I screwed up….

More than once, but this time I’m referring to how I spent my time after my book got agented and sent out to publishers.

Here’s the thing. I sort of expected an answer within a few weeks. Well imagine me still waiting eight months later and having heard nothing.. Why is a whole other blog.

So, what did I spend those eight months doing? Playing around with the sequel to the book that had been submitted to publishers. Taking twice as long as it should have to write the first draft.

Getting more and more discouraged with each day that went by without word. It was actually almost heartening to get a rejection. At least I know it had been read.. or hoped it had been.

Had a great bout of DWT on Wed night. And Molly said something that made complete sense to me. While a book is being shopped, write something completely different.

I know, it sounds a little defeatist, a belief the first book will be rejected, but it was only when I tried to write something not at all connected to the shopped book that I felt energized again. Ready to really get my head into a story.

And it got me writing again at my usual pace.

There are a few hard things about this business, the rejections, the self-doubt, but for me, the hardest is the waiting..

The only way I can combat is to write something new and different.

Not sure why this is, but it’s my new method, rather than sitting on my butt and watching Survivor re-runs..