Timing it right

I had an unexpected half day off work today and raced home with the intention of doing as much as I could.

I wanted to start by following up on some of my submissions which I sent at the start of the year but on ringing every publisher, I was told that the person I needed to speak to was at the London Book Fair. I wondered at that moment if I should start attending and hunting these people down in person but then I came to my senses and thought not!

I know for me it was just bad timing and I