The Waiting Is The Hardest Part

Hey everyone! Another week, another Friday post here on the blog. Today’s entry finds me in my least favorite part of the writing life: waiting to hear back on submissions.

I think it was Tom Petty who said it: “The waiting is the hardest part.” And it really is. I’ve never been that much of a patient person (which means I usually find myself in situations that force me to learn patience), so this whole waiting-to-hear-back-on-a-story-I-submitted-thing feels worse than the sting of having a piece rejected. At least with a rejection, you’ve heard something back; with waiting, you’re just…well, waiting.

Which is why it’s so important for those of us who write to always be writing. If we’re working on new stories, or revising drafts, we’re working on our work, honing the craft, perfecting our art. And we’re keeping ourselves from going crazy.

At the beginning of this week, I finished my final revisions on “Goodly Creatures” and sent it off to Uncanny Magazine. God, I’m so anxious to hear back on that one. Like I said, Uncanny Magazine is one of my dream journals, so the waiting to hear back from them is even harder. I did get a status update on my story “Kafka and the Castle” from All Worlds Wayfarer: it passed the second round of deliberations (woohoo!) and they’re now making their final decisions. I’m really hoping “Kafka” makes the cut—it’s a story I really enjoyed writing and one I’m really proud of, so I’m anxious for people to get a chance to read it.

Confession time: I have to admit I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like this week, which is probably why I’ve been feeling so antsy about waiting to hear back on submissions. The Fall term of my MFA has started up, so that’s awesome (I love my MFA courses!) and it helps with me not twiddling my thumbs waiting for a submission response. I have been reading a lot, and actually thinking about stories I want to write, and a novel idea I’ve been stewing over for a while.

Which brings me to my final point for today: Sometimes writing doesn’t actually involve writing…I know that sounds weird, and yeah, writers write, no doubt about that, but what I mean is that even thinking about your stories, or revisions, or whatever you’re working on, is all part of the work. You can’t write if you don’t have ideas. At least I know I can’t. And you can’t create if you’re not keeping that inspiration tank full, which is why reading is so important, and playing guitar, and listening to music, and getting off your phone and enjoying the world around you.

All right, enough philosophy from me. I’m going to go think about my writing projects, hopefully get some words on paper, and enjoy the evening with my wonderful wife and my daughter. And try not to think about the submissions I’ve haven’t heard back on…

Until next time, keep writing!