Things to Do While You’re Waiting for Your Rejection Email

Even though my queries are shooting through cyberspace at the pace of two a week, the responses are slow in return. Not complaining, mind you. At this rate, I figure I’ll run out of agents long before the rejection letters, meaning I’ll be waist-deep in the aftermath for months to come.

In the meantime, I’ve come up with a list of things to do while you’re waiting for rejection. I’ve done most of these, but I’ve yet to do some. Can you guess which ones? 🙂

1. Take up a new hobby. It’s hard to do when your head is full of angst and wonderment about the next form email to hit your inbox. Or you could be silly like me and expect the next return email with “QUERY_VIRTUALLY YOURS” in the subject line may actually be an offer. (A girl can dream, can’t she?) I usually take up a new hobby just to see if I can get my mind off my worrying.

2. It’s very fattening, but cook. I always cook in times of stress. Of course, that will make a person fat, which leads to…

3. Working out. Even for ten minutes. Drag the dog out for a walk, even in pouring rain.

4. Open your manuscript one more time. No, don’t do that. It will drive you mad.

5. Start a new project. That’s right, write some more. Go in a totally different direction. Write in another genre even.

6. Bug your husband to buy you a comfortable bed.

7. Buy yourself some pretty notebooks and a nice pen and put it in your purse. One can derive a lot of inspiration from paisley covers and turquoise ink. Plus it makes you look like you’re a serious writer, even though you are really a wannabe sitting on pins and needles.

8. Take a class. I highly recommend Jeremy Shipp‘s online class for those like me with no time to commit to a brick and mortar class. Even though I do not write in his genre, but I found his exercises very motivating.

9. Google your favorite authors to find out who represents them. I know that’s close to cyberstalking, but these are desperate times.

and finally…

10. Read. Reading is more than fundamental, it strengthens the brain. The more writers read, the more they want to write, and that is the whole point, isn’t it?