anyway, and in fact I'm so embarrassed that I sent that lousy thing that I hope I DON'T hear from them, because I'm just going to be so mortified if I have to send them pages and they see how awful it really is.
skywalker says
Oh my goodness. Thank you. This is how I've been feeling for 6 weeks since my agent sent it out. I had no idea how long it takes…still really don't. I've checked my email a million times a day and every Sunday night I wonder if this will be the week…Just good to know it's somewhat normal behavior. In the mean time, I've found the best way to enjoy the time and not resent it passing is to start something completely new. Get my mind churning again, and believe it or not, get writing again. I already have a great new book beginning to take form. But I do get depressed every Friday at about 3pm when another week has gone by with NOT A WORD!! Thanks, Nathan, for the timely post.
Sean Cummings says
I just keep on writing and I've often found booze helps.
karen says
It has to be chocolate! In the summer I work in the yard. In the winter I drive everyone nuts. Fortunately, with a family the size of mine there's usually some crisis to take my mind off waiting. But when you asked for my next 30 last summer I about went nuts before you rejected it. the rejection was ok. I wasn't sure I really wanted that book out in the world, anyway, so I didn't care all that much. But boy, the suspense about killed.
Backfence says
As an author pursuing an agent, I have to say it's nice to know there are agents out there who have walked in my shoes! Empathy is a good thing.
As for coping, you have to compartmentalize. Tuck that awareness that there's a query or manuscript out there waiting to be noticed, and get on with the writing (or, in your case, reading, "agenting," and blogging). It's not gonna happen any faster for the worrying!
Carol Bro
And, good luck, by the way!
Lori Benton says
Faith. And falling in love with a new set of characters.
RLS says
As I went to your blog today, I said a silent prayer hoping to read something relevant to what I'm going through. Did this post relate to my experience? I'll answer by quoting a fine literary icon: You Betcha.
I secured representation mid-July. After four months of revisions (working every chance I got) I was told on Sunday that I nailed it(finally)and we're ready to go out. Yippee.
Then today, my phone lost charge and I had to come home several hours early because being away from email was not an option for this control freak.
During the endless two weeks I waited for said agent to read the revisions, I did start a new project. I also bought rockin' boots, returned many phone calls and emails, read Charolette's Web to my kids and saw three movies in two days. (A serious Man, Where the Wild Things Are and Untitled.)I've been reading in my genre, searching for a new school for my kid and scheduling flu shots.
Also–I've googled my agent and first choice dream editor, even though I know their entries by heart.
And let's not forget responding to blogs (aka boring strangers with the mundane details of my life.)
But don't be fooled. What I'm really doing is … waiting.
Mystery Robin says
Currently, I stalk the "good news" section of the Blueboards. 🙂
Linnea says
Watch too much tv, eat too much chocolate, chew off my fingernails.
Lady Glamis says
Thanks for sharing this, Nathan. I must say that you are super fast and very kind to the writers who query you. Do agents ever get restless waiting for a writer to finish something or to get back to them with an answer?
pjd says
What do you mean, waiting? There's waiting? I thought there were only noes. Like when you pay the carnie your three bucks to drop the five rubber bologna pieces onto the big white circle and there's always just that *one little slice* visible at the end. It's almost instant. There's no waiting. You pay your three bucks and within a minute it's, "Sorry, kid. Try again?" You know, you send off your manuscript and within a few minutes it's, "Sorry, kid. Try again?"
But if there's waiting, I'll relish every minute of it. That's what I'll do.
Heck, now that I know there's the promise of waiting, maybe I'll actually send my ms off to someone. (I don't play that rubber bologna game at carnivals, either.)
What I found truly shocking about your post, Nathan, was that the word "yes" turns out to be an adverb. I'd never thought about it. The plural "yeses" didn't look quite right, so I went to dictionary.com, and it told me "yes" is an adverb. Go figure.
Anonymous says
You rejected me in minutes. I thought I would lose my ability to breathe.
I was pretty sure my novel is too silly for your sophisticated tastes. But I adore you and wanted you to choose me.
I (to my HORROR!) misused a word in the query. I also gushed. (Oh, somebody, save me from myself!)
