Waiting in the Wings

Just an update.

I e-mailed the agent to whom I sent the proposal to let her know I mailed it (it went to a PO Box, so I'm not sure how often she picks up mail). She e-mailed right back, saying she's out of town, but said she'd respond as soon as she's had a chance to look it over. So, hopefully I'll hear from her before the week is out.

Ha! That's wishful thinking! LOL

Keep your fingers crossed that it's good news!

Starting Off the New Year on a Scary Foot

I did it!

Believe it or not, because I can't even believe it myself! I told my husband I'd rather have open heart surgery because it would be less painful, but...

I FINALLY FINISHED MY BOOK PROPOSAL!

Last week at our Writers Write meeting, my fellow writers asked if my proposal was done yet. I hemmed and hawed, made excuses, avoided the subject ... you know, the usual avoidance. Jon Horton looked me straight in the eye and said, "January 2nd."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"January 2nd is your deadline to get your proposal done."

I gulped. "Um...okay."

I was terrified, yet excited. I knew that that's what I needed: Someone else needed to give me a deadline or I'd drag it out forever. Even after another writer friend, Anita Romero, "paid" me to get my proposal done, I still put forth a half-hearted effort because no date was attached to it.

January 2nd loomed large. There was Christmas, New Year's, parties, my son in town, Christmas cards to write (a two-day affair!), a painting to finish. There was NO WAY I could get my proposal finished by then! I had too many other excuses!

But somehow, Jon's demand "worked." I finished the proposal on January 1st! Added the finishing touches and final edits on the 2nd, and mailed it today, January 3rd. Since I didn't have any "takers" to proofread/edit it, I took comfort in Jon's words, "Just send what you have. If she doesn't like it, she'll have you make changes until it's good enough to send to a publisher."

So, after a few more changes and a prayer, I sent it off today: cover letter, 1 page; proposal overview, 12 pages; chapter-by-chapter synopsis, 6 pages; and three sample chapters, 7 pages. And of course, a SASE was included!

Now I'm going to pass the time by working on my book, and praying that the agent (whose name I'm too scared to mention for fear of jinxing myself) is so "wowed" by the proposal that she snatches me up lickety split!

Hey, it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

How long before she responds? Not that I'm anxious or anything ... or that I expect her to get back to me right away ... or that my taking 4 months to write it has no effect on how long she gets to reply ... I'm just curious.

So, this first step of the New Year was definitely scary, not the same kind of scary as driving up switchbacks on a steep mountain in a foot of snow in pitch-black darkness, but scary nonetheless. Even as I stare at the quote I wrote on my office wall, "Stop hiding from success because you're afraid you'll fail," I can't help but wonder what I'm so afraid of?

One of my goals for this year is to get back to writing at least 4 hours, preferably 6, every day. Which means I must, must, MUST limit the time I spend on Facebook!

I haven't decided on my other goals yet, other than lose weight.

Oh yeah, I met a really cool chick at Writers Write, who blogs under the pen name "jane doe" (lowercase intentional). She's also an artist, so we really hit it off. But I have to be deliberate about my writing and not meet with her too often, as we have WAAAAYYYYY too much in common and find ourselves talking instead of writing! But I'm looking forward to this new friendship!

Happy New Year!

And hopefully my next post will be GREAT news!