Friday, 4 April 2014

Playing the Waiting Game
You've written your story, you've checked it and double checked it and sent it off! You sit back and wait....and wait....and wait. Am I the only one who finds this last stage of submitting my writing to a magazine or a competition hard? What is the longest you've had to wait?
Yesterday, I received a story back from a magazine that I'd sent on February 21st and another one which was submitted on March 18th arrived today so that wasn't too long to wait, I suppose. Another two rejections! :-( Sometimes, the wait has been much longer. Once two or three months have passed, I start looking for the large brown envelope to land on my doormat. 

 As for competitions, once the date when the winners are to be announced approaches, I check into the website a couple of times a day........ knowing my name will not be there but secretly hoping! Does anyone else do this?

 How should I deal with the waiting? I think I've answered it in a way in the second sentence - I shouldn't 'sit back and wait', should I? I should get writing, writing more and more stories. The more stories I have out there, the easier it will be to deal with the rejections. I hope! What do you think? 

 Thanks for reading my blog. I'd love it if you would make a comment. Thank you.
You may also follow me on Twitter @JanBayLit. 
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14 comments:

  1. Patsy4 April 2014 at 07:46

    You're right - you shouldn't wait! Get more out there.

    I've heard back after 9 months in some cases. That's far too long to hold your breath.

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    1. Jan Baynham4 April 2014 at 15:16

      Good advice, thanks, Patsy. I'll try and get more stories out there! :-)

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  2. Unknown4 April 2014 at 18:57

    Tried writing myself. I didn't get very far. I do think it is nerve racking hoping for some feed back sooner. Good Luck. Cheryl

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    1. Jan Baynham5 April 2014 at 15:12

      Thanks, Cheryl. You don't fancy any more writing? I love historical stories about families so I'm sure in our shared ancestry we could find inspiration for some fictional ones. What do you think? :-)

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  3. Anonymous6 April 2014 at 12:18

    Agree with you that the waiting is so hard. I'm always the first in my family to look at the post!

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    1. Jan Baynham7 April 2014 at 05:36

      I know that feeling, Jenny. Thanks for reading and and I appreciate you re-tweeting my post about my blog on Twitter too. :-)

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  4. Anonymous8 April 2014 at 08:06

    Hi Jan. Sometimes I think, 'why are you bothering' to myself. Usually then, I win a competition, or someone says something nice about a story. Your writing is lovely Jan, so you must keep writing something new, and send again. Someone somewhere wants your words. Just a case of who and where:) Keep writing...

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    1. Jan Baynham8 April 2014 at 08:16

      What a lovely post, Sue. Thank you. That's so encouraging! I can tell you're another 'bottle half-full' girl like me! In fact, I've written a story with that very title.......Haven't shared it yet because it's a bit close to my heart but will do one day. :-)

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    2. Anonymous8 April 2014 at 13:29

      You're the featured writer on Alfie dog!! See, told you you were good. Off to download a story now. x

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    3. Jan Baynham9 April 2014 at 06:06

      Thanks, Sue. Yes - it's very kind of Rosemary to give me the slot this week. I'm sure you felt the same when you were featured a few weeks ago. Think I may go and jump on the settee...!! ;-) (For those not in the know, please read the interview with Sue on www.creative-frontiers.com when she does just that!)

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  5. Sam Carrington8 April 2014 at 09:19

    I was terrible at waiting in the first few months of sending stories out. I think I used to write one, then sit back and wait. When I got an answer then I'd write another. Completely ridiculous! I learnt eventually though that you just have to send, forget, write another, repeat. I have just realised in fact that I still haven't heard back from a story I sent in December - it can be frustrating - but part of the job. As for the comps...I'm with you on that! :) Keep on writing!

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    1. Jan Baynham8 April 2014 at 13:21

      Glad I'm not the only one, Sam, but I shall take your advice from now on! Great to hear your writing's going well - I love to read what you've been up to on your blog. :-)

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  6. Wendy's Writing10 April 2014 at 14:16

    The longest I have waited was a year!

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