Your rejection was so immediate, so fast, so thorough…
I felt like a flat little person for a while, walking around like one of those cartoon characters that had been hammered into a short SHORT person.
("Short People have NO reason to li-ive!" -Randy Newman)
W.O.W.
I made it through sending it out to eleven agents and then folded into a very small (small) version of myself.
And then I enlisted several beta readers, intelligent, really smart, very (VERY) smart, well-read beta readers, (one in the publishing industry) and including two men in their fifties.
They (sigh) (no, they were NOT on my payroll either) *loved* my novel.
But it was also full of typos: horsely instead of hoarsely/chlorophyll instead of chloroform. (I had to laugh and laugh: can you imagine someone being chlorophylled into an unconscious state???)
But, sadly, I am so fragile. I just wish I could sneak you a copy of my novel like I was some poor pathetic little cousin and get you to give me a little whisper about it.
But here I am, alone with my two years of love and devotion.
It is hard, Nathan. Very (VERY) hard.
(Thanks for sharing how hard it was for you too.)
T. Anne says
I love you even more for this post. Waiting is tantamount to emotional torture. The best thing for me to do is understand it's not in my hands. Bottom line, I do not control the universe. *sigh* Such hard truths.
Jil says
As long as my query is out at least there is hope, and I merrily continue with my next project. When my query is rejected almost as soon as I press the send button, there is no time for hope and I must immediately suffer a few days of funk. No fun at all.
Literary Cowgirl says
I have 17 subs out to lit mags, right now. Every time I start getting anxious or a case of the crazies, I pull something else out, polish it, and send it off. I find the more I have to worry about, the less I do.
Arwen says
I'm not sure I do cope, at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure that time drags me into the future while I simmer and stew and fret and fume….
RLS says
Nathan,
One more thing, any stats out there re. how many submissions editors typically receive in a year … and how many projects they buy?
I'm guessing that's too general a question, but still …
wendy says
Thanks for sharing this, Nathan. Interesting and hilarious. Glad the story had a happy ending. I'll let you know if Jacob is available over here in Aust.
These days I usually send off something and hardly give it another thought. I've been given the go-ahead to submit a synopsis and chapter (accompanied by about ten other things) to Pan MacMillan in Aust. It's no big deal in that I just emailed and asked if I could send the usual directly, and they email back I could and referred me to a web addie for further directions. This was about five months ago, and I haven't sent anything yet. I'm tossing up whether to self-publish over the internet. I've already done a cover for two children's stories and one for an adult novel, plus other illustrations, so perhaps I could release them as multimedia ebooks as I've also cimposed music a while ago.
Anonymous says
Well THIS year, I finally got the courage to send out a few little things (under a PEN NAME!!!) (i.e.,not that much courage!)
I got two pieces published. I have two more under consideration.
For the first piece, I received 66cents.
(It was supposed to be a dollar, but Paypal took 34%)
Anonymous says
Rejection may be worse than waiting.
Bridget says
Um, you're probably going to hate me but I forget about it. (I keep records and always follow through but really, I forget about it.) Part of it is because my life is full and busy and part of it is because I've been in advertising for 25+ years.
Now THAT can wear you down.
wendy says
Anon @ 4pm. I think you have talent! What you wrote was both touching and endearing.
Laura Martone says
I must admit – that makes me feel a little better, Nathan. Especially since I have yet to play the waiting game. I'll get back to you when I have a bit of relevant experience under my belt.
In the meantime, congrats again!
Anonymous says
The wait period for agents, anyway, seems to have shortened in the last couple years. I've never gotten anything positive after a wait over 3 weeks.
Indeed, even many of my rejects came within 24 hrs. The positives came within about a week, usually. I definately would always assume NO when you don't hear anything after a month. Move on, regardless of what the website says. if they think they can make $ off your work, they don't wait around.
karenbschwartz says
I just love that you shared this with us, thanks!
Christine Pope says
I just had my first novel accepted last week, so I'm still basking in the afterglow.
But usually I try to keep writing, although red wine and chocolate never hurts, either.
Anonymous says
Wow, Wendy, thanks!
-Anon 4:oo
Jo says
I just blogged about this very same subject. I called the waiting period, The Deathly Silence.
