Riding the Submission Merry-Go-Round

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The insidious thing about sending a story off to a publisher is the tendency to want to check the email inbox multiple times a day, knowing it takes time for an editor to read the story and decide if they like it.

I submitted three chapters of The Ripper's Daughter yesterday, my vampire paranormal suspense novella I wrote for NaNoWriMo in 2011.

To say I'm trying to focus on other projects right now would be a bald-faced lie. Short of leaving the house without my laptop or cellphone, and only an old-fashioned paper notebook would be the only way I'd stop obsessing.

Dumb, right? I know how the submission process works. I have patience, and the fact I got this far on a pitch and query letter says my skills in that area are improving. Is it possible the log line and I will become friends? Yeah, right.

I think it's apprehension, fear of failure. I'd rather have the bad news early than wait. Like the saying goes, "Let's just rip off that band-aid." I need to get to work on my other stories, but I've decided to take today and read and watch some movies. There's nothing I can do about the submission, and if it gets rejected, I've a couple other publishers I plan to submit to.

Meantime, I'm sure I'll be jumping aboard that merry-go-round for another ride in the near future.