Hitting Send

In the past two months I’ve submitted two projects to various editors with fingers crossed and a knot in my stomach.  I ALWAYS feel this way.  Is it good enough?  Does the motivation of the characters/plot make sense?  Did I tie up all the loose ends?  Are the characters likable and relatable? Does the romance build at an even pace?  These and about a dozen other questions are on a list I keep on my desk to make sure I answer ALL of them to my satisfaction.  But triple-checking this list doesn’t make the butterflies go away.

 

When I confessed my anxiety to a friend, she was surprised I still felt this way.  I’ve been published several times now, so isn’t it a slam dunk?

No.  It’s NEVER a slam dunk for the vast majority of writers.  And I’m glad of that.  When I approach each new submission like it’s the very first one, it’s my hope that I produce a quality project that’ll be good enough to garner the attention of an editor.  My goal isn’t to produce quantity; I’m all about quality.  And every time I hit send, I’m hoping that’s exactly what they’ll see.

But every damn time I feel like it’s a total crap shoot.  And the worst part has just now begun--the waiting.  Why do we writers do this again?  Oh.  I remember.  We can't help but do anything else. *sigh*

I'm off for vacation this week, so until then -- happy reading! :)