Friday, March 15, 2013

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! :)




5 comments:

  1. Hope you have a fabulous time, Stacy - you deserve a break after all of the writing you've been doing lately!! I'll be biting my nails beside you right up until April 15th, though I reckon you'll be fine - your story premise makes me want to bake cookies, and that sort of sums up the feeling of Christmas beautifully. *nods*

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    1. Just reading about your submission made me want to read it sooooo bad! And CONGRATS on your new cover -- http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7009274.Amber_T_Smith?auto_login_attempted=true

      I LOVE IT!!!

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  2. Every single time I submit a manuscript, I get that terrified/nervous feeling. I really wonder if it ever goes away.

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    1. Whew. I'm so glad I'm not alone on that dreadful feeling. But it feels SO good when you overcome that anxiety and finally hit the Send button, doesn't it? :)

      BTW, congrats on a fabulous now release for Samhain, TAKE WHAT YOU WANT! http://store.samhainpublishing.com/take-what-want-p-7290.html
      Well done, lady! *cheers*

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