Blog Archives
Top Five Things to Do While Waiting for Query Responses
This weekend I kicked off my official query search for an agent. And like always, I wanted to check my email every few minutes to see if my favorite agents were already drooling over my story premise. They, of course, all wanted to take me on as a client immediately.
But alas, each time I checked, my inbox sat empty, so I had to devise a way to keep myself from going insane. The product of my insanity was to create a list of the top five things to do when you’re waiting for query responses.
5. Go back through your Angry Bird* levels and try to top your previous high scores. *Note, you may use insert another time-wasting, but equally as addictive game.
4. Create a list of all the characters from the Harry Potter books and then alphabetize them. Oh wait, someone has already created the list here. I guess, you can create a list of death traps from The Hunger Games trilogy.
3. Run a marathon of your favorite movies/TV show. If you need to waste even more time, you can always host a party and create personalized memorabilia, invitations, etc. Check out this hub page on how to host a marathon (scroll down the page to find tips on creating themes by actor/actress, topic, etc. and must haves at your night).
2. Use those old sticky notes, telling you to check your email, as sticky note origami. Don’t know how, there are plenty of books. Stick Note Origami. But you can also check out Youtube. They have a whole list of videos on sticky note origami. (Sample Video Below).
Origami Star
1. You can create a list of fun, but useless, things to do while you wait for a response to your queries.
What do you like to do to keep yourself from checking your email every five seconds?
The other day, I was stalking reading agent sites. Their comments about queries and submissions in general made me realize getting published is a lot like driving a car.
Some of us are too fast, rushing through our first drafts, throwing words on the paper like a teenager. There’s nothing wrong with a little speed. We all want to make it to the finish line before we lose gas, but if we forget to slow down and run spell check or meet with our critique group before submitting to an agent–crash. The race is over before we’ve made it around the first lap.
Likewise, driving too slowly can be equally as dangerous. You know the people who get on the freeway going ten miles an hour? They cause just as many accidents, truly. If the fear of rejection has us editing our WIP for the hundredth time or we agonize over our manuscripts for five long years, the market will pass us by.
Publishing takes a certain amount of guts. We need to step on the pedal and put ourselves out there, but only after we’ve slowed down long enough to take in the sights.
I’m guilt of doing both (and playing my music too loudly while I’m at it). How about you?
