Get used to it

There are a few different things you have to get used to if you want to be a published author. One of the biggest ones is... waiting. There's lots of hard work, and deadlines, and goals, and writing, and all that. But then there's the wait. We work, we hope, we send off our stuff. And then we wait. And wait.

Hurry up... and wait some more.

Writing, reading, editing, revising, copy editing, printing, PUBLISHING a book takes time. There are moments of hurrying and then there is waiting. Waiting for the response from a CP, waiting to hear back on a query, waiting to hear back on a request, waiting for revision notes from your agent, waiting on editors to respond to submissions, waiting for your edits, waiting for your publication date.

Another time when there is a lot of waiting? When you're pregnant. I have no idea why that would be on my mind, but it is. It has nothing to do with the little person rolling and spinning and kicking and stretching in my belly; basically making herself very well known. How is that I feel like I've been pregnant forever, and still have so long to go? And yet, at the same time, I can't believe I'm going to have another baby in about 10-12 weeks! A whole new person, a lovely, untouched soul entering the world in such a short time, who will be completely reliant upon me... that'll make you pause for a minute, to say the least.


So, back to writing. Getting an agent can be like this, and having your book coming out on a shelf (aka published) does, too. You want something so badly. You go through all the ups and downs, the pain, the longing, the hard work (that's usually more applicable to writing, not pregnancy), the nausea (usually more applicable to pregnancy, than writing), you get the idea. It takes time and work and effort and patience to publish a book, or to bring a baby into the world. Because ultimately, you can't rush things. And you shouldn't want to. No matter how uncomfortable I already am (hello ligament pain, aren't you fun! not to mention a few other side effects that are new this time around but I won't mention), I definitely don't want my baby coming out too soon. I want her to be fully developed, full term, healthy, happy, strong.


The same goes for my "book baby"--I don't want it out in the wild prematurely. I want it to be fully developed and the best it possibly can be before it hits a shelf. And that means I have to wait. Wait for this baby to be done cooking, wait for the timing to be right for my book.

Hmm... did that analogy actually make sense? Or did it just end up sounding like the ramblings of a crazy preggo who's trying to convince herself it's a good thing she still has about two and a half months to go? Eh, I tried.

What about you? What are you waiting for? And do you ever get used to it?

Friday Five

1. This pregnancy has been giving me migraines. I've never had them consistently before. Random ones, maybe once every year or two, yes. Migraines almost every day? Not so much. And unfortunately, being on the computer is one of the triggers. Because of this, I have had to limit how much time I spend on the computer. Since I'm a writer I have to spend at least a few hours on it every day to write (although some days it just hurts too much and I can't). Why am I sharing this with you? Because unfortunately it means I have to severely limit my internet time, which means I haven't been able to keep on everyone's blogs like I'd hope to. Sometimes I read and just don't comment so I can get through them faster (before the headache hits). Please know that I am trying to read, and I still care about you all A LOT, but if I don't comment as much (and if you've noticed that I haven't been for the last few weeks), that is why. I hope this migraine thing is just a phase and will pass, but we'll see. At least I know there is a for sure deadline this summer...


2. Migraines suck. I have much more empathy for SHH who used to get chronic migraines. (He's since learned what his triggers are and rarely gets them now, hurray!)


3. The Liar Society (which just got released!!) is totally made of awesome and so are the authors (Lisa and Laura Roecker). If you've been living under a rock and haven't heard of it (or them), be sure and check back on Monday for a totally hysterical vlog interview they did for my blog. Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to miss it. There's one part in particular when one of them (I won't say who, you'll have to watch to find out) makes the most hysterical mistake. I laughed so hard I may have snorted. And so did they. Luckily for me, I wasn't on video when I did--but they were. Make sure and tune in!


4. I'm still in love with my new WIP, and I'm hoping to finish it by the end of the month. That would normally be an easy goal for me, but with the migraines, the sick kids, the local play I (and my whole family) are in, my part time job, and everything else... we'll, I've got my fingers crossed, but we'll see. Once I set a goal though (especially in a public forum like this), I tend to do whatever it takes to meet it. So there you have it. WIP done by April 1st (if not earlier). No fooling.

5. I'm going to be another year older in just over a week. Not sure how I feel about that. I used to LOVE birthdays, I couldn't wait until I got older. That is, until I turned 21. Then I started to wish that I could just keep turning 21. I still love celebrating, and getting to be a little bit spoiled for a day (one can hope anyway!), but the age part kind of stinks these days. Not too bad yet, but it's starting to get scary. The years seem to go by faster and faster the older I get. What's up with that? Do you remember being a teen and every year seemed to take forever?

So, what's on your mind today? Have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget the hysterical vlog coming your way on Monday!