Thursday 21 August 2008



I'm told the reading public don't like "coincidences" in plots. Life isn't as critical. My hard drive gave up on the very day I'd promised to send my MS to the editor. Only Thomas Hardy could get away with such a dire coincidence. My obsessive backups (see previous posts) came into their own, and I think I've retained a tenuous hold on sanity. The MS has gone and a new hard drive has been installed. So I'm waiting to hear from the editor again.

Publication date is moving closer... My book has moved up the list on my publisher's website. Since sending the MS back to the editor, I've been busy distracting myself. When that fails, I check my emails half a dozen times a day (understatement).

A friend at work is in the early stages of a relationship. As she wonders volubly if he will phone, I'm wondering when my editor will contact me. Our situations are not dissimilar. It's frightening how our life experience is transformed by the actions of strangers - a job interview, a random act of violence, a publisher's decision. And the other side of the coin is how our own actions can affect others' lives.

So I'm back on the blog, not prevaricating, but as a distraction. The best way I know of doing that, is to dive into another world. So I should be working on book 2. It's well on the way. But first, I think I'll visit a few blogs...

How do other writers cope with the waiting when they've sent their MS off? Any helpful hints gratefully received. Reading them will help pass the time...