Do you like fishing? I admit it’s not something I like to do often, but I do enjoy an occasional family fishing trip. This picture is from a family outing a couple years ago. That’s me and my family, my sister’s family, my father, brother, and uncle.
Publishing is a little like fishing. You throw your lines in the water … and then you wait. You might even have multiple fishing lines in at the same time. Whether it’s queries to agents or submissions to editors or even a screenplay circulating around Hollywood (ahem), the hardest part is the waiting, watching for one of those lines to twitch, hoping to reel in a fish.
There’s lots of ways to wait. You can keep pulling in your line to see what’s on it.
My sister to her son: “Cameron, if you reel that line in one more time, so help me …!”
You can keep changing the bait.
One daughter to another: “Try sticking a bloodworm between two pieces of squid and making a sandwich.”
You can see what’s in the cooler.
My brother and I: “Hey, Dianne, can you pass me a beer?” – “Sure, Brian, if you hand me those Tastykakes.”
What do you do while you’re waiting for something to bite on your line?
And speaking of fish, I am really sad to report that my beautiful golden koi is gone from my pond. He was there when the pond thawed in the spring, swimming around in the deepest part. And then he simply vanished. No body, no nothing. That fish muat have been around 8 pounds, so I’m thinking it had to be a heron or a raccoon that got him. I am really bummed. Below is the video I made last year of him eating out of my hand and sucking on my fingers.
I’m so sorry to hear about your koi! That video is really cute. And, while I’m waiting for something to bite … I write something new and I blog and I whine (privately).
awe, I’m sorry about your dissapearing fish! But maybe more magic fish will appear out of nowhere:) As for waiting, I do a little of everything but nothing makes me feel better than being involved with a new project.
Aww. Sorry about your fish. 🙁
You sure it was an animal predator and not a human thief? I read something not long ago about people stealing koi, because apparently they can be quite valuable.
I write or edit while waiting, continue to send out queries, blog, dream…
sorry about your koi 🙁
Great analogy with the fish and query letters. I agree about the beer. Best way to wait drink and write.
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What a shame about your koi. Eight pounds is pretty darned big, so you must’ve had it for a while.
Great analogy between fishing and waiting for a response from an agent or publisher. Did a lot of fishing when we lived in MD, and always enjoyed it. In fact, I loved the serenity of fishing so much, I didn’t particularly care if the hook had any bait left on it.
Waiting to hear from agents isn’t exactly a serene experience, but the best thing we can do is keep busy with other projects and put it out of our mind. (right) OK, try not to obsess about it.