My Writing Journey, Uncategorized

Playing The Waiting Game

Ritu

It’s a pretty bit thing, you know, submitting your book baby to agents and publishers.

It was huge enough when I sent my beloved manuscript off to beta readers. But the difference was, I knew I would get some feedback about my story.

When you send your proposal off to an agent or a publisher, you really are heading into the unknown.

I have heard those stories of fledgling authors submitting, and getting the rejection letters or emails, or worse, just not hearing back.

Most reputable agencies will state that they should get back to you within a specific time. But some just don’t. That is scary!

I have had a couple of experiences so far. One agency I contacted, replied with the kind rejection, that they enjoyed my material but wouldn’t be adding me to their list. No real feedback or suggestions, but encouragement to reach out to others.

My #PitMad Pitch

I took part in #PitMad off the cuff in March. (That’s my pitch, up there). If you are unaware, #PitMad is a Twitter pnenomenon in the #WritingCommunity there. Basically, if you have a polished manuscript, ready for possible publication, there are four opportunities in the year where you can write a 280 character pitch for your book, including the relevant hashtags to show genre, and tweet it. Agents use that day to peruse the PitMad hashtag and if they are interested, they like your tweet. No one else is meant to like the tweet. Others can support you by retweeting or commenting. I got one genuine like that time, and contacted the agent, who read my first three chapters and liked it, but felt a little more work was needed before representation could be offered. But she LIKED my ideas. That was encouraging.

Agent Response!

Over the last few months, I was increasingly convinced that I would go Indie and stop chasing that traditional publishing deal. The Beta reader feedback had been very positive. I had a prospective cover. My manuscript was almost ready. I even had a brand new MacBook Air, gifted to me by by Hubby Dearest for my birthday. Perfect for using all that lovely formatting software avaliable to MacOS users, like Vellum…

My Birthday Present

Then, one morning, something clicked in me and I decided to submit my newly polished manuscript again, just once, to a publishing company, Hera Books. They were recommended to me by a debut author, Kiley Dunbar, who has just released her second book with them. When I read her first book, I contacted her through Twitter, and we started chatting. She told me all about the fantastic support she had received from her publisher and how, though they were only digital publishers, there was a wealth of experience within the company. I held back submitting then as in my dream, I am holding a physical copy of my book, not an e-reader…

One day, a tweet pinged up from her, announcing her debut book was being released as a paperback too. Following the success of her ebook, the publisher chose her book as one of two they were pushing for paperback publishing. And then I saw her book on the shelf at a local The Works shop.

There it is!

A paperback! In a shop! That was it. Despite having hit an all time low in my mind, something buoyed me up and I woke up the next morning, read the submission details, collated all the information needed, then pressed send…

The acknowledgment from Hera Books

It’st been just over 2 weeks.

I have 4 more weeks to wait…

I messaged my friend Kiley, to let her know I submitted to her publisher, and she was mega excited for me. She said it would be awesome if I could join the band of ‘Hera Girls’ as she called them. And that made me feel all warm inside.

I’d love to be a ‘Hera Girl’.

But I have to wait…

It’s a good thing we have started back to school now, so I have plenty on my plate to keep my mind off obsessing about time and weeks passing, constantly checking my email for any news. But it is hard playing the waiting game.

Will they like it? Will they hate it?

I’ll just have to throw myself into writing book two… once I’ve got my body and mind back to term-time mentality!

And wait…

Wish me patience, all!

Published by Ritu

A writer and blogger who teaches, and is a wife and mother too. Enjoy my ramblings on life, love and literature. 💖

50 thoughts on “Playing The Waiting Game”

  1. Pingback: Playing The Waiting Game – Ritu Bhathal | But I Smile Anyway...

  5. Good luck to you Ritu…I work in entertainment, where ideas are developed, pitched, bought and put on television…or not. What makes one a success and the others not include far too many variables to include here, except to say that there WILL be the perfect match for your work, it’s just a matter of sync’ing up with it….again, good luck that happens soon!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Hey Ritu, I am 17 and writing my first book.I am able to connect so well with your cintent as I think I will be in your place after a few years.Wishing you all the best…
    amaranthine 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  17. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you became a Hera girl! I have been down your road, so many highs and lows. Still plugging away. It’s a roller coaster of emotions. I know what you mean about a hard copy, you want your book to be on the shelves, not just in an e-reader. My fingers and toes are crossed, Ritu. You only a month or so away. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.