My agent sent out my manuscript at the beginning of September so it has not been a long time at all. I told myself not to expect to hear back from him until the end of November at the earliest, but of course I am still freaking out and worrying that it will never sell. It is the lack of control as you pointed out.And the blind faith that someone else besides you truly truly loves the book and will do his utmost to find a home for it.
All I can do to deal with the waiting is to write something else. I'm almost 60,000 words in now and my fingernails have almost all grown back.
Rowenna says
How do I deal with waiting…first, I confessed to my husband that it was killing me. Acknowledging that it was killing me actually helped a lot! Then I got invested in working on a new book. I convince myself from time to time that I even like this one better than the one currently making the query rounds…and it's much more fun to write than it is to check my email for the 90th time today.
Anonymous says
I have spent the better part of the last four years waiting for a yes from one gutsy editor. Given that my second agent continues to submit my second novel and yet I remain bookless, I consider waiting my second profession. A
t times I feel discouraged to the point of despair. The best way I have found to cope with the stress of waiting is to try to continually reaffirm my commitment to my vocation. I work harder, plunge deeper into my imagination, more ruthlessly mine my own inner life, and keep reading great works of literature. And I try to remember that in the long term the act of expressing oneself in language is a noble endeavor that has little to do with short-term personal gratification and the shallow pleasures of a consumer society.
Lisa Dez says
That’s where I am right now…waiting on editors. And I have to say, I’m doing better than you. I’m three weeks in and not yet waking with anxiety attacks. Partly, that’s because my agent is a rockstar cheerleader (as I’m sure Catherine is) and always keeps me in the loop. Also, the loop has been good to me—we’ve got some early interest from some major houses, which calms the nerves some.
So, to fill the time, I write when my characters have something to say, and when they don’t I read—either my crit partner’s work or stuff from my insane TBR stack.
Susan Quinn says
You broke after a week and a half??
I am doomed.
Just thinking about submissions makes those revisions look like all kinds of fun.
Susan at Stony River says
I drink heavily, write more, drink more, repeat as necessary, LOL.
The waiting I've learned to deal with over the years. Now it's seeing the editor's name pop up in my Inbox that kills me, especially if there's no clue in the subject line (such as RE: The Submission) It takes the world's longest second for that e-mail to open, while I want to look and I don't want to; I want to know and I don't.
Suddenly I can sympathise with the condemned as they watch the executioner raise the axe, inch by inch. GAH.
I wish subject lines said Yes/No/Revise and that's it LOL.
Amalia T. says
I'm actually okay with the waiting. After the first day, I kind of forget that I've put something out there, and I only get the periodic sinking feeling when something reminds me. Obviously less wait is always preferrable, but it's something I can live with.
Steph Damore says
As I said on Debra Schubert's blog last week:
I clean out my closet (literally); paint the kitchen and living room; wash the floors, scrub the bathtub and clean the kitchen sink; quilt; read; and workout.
Good luck and here's to hearing good news!
Indigo says
When I first started writing, an author friend told me right off the bat, "You're going to learn patience."
Who me? The woman who can't stand waiting in line.
You learn. I just keep writing in the interim. If nothing else, the next one out has to be better – right? (Hugs)Indigo
Christina Davis says
Always fun to read your honest, witty posts. I told my son Jacob about your book. He's 8 1/2. His eyes grew big when I mentioned corn dog, spaceship, universe broken. "Oh, we've got to get that one." Consider one book sold!
Jemi Fraser says
Cope? We're supposed to cope? Really???
I try to obsess about my day job instead 🙂
Eden Glenn says
We drive our agents crazy with our neurotic second guessing.
The best answer is to write the next book.
I write because I am. So I will write the next book.
I also drive my family crazy with my neurotic second guessing.
Rick Daley says
Waiting is easier if you know how long it will be. I'll wait a month if I'm expecting to wait a month. But if I'm expecting to wait a week and it takes a month, the only way to counter that is to go insane for a short while.
I have multiple works in progress and one that I'm working with an agent on, so when I'm waiting on feedback on that one, I shift focus to another MS.
Adam Heine says
Write something else.
A week and a half is pretty good, actually. For me, I'm refreshing my e-mail within the hour.
When nothing shows up, I ask my wife if I can check hers.
