Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Waiting Game

  1. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Let’s begin the Fight
  2. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Rejection – The Ugly Word
  3. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Learning to Juggle
  4. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: To Dump or not to Dump
  5. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Keep the Faith
  6. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Finding Your Identity
  7. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Just for the love of it
  8. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: 5 Step plan for success
  9. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Planning Issue
  10. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Crossroads
  11. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Overwhelming Effect
  12. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Waiting Game
  13. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Reflection 2013
  14. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: New Year New Challenges
  15. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Am I a real Writer?
  16. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Taking The Next Step
  17. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Submission Phobia
  18. Setting Self Doubt On Fire: How To Get Ideas
  19. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Dealing with Fear
  20. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Only Guarantee
  21. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Doubts of others
  22. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Let those positives shine
  23. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: First Draft Blues
  24. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Time-wasting issue
  25. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Embrace the bad ideas
  26. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Writer or Author?
  27. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Negative Feedback; the double slap
  28. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Pat yourself on the back
  29. Setting Self Doubt On Fire: The Deflated Eureka Moment
  30. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The doomed quest for perfection
  31. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Writing Group fears
  32. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Horror Tree Crew tackle Mr Self Doubt
  33. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Read aloud challenge
  34. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Find your inner belief
  35. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: NaNoWriMo and Self-Doubt
  36. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: We are NaNoWriMo winners
  37. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: New Year’s Resolutions for Writers
  38. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The benefits of organizing
  39. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Editing Strain
  40. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Writing Group Experience
  41. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Dealing with second stage fears
  42. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Reading aloud to an audience
  43. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Importance of perseverance
  44. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Self-Doubt or Gut Feeling
  45. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Get ready for NaNoEdMo
  46. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Benefits of Writing Goals
  47. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Rejection Gets Better
  48. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Writers, take care of yourself!
  49. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: How to Boost Your Self-Confidence
  50. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Why You Should Go to a Writing Festival
  51. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Help! A Publisher has Dropped Me
  52. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Setting Self Doubt on Fire Challenge
  53. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: How to Prepare for a Book Reading Event
  54. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: It’s NaNoWriMo and NaNoEdMo Time
  55. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Help! I Didn’t Reach My NaNo Goal
  56. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Let’s Beat Self-Doubt in 2017
  57. WIHM: Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Female Horror Writer and Proud
  58. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Don’t Let Self-Doubt Make You Miss Deadlines
  59. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Hey! Where’s My Book Reading Audience
  60. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: 5 Tips on How to Ignore the Negative Voices
  61. Video Refresh: Rejection – The Ugly Word
  62. Video Refresh: Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Learning to Juggle
  63. Video Refresh: To Dump or not to Dump
  64. Video Refresh: Keep The Faith
  65. Video Refresh: Finding Your Identity
  66. Video Refresh: 5 Step plan for success
  67. Video Refresh: The Planning Issue
  68. Video Refresh: The Crossroads
  69. Video Refresh: The Overwhelming Effect
  70. Video Refresh: The Waiting Game
  71. Video Refresh: Am I A Real Writer?
  72. Video Refresh: Taking The Next Step
  73. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Let’s Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway in 2019
  74. Video Refresh: Submission Phobia
  75. Video Refresh: Dealing With Fear
  76. WIHM: Setting Self Doubt on Fire: The Female Horror Author Reading Challenge
  77. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Writer or Author? Video Refresh
  78. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Beat the Fear of Self-Publishing
  79. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: Do NaNoWriMo Differently This Year
  80. Setting Self Doubt on Fire: How Can Online Groups Help Writers?
  81. Setting Self-Doubt on Fire – AuthorTube – Learn How to Describe Emotion
  82. Setting Self-Doubt on Fire: How to Set Realistic Goals for NaNoWriMo

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I’m back again here to share those challenges that us writers face, and how we can hopefully defeat them. So what have I got for you today? Well I’m talking about another tough subject it’s something that makes you anxious to check your emails, it haunts your dreams, it drives you crazy. You’ve guessed it; it’s waiting for that story response. I did a crazy thing some weeks ago where I just submitted those stories (I’m normally a cautious one or two at a time kind of person), but I was like I’m just going to submit them. So I did I felt proud, I was great, and then the days morphed into weeks, which turned into months, and there was still no final decision.

 

Every day I checked my email hoping and praying to get a response but nothing. “Omg I just want a response,” I said, as I pulled my hair from frustration. However, since then I have got some responses yes I waited ages to get a ‘NO’ all that waiting to get a rejection. Others would ask why we would continually put ourselves through this, but we writers know that any rejection is nothing compared to that acceptance, and that’s what keeps us going. I still currently have stories I’m waiting on, however one editor got back to me in 3 days now that’s what I’m talking about of course it was another no, and the blow to the gut still hurt but it’s better to quickly get those things out the way because waiting is so much worse (I also don’t like super quick rejections lol). No response at all is even worse I got a story that I submitted last year and never got a response (hmm maybe I should have chased that up).

 

This frustrating process has however got me thinking there just has to be a better way to deal with the waiting game, so I like always came up with 5 ideas. I’m yet to try all of them yet, but I need something before I end up bald, so here you have it my 5 ideas to deal with that waiting game.

 

  1. Distractions: I’ve found when I’m busy doing other stuff I have no time to worry about things, so I’m thinking that you can do the same after you’ve submitted a story. Sometimes it helps to do something totally different from writing, and if you’re lucky you might even get new story ideas. But rather than sit staring at your email, go paint a picture, bake a cake, plan world domination anything that will help to distract the mind.
  2. Move onto other stories: Once you have finished and submitted a story don’t waste any time thinking about it instead move onto another one because if you’re like me you’ve probably got loads of stories that need writing, editing and submitting. This links with point one because you will be distracting yourself.
  3. Simultaneous submit: There are many editors/publishers that don’t mind you submitting your story to multiple editors as long as when you get an acceptance you inform them of it. No one likes a time waster after all. So rather than submitting a story to one place and waiting months for a no submit it to other places too, as long as the editors/publishers say that it is ok to do because many still do not like the whole simultaneous submissions process.
  4. Channel the energy: All those emotions that you are feeling what would happen if a character felt them? What are they waiting for? How will they deal with all that frustration? Not everyone would be happy with pulling out their own hair. One thing I’ve learned is that when you put all your emotions into a character who doesn’t deal with them like you do an interesting story can blossom.
  5. Chill baby: Now this might not work at all, but sometimes just relaxing can help either it’s a hot bubble bath, meditation or just lying down. Whatever helps to relax the mind can then help you put things in perspective.

 

So there you have it folks 5 ways to help combat the frustration and anxiety that comes from waiting for a story response. I’ll be trying them so hopefully they can help, it might however just be the case that this is part of what it is to be a writer, but in the end it will be worth it.

 

Keep writing folks let’s follow this dream.

 

 

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