Waiting...

I'm going to share a little secret, something I haven't told many people in the electronic world. As most of you know, I am trying to break into the writing business--trying to become a publish author. Preferably a New York Times best-selling author with a huge bank account, a comfortable home with an indoor Olympic-sized swimming pool, and multiple bidding wars over my next project. (Hey. A girl can dream, can't she?) But for now, I'll just settle for published.

As most of you probably know, the publishing world is undergoing some growing pains, with drastic and sometimes frustrating changes occurring on a near-daily basis. Traditional publishers are changing the rules to try to keep up with the invasion of e-books. Traditional bookstores are failing left and right. E-pulishers, while the new kids on the block, seem to be the current Big Dogs, and everyone is scrambling to get on the bandwagon.

One of the changes that has been lurking in the background for the last few years has come to the fore recently. Namely, that most traditional publishers will not even look at unsolicited manuscripts. A lot of editors don't keep slush piles anymore. They prefer that the manuscripts they look at have been vetted by agents, and preferably by agents who know the editor's needs and tastes.

For the last several months, I have been in search of an agent for my completed manuscript. I've sent out the query letter and waited for the response, hoping to be able to send the entire manuscript. An author has to hope that he or she has written the Magic Query Letter--one that will entice the agent to invite the author to submit the entire manuscript. The first agency I sent it to was having a strange, but fun, little contest and my manuscript was a part of that for ten days before it was eliminated. The second agent had my query letter for a week before she declined. Potential agents three and four each rejected it within 24 hours.

Then, back in May, Agent Number Five invited me to send my manuscript to her. I sent it immediately. And then, I waited. And waited. And waited. At the nine-week mark, I sent a follow-up, just to make sure the manuscript had arrived and was in the queue. Yes, I was assured, she had received the manuscript. Her reading pile was simply overwhelming at the time, but please be patient and she'd get back with me.

As of today, I'm still waiting for a reply. I'm not sure how I should feel about this.

Part of me thinks it's a good thing: a first time writer whose manuscript is good enough for an agent to keep for over four months. I would like to believe that the agent has a minion who has read and recommended it, and that it's just sitting on the pile, waiting for the agent herself to okay it. At least, that's what I want to believe.

Another part of me wonders if this is normal. How long is too long? How long does a writer have to wait on average? Is this agent a bit overworked, and if so, will she be able to represent me well if she decides to take me on as a client? Or does she already have so many clients that she can't represent any by the high-profile authors well?

Still another part of me wants to just sit back and let nature take its course. If it's going to happen, it will happen. If not, well, there are a lot of other agents in the sea.

And there's always e-publishing.