Trish says
I keep working on other projects or editing the one I’ve submitted, but my stomach turns over when I check my emails.
It’s great to know you understand. Thanks for the honesty and good luck, sounds like a great book.
Cassandra says
The only thing I find that helps is to work on something else. Get so immersed in another book that when those no's come in you can look at them and say, 'forget you, i've got this new novel and it's going to be even better!'
Seriously, more work is always good.
And if yes's come in, that's just icing on the cake!
Josin L. McQuein says
I lurk on Absolute Write and read how others are selling or waiting to sell or getting agents and assure myself that there are still people out there buying books. Or I go through the peer crit section there and work on someone else's problems for a while – it's very therapeutic.
Marilyn Peake says
Congratulations again on the upcoming publication of JACOB WONDERBAR! Your post today struck a strong emotional chord with me, and it’s my personal favorite of all your posts so far.
I’ve done lots of different things while waiting to hear back from agents and publishers. For a long time, before I got onto the Internet and before agent blogs became popular, I didn’t have the slightest clue how to find reputable agents, so I self-published a couple of novels that were later published by an indie press. I then went on to have eleven more projects accepted by the same indie press. While waiting for my next publication to come out, I usually started writing my next project and submitted my published works to contests and reviewers, worked on book promotion projects and updated my website, traveled and did other fun stuff.
I’m at a different point now. I recently finished writing a very complicated time-travel science fiction novel, with distinct voices for individual characters, that I really believe in. I’ve received great responses to it. While waiting to hear back about the next step, I feel sad at times and have entertained the idea of walking away from writing forever. I’ve returned to exercising on the treadmill, reading, organizing my house, and framing some of the thousands of photographs I’ve taken over the years. I also say, Damn it!! while reading certain emails and have significantly decreased the amount of time I spend on the Internet. I’m also hoping to travel again soon. And I spend time with family, as I also do when working on book projects.
Josin L. McQuein says
ROFL — had to add a post about the verification word:
Shous — the phrase every writer dreads after the betas are done. "Don't tell us, Shous!"
Jen Chandler says
Ah yes, the waiting. I try to forget about it (yeah…right) and keep myself busy. And check my email. And pray. And wonder and worry and fret. Yeah, turns out I'm not good at waiting either 🙂
Jen
(funny my word verification is "batty". sums up how I feel playing the waiting game.)
Tabitha says
I have patience in droves. My friends find it incredibly annoying, but I can't help it. That said, even I can't sit on my hands and wait for responses to come back. It's torture.
So I write something else. The project that's out there may not be my breakout novel. And if it's not, then I need to get to work writing that breakout novel. Otherwise I'm never going to get what I want, and that's just unacceptable. So I keep my annoyingly cool, calm, and collected head in future work, with plans running in the background for the work I can't sell right now. 🙂
j says
You cope because you have no choice, and for all the talk of being partners, at this point, there is no balance of power. Welcome to our world.
Lucinda says
Clicking the forever-sent send button on a submission made my heart race wildly with anticipation and hope.
It is done. No way to snatch back the submission from cyberspace. I start to read it again to see if I missed something. No, it is done. It cannot be brought back no matter how terrible it is.
Shut down the computer, now! Go to bed early tonight. It has only been minutes, no one has even seen it yet. Go to sleep. Ticking of the clock grows louder and louder until it sounds like a drumb beating in my head.
Finally, the alarm goes off. Time to go to work. Late again? But I must check my email before I leave.
Nothing.
Working will take my mind off it. Not a chance. Telling co-workers that I really don't expect to get an agent on the first try anyway doesn't help because…because…I DO EXPECT it.
Rush-hour traffic is worse today or could it be that I have to hurry home. Before today, rush-hour traffic was a golden opportunity to meditate, plot, plan and edit in my head. Ideas buzzed while there was nothing I could do but wait.
Fumbling with the keys, I open the door and drop everything. Internet is extra sluggish. Finally!
Nothing!
Dejected, I write something to push aside the anticipation without expectation in hopes that tomorrow will give some assurance that I am not loosing my mind. I really am a writer.
Months turn into years as I rewrite the original MS enough times to know that the first rejection letter was very merciful.
Alas, it is…ready…again.
But, I must.go.through.it.one.more.time.