:: the long wait ::

I struggle with the submission game. You're probably familiar with it, too.

You work on something for a few weeks or months or (maybe even) years; you research publishers and what they say they want and who's paying the best money; you polish and tweak and tear hair out trying to make your story the best it can be and, finally, you send it off.

Then you wait. That's the part everyone hates. We hate it more than editing. More than "condomizing" a story that was just fine without but isn't considered PC or socially responsible without those little latex sleeves crammed into the middle of the story. More than trying to meet a deadline that snuck up on us. We hate the waiting.

The nervous game of "Will they like it?" and "If they don't will they even bother to tell me why?" that distracts us from the work at hand which should be writing. Instead we waste time worrying because it's been three months already and not one peep.

We know that editors and agents are busy people. The stack of slush on their desks is enormous. We know that they will get back to us as soon as they have a chance.

But the waiting still sucks.