IWSG: Waiting

It's the first Wednesday of the month and time for another edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by the amazing Alex J. Cavanaugh!




The waiting is the hardest part, right? Someone please tell me the waiting is the hardest part. It sure feels that way. It seems like everything in writing basically equates to this never-ending waiting game and sometimes I wonder if it's ever going to end.

Who am I kidding? I know it's never going to end. That's the publishing business. A least right now waiting is my biggest problem. It could be a lot worse (it has been a lot worse in the past). Guess I'll just have to suck it up and try to stay busy while I do all that waiting.

Are you waiting for anything?

Comments

Alex J. Cavanaugh said…
Hurry up - wait - hurry up - wait. It's like driving in stop-and-go traffic and there's an accident.
Only unlike that situation, we can focus on something else while we wait.
October 2, 2013 at 6:35 AM
Stina said…
You wait and wait and wait to hear from agents, but it doesn't change once your book is sold. Now you're waiting for your edits, for your blurb, for the approval of book two's synopsis, for your cover. It never ends. And you still hit "refresh" more than you should.

That's why it's a good thing to have a new project to focus on...or anything else that will take you away from the inbox. And stalking agents to see if they are reading their slushpiles and talking about it on Twitter is probably not the best use of your time (yeah, I have friends who do this).
October 2, 2013 at 6:46 AM
VikLit said…
SO TRUE. And I am the world's most impatient person it feels at times - so how to get past that?!
October 2, 2013 at 6:49 AM
Michelle Wallace said…
I think the waiting game requires the patience of a saint... and nerves of steel!
October 2, 2013 at 7:38 AM
Anonymous said…
You're right, waiting is the hardest part. And now I have Tom Petty stuck in my head.
October 2, 2013 at 7:44 AM
ilima said…
No, it's never going to end. Don't know if it always will be worth it, but so far for me it has been. Publishing is sloooow.
October 2, 2013 at 10:01 AM
David P. King said…
Right there with you. You have no idea the kind of things I want to tell people right now, but can't, because I have to wait. No worries, though. I look forward to seeing the wait pay off for you. :)
October 2, 2013 at 10:20 AM
Rena said…
I've talked about the hardest part before. Find it here but yeah basically, it's all hard. Good luck!
October 2, 2013 at 12:00 PM
Sheena-kay Graham said…
To publish my novella in December but I'm busy with other work so it's not so bad. but yeah waiting can suck.
October 2, 2013 at 12:30 PM
Krista McLaughlin said…
I'm with you there! I'm waiting too. Waiting has to the hardest part, I think harder than killing a darling sometimes. We can wait together! :)
October 2, 2013 at 12:33 PM
Brandon Ax said…
Waiting is hard. When I wait I write more, lol.
October 2, 2013 at 12:52 PM
ELAdams said…
Unfortunately, waiting is an inevitable part of both writing and publishing! Generally, I find that news comes when I'm in the middle of something else, so I try to distract myself. Doesn't always work, but it's better than driving myself crazy constantly checking my inbox! :P
October 2, 2013 at 3:04 PM
Suzi said…
I'm about in the same waiting stage as you. When I started writing, I never knew how much waiting publishing involved.
October 2, 2013 at 3:18 PM
SK Anthony said…
So true! Waiting is hard... and this whole game is never ending, someone hand me a drink... lol
October 2, 2013 at 3:34 PM
Elizabeth Seckman said…
I remember the days when I would read a writer complaining about the process and I'd think...I'd love to have your problem! (after a day of rejections!) Guess we have to appreciate how far we've come!
October 2, 2013 at 3:42 PM
Michelle D. Argyle said…
Aww, I hope this particular waiting spell ends for you soon! But yes, it never ends, even when you're doing everything on you're own. I'm one of the most impatient people I know. :)
October 3, 2013 at 12:39 AM
Heather R. Holden said…
Waiting is never fun. Hopefully you won't have to be left waiting much longer!
October 3, 2013 at 1:50 AM
Morgan said…
THE WAITING IS THE HARDEST PART!!!!!!!!

Truth.

I'm always fine when I'm in work mode. I feel good, confident, happy... but when I'm waiting? Torture. I swear some people have mastered it, but I haven't...
October 3, 2013 at 8:52 AM
Mark said…
Waiting used to bother me, then one day I just stopped waiting:) Who has time to wait? Just write and read, and make sure to enjoy both:)
October 3, 2013 at 12:13 PM
John Wiswell said…
Waiting with nothing to fill the time can be the worst part of the process. Working in short fiction for so long, though, gave me a tolerance for waiting and educated me to work on other projects, so that I'm never resting in anxiety. Only resting when I actually need the rest!
October 3, 2013 at 11:04 PM
Donna K. Weaver said…
Actually, the whole process reminds me a lot of being in the Army. Our unofficial motto was "hurry up and wait". Yep. That's writing.
October 4, 2013 at 7:41 AM
Rachel Schieffelbein said…
Constantly. The waiting never seems to end. And I totally agree, it is the hardest part. :)
October 5, 2013 at 8:46 AM
Livia Peterson said…
You're right - waiting is the hardest part of this writing thing. I keep chasing the dream, write my butt off, and it still DOES NOT come true. I am so impatient, but then again, there's worst things that could be happening.
October 6, 2013 at 1:19 AM
Tonja said…
Just keep writing so you're too busy to realize you're waiting. :)

New follower. http://tonjamatney.blogspot.com
October 6, 2013 at 10:46 AM
Robin said…
Yup, that's where I am, waiting again:) I try to distract myself so I forget I'm waiting, but it's always there, in the corner of my vision, teasing me. Still, I'm getting excellent practice in patience:)
October 7, 2013 at 10:32 AM
Jay Noel said…
Done my fair share of waiting too. I guess the best thing you can do is to stay busy, like you said. Otherwise, you'll drive yourself (and those around you) nuts.
October 8, 2013 at 2:48 PM
Unknown said…
We spend half our lives waiting. It's finding something productive to do in the meantime that works for me. Sorry to get over here so late!

M.L. Swift, Writer
October 11, 2013 at 6:40 AM
Cassie Mae said…
Whatever you're doing at the moment is always the hardest part, lol! I know that totally doesn't help. But you're not alone in the waiting!
October 12, 2013 at 1:58 PM
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