Waiting for THAT Letter ...

So, I've finally spent the week-end plus, formulating that special query letter, editing the synopsis, checking the selected chapter[s] and updating my CV.

I did actually manage to forward the above information to an assortment of publishers and agents. And here comes the chicken and egg question ... Do you send a query letter to get an idea of selection probability ... or ... Do you completely and utterly butterly complete the project [ie novel], then send it to publishers / agents? I imagine recipients only want to see a finished product but sometimes, I feel it's a bit like fishing in the dark. You know there are fish in the water but they're hard to catch.

You've got to believe in your product. I agree with that. And going through the motion of approaching publishers and agents has been a worthwhile task, even if I don't catch someone's interest, it has made me more aware of the market, the vehicle; the suppliers. It's made me fine-tune the product I am trying to promote and share.

But why? I ask myself many times. Is my writing a hobby? It's certainly not a job or I might be getting paid for it. So, I say to myself, if it's a hobby, thats okay. I don't have to sell my product. But ... it's a bit like training for rugby or football and not getting to play on the pitch ... or practising for a choir and never joining in the performance. There needs to be an end, closure, ownership ... something ...

And yes, I've done enough talking the talk, perhaps now its time for walking the walk !

So, I won't wait by my letter box, meet the postman at the end of my garden, obsessively click on my inbox or check any missed calls, I'll use my time wisely whilst waiting patiently for all those publishers and agents to come calling ... I'll get a facial, go shopping, practise smiling for the cameras, prepare Q & A for interviews, prepare a talk for a library, chat session for groups of 6th formers, re-structure my creative writing workshop and in between all that, I'll finish those final chapters !

Gillian