The Writers Waiting Agony

I am waiting to hear back on my outside projects. I got asked how do I exercise patience as I wait for responses? Sometimes writers get very anxious about the wait to hear back from agents, publishers, editors, producers, etc. I have written three books and dozens of magazine articles and have sold two scripts. Here is the way to become peaceful with the "waiting." First, you have to imagine that these editors, publishers and agents have piles to read on their desks. What I say is "don't bake the cake before you put it in the oven." Writers often think the worst (rejection) long before any of these professionals have had a chance to even review or consider their projects. You can't assume the worst. What you can assume is that it takes time. It takes time to read the material; time to escalate it up the decision-making chain; and time to get back to you. So, your best approach is to periodically check in and gently push. That way you are proactive without being pushy and it will help make the wait easier by knowing you are taking actionable steps to move forward. And if you've submitted to us at 3L Publishing and call us and say, "Did you read the whole thing? What do you think?" I will have to gently slap you. We read the synopsis and first chapter and then size up the project. You can safely assume our very busy staff did not read the whole thing.