I’m not good at waiting. Well that’s not true, I am if I know approximately how long I will be waiting. It’s uncertainty that drives me batty and pushes the insecurity level up. If you say you will hear by X date then I’m good, at least until that date has passed. I try to set my own limits…if I don’t hear by this date then…but I don’t like them as much. I think this all stems from my background in administrative/corporate management where there are all sorts of deadlines that I know I, or others, have to meet. Most things are run on a schedule.

I realise in the publishing world things are run on a schedule too but, unfortunately, the newly submitting writer doesn’t necessarily know what it is. I think for some writers this might be a good thing. Some people would prefer to think that their submission is still in for consideration rather than admit that a deadline has passed and their not hearing anything may be bad news. I’m the kind of person who would like dates to mark down on my calendar to match my submissions, so that if that date has passed I can follow up or let it go and move on (not that it makes rejection easier just that it makes it more business-like and less personal).

Writing is intensely personal to me, and I suspect to most writers, but I also want it to become my business, something I can earn an income from. In order for me to separate how personal each story is I need to make the transactions/submissions business-like. I’d like approximate wait times to diarize and bring forward. I know some pubs now have a tracking submission so you can at least see where you are in the queue. That seems like a good idea too. If I can write a time line down in my date book I am able to move on.

I’m like this in other parts of my world too. Recently my baby has had a chance to audition for a Huggies commercial. When we called we were given a date we would hear back. When that date had come and gone, I was disappointed but able to move on because I was aware if we didn’t hear that was it, I wasn’t left wondering will we? Wont’t we? A few days after the deadline we did hear back and we took him to the bootycall (lol – just a wee joke, it is a diaper commercial folks!). Now we’ve been given a new date to hear back so I am calmly waiting because I know there is a deadline. Am I so excited and wanting him to be chosen? Heck, yes! It is also deeply personal, obviously, because he is my sweet baby. However, I know there are a million babies wanting this gig and only one or two that may be exactly what they are looking for, so once the date comes and goes, in my head I am able to move on. Hopefully this analagy makes sense, I haven’t had a full cup of coffee yet

What do you prefer? Would you like set deadlines so you know what’s what or are you a free-flowing, go with the flow kind of person? How do you think it affects your writing? Post a comment and let me know.