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Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Insecure Writer’s Support Group: Post #3

It's the first Wednesday of the month again. Time for another IWSG post.

Lately I've been doing a lot of waiting. A couple months ago I posted about some rewrite requests that I had finished. I'm still waiting to hear back on those. I'm still waiting for a handful of other story submissions. I know I shouldn't complain. The editors are busy and underpaid and no news is usually good news in the submissions game. It means they're thinking or they haven't looked at it yet. I wish I had the patience of my cats, although they don't seem to be very patient with me when they're hungry. What's worse: a quick rejection that leaves you feeling like they really hated it or a long wait leading to a rejection that dashes hopes that have risen? Maybe they're equally bad but in different ways.

I waited over a year on a story once, only to find that the magazine had gone belly up. I received a couple messages from the editor during that year to say that the story was still under consideration. In other cases, I've waited almost as long to see an accepted story reach publication. The publishing world operates in a different time dimension. What's the longest you've waited for a response or a story to reach publication?

I should get back to my WIP, the best cure for the waiting blues.

Until next month, keep writing and wait patiently.

18 comments:

  1. This is one of the worst parts of writing: Waiting for approval. Me, I skip right over it and move on to the next activity. Good luck--I hope it works out!

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    1. That's about the only thing you can do. Move on and forget about the waiting.

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  2. Waiting's tough Jeff. I will not name the well regarded venue that has had one of my stories for well over a year. Is it lost or not?

    *le sigh*

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    1. I hear you, Deborah. I appreciate the editors that at least send you an acknowledgement when you submit.

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  3. There is always a wait. When I signed the contract for my first book, it was a sixteen month wait before it came out.

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    1. Sixteen months! Wow. That must have been torture at times.

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  4. Rejection, either way, sucks.

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  5. Waiting is tough. Especially for my cats who think my only purpose is to feed them 24 hours a day.

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    1. Cats consider you their servant. That explains a lot of their behavior I think.

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  6. The longer they keep it the higher up the food chain it goes. :-)

    Anna from Shout with Emaginette

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  7. Waiting is really tough. I had a similar wait with a magazine that disappeared, and I actually have a story out now to an online place that hasn't changed their website in four months. I'm trying to decide if I just take my story and run with it somewhere else or if I should wait another month or two.
    I think you should definitely dive back into your WIP - it helps to keep something moving forward when stories are in the waiting time warp zone.
    And could you get your cats to give my cat lessons in patience? My family cat either wants her own private time, or she wants attention "now" with no wait period. :)
    Happy writing!

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  8. My longest wait was over a year. The acceptance was about three months, but after that, the editor disappeared for awhile and then kept pushing back the publication without notice for over a year. Because I really liked the story, I wanted to have it with a more active, popular publication, so I withdrew it. For me, the longer rejections are harder, the fall feels farther because you came so close. But it does give more time for current WIP!

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  9. My shortest wait was recently. A rejection after two days. I know they couldn't have read the novel. My longest wait was a year, and that rejection was just as sharp. Writing always helps me too. :) Have a good weekend.

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  10. You're right: our current WiP is the best cure. I hate long, drawn-out rejections; they're the worst, so much time wasted. If more publications allowed simultaneous submissions, it wouldn't be an issue.

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  11. I try not to wait. I mean I know we have to, but I try not to be thinking about it and instead got on with new projects. It's not always easy though.

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  12. Absolutely, getting on with the next thing helps. Still, there is too much waiting in this game I think.

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