Sh*t That Happened While I Was Looking for An Agent

I'm in the basket but you can't tell cause I look really, really tiny.

After I wrote the “pull the rope” post I was thinking a lot about how long we writers have to wait to get anywhere in this business.  You know, since I’m at a new stage of this publishing process but still waiting.  I’m no longer waiting to land an agent for which I am extremely grateful.  But I know many writers out there with truly fabulous books who are still looking for agents.  I gotta tell ya—the waiting?  It’s no easier on this side than it was on that side.  But as Susan Fields so astutely pointed out in the comments section of the "pull the rope" post, sometimes we forget we’re waiting at all, because our life goes on.  That got me thinking about how many things happened in my life while I was waiting to land an agent.  Or waiting to hear back from agents which is probably more accurate.  (See my posts on Agent John Doe and Jane Doe for more on that). I've posted before on how ridiculously long the agent-snagging process was for me.    So here is a list of stuff that I did or that happened while I was waiting for an agent:

Moved to a different city.

Got a new job.

Met Mr. Right.

Had a baby.

Bought a house.

Got engaged.

Got a promotion.

Wrote another book.

Bought a car.  (Tree fell on that one.  Bought another one.)

Started a website.

Went up in a hot air balloon.

Got my paralegal certificate.

Celebrated in the streets when the Phillies won the World Series in 2008.

Developed an allergy to alcohol.

Was ecstatic to get 1 new nephew, 1 new niece and 2 new pseudo-nephews (since I’ve been on subs I’ve got 3 more nephews and a new niece!)

Went to 8 weddings (there were also 3 I was invited to that I couldn’t attend).

Went to 8 funerals (there were, unfortunately, 3 additional that I could not attend).

Visited Oregon, Virginia and Kentucky.  Fun times.

Met my BFF, the brilliant and wonderful Nancy Thompson

Come to think of it, this whole process is a lot like riding in a hot air balloon.  You climb into the basket, sail into the sky, pull your hat down hard over your head so your scalp doesn't get burned off and you just float around out there.  It's exhilarating and a little scary and there's a lot less turbulence than you expected.  Most of all, you have no control whatsoever over where you're going to land.

So what do you do?

You enjoy the ride.  You look around and realize, holy sh*t, this is really beautiful.  All this stuff around me is really beautiful.  Or it can be if the sun is out and the wind is right and the temperature is semi-warm (and on occasion if you've got a bellyful of wine).

Waiting is really hard.  Don't let it distract you from all the good stuff going on right under your nose. 

You've got to use all that stuff for inspiration anyway.  Use the bad stuff too--unfortunately it usually makes for more entertaining stories!

There I am with our pilot, Bob, formerly of NASA

What do you do while you're waiting?