Curl Up and Write » waiting http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog A witty take on hairstyling and writing Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:54:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The Waiting Game http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog/index.php/2011/03/28/the-waiting-game/ http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog/index.php/2011/03/28/the-waiting-game/#comments Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:55:35 +0000 Trina http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog/index.php/2011/03/28/the-waiting-game/ Most of a writer’s job is learning how to wait. Writing the book—at least for me—is the easy part. It’s the constant waiting, that’s hard. (And the marketing and publicity too, but we’ll tackle that another day…) We have to wait until we hear if our book is sold, we have to wait until the [...]]]> queueMost of a writer’s job is learning how to wait. Writing the book—at least for me—is the easy part. It’s the constant waiting, that’s hard. (And the marketing and publicity too, but we’ll tackle that another day…) We have to wait until we hear if our book is sold, we have to wait until the book gets published—which normally takes a year or more. It takes patience to be a writer, and if you lack it, then you need to develop it or you won’t last. Here are the three things that help me wait until I get the news:

Write Your Next Book

I think it’s great to give yourself mental space between books. You want to give yourself time to get your old characters out of your head and  let your new characters develop. The amount of time of course varies from person to person, but I like to give myself at least six weeks. Sometimes eight. But after that it’s important to start writing your next book. Especially when you’re waiting to hear back from your editor or agent. Writing your next book gives you something to focus on. What if the call comes and it’s not the news you were expecting? In case of bad news—and after you’ve bawled your eyes out—you have a new project to throw your energy into. And if good news falls your way? Even better. Your publisher will be thrilled that you have another book waiting for them once your new book is completed. In either situation, you grow as a writer—and that’s something we all aspire to do.

Take a Vacation

Nothing gets your mind off your troubles then sand between the toes. Get out of the house and take a trip with the family—even if just for the weekend. Being in new surroundings with the ones you love shifts the focus to the people that matter most in your life. But whatever you do—leave the writing at home. It takes the support of the family to be a great writer, and with that being said, you owe it to them to concentrate on them while away. That means mentally unplugging from the worries of your book. It means not checking your phone every five minutes. And it absolutely means no whining. Trust me, no one wants to hear (again), why you haven’t heard any news about your book. You’ve told them a thousand times so give them a break and yourself a break and pipe down. Enjoy your family. Thrust yourself into a new, fun activity. And relax with a great book. Speaking of great books…

Read

I can’t stress enough how important reading is to a writer. But while you’re playing the waiting game, try to read just for the enjoyment of it. Remember back in the day when you read a book and just appreciated that it was a good book? You didn’t highlight flashback scenes, or underline the lyrical prose in the book, you just read it. It can be hard to switch off our writer caps, and just become a reader. But it’s worth a shot to try.

 

Hey writers what do you guys do while waiting for (good) news?

]]> http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog/index.php/2011/03/28/the-waiting-game/feed/ 0 Gone Begging http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/01/gone-begging/ http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/01/gone-begging/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:09:34 +0000 Trina http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog/?p=548 It’s that time again. Yep, the asking (begging) of fellow authors to read Unbeweavable and give it a blurb. This is a busy time of year for a lot of people, and the fact that people have taken the time out of their busy schedules to read my novel sends me to the moon.

It’s [...]]]> It’s that time again. Yep, the asking (begging) of fellow authors to read Unbeweavable and give it a blurb. This is a busy time of year for a lot of people, and the fact that people have taken the time out of their busy schedules to read my novel sends me to the moon.

It’s hard to approach virtual strangers and ask them to say something nice about my book. I don’t have a lot of contacts in the writing world, so e-mailing someone and asking them for a favor sort of feels like asking a guy out on a date. A guy that you’ve had a huge crush on for years. A guy that you know most certainly will say no.

But surprisingly, my fellow writers have not let me down. And now I feel like a child peeking into the oven door waiting to get some kind of delicious treat that Mama made.

“Is it ready yet? Is it ready yet?” I want to ask. The time flies by and I know I’ll have to wait another day, until I know what they think.

Until then, I’ll just wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

“Now, is it ready?”

]]> http://www.katrinaspencer.com/blog/index.php/2009/12/01/gone-begging/feed/ 2