To Write is to Learn Patience

There is a lot of waiting in this career called writing. Waiting for the book to show up at the library so you can do some research. Waiting to hear back from editors and publishers. Waiting for the five o'clock bell to ring, so you can do what you like to do most - write. And at the moment, waiting to hear back from magazine publishers. I sent one off to my magazine-of-first-choice and they agreed almost immediately to buy it. And then I waited. And waited. Eighteen months later I sent an inquiry and I was told to "be patient, sometimes these things take time. Yes, we still want to publish your article, but..." It's now 27 months since they took the piece, and 8 months since my last inquiry... and I'm still waiting. I really don't want to send it someplace else - they pay very well, indeed, and I truly wrote it for them, in their style. So I wait.

I have two more queries out for finished articles, and I'm waiting on those publishers as well... One is for Vietnam Magazine, the second for World War II Magazine.

I think the solution is to dive into my next article, and thereby to distract myself. Colonial Life, here I come.

Merry Christmas. I hope all is well.