There is a flurry of activity when galley’s come in or when a book is on its final stages. Then off it goes either to a publisher or to an editor. Suddenly everything stops. You wait. The dilemma is what to do while waiting. Normally I have another book I can work on, and I put the waiting aside. I’m distracted and somewhat relieved that I can work on a new project rather than nibble on my fingernails while an old project gets evaluated.
But, this time, I’m waiting without a new project.
My publisher has one manuscript that will be released in the fall of this year. It’s languishing somewhere in a queue, awaiting its turn. My current WIP is with beta readers. Here I sit with nothing new to write. Everything has ground to a halt.
- Clean out that closet that was begging for your attention during the last several months while you wrote.
- Write a series of blog posts that you can stack up. That way when you get into your next project, you won’t have to worry about blogging.
- Call a friend you haven’t seen during your writing phase and invite that lost friend to lunch.
- Go shopping. You know you need to!
- Update your website or your Facebook and Twitter pages.
- Clean up your computer or better still buy a new one!
- Take a long walk. Invite your dog who is wagging his tail and anxious to go with you.
- Call your mom and stay on the phone for longer than ten minutes.
- Go to a movie.
- Finish that book you left on the bedside table.
- Start a new writing project
Once you get to number 11, everything else will grind to a halt. So, be sure you’ve done all you can during this short hiatus before you embark on number 11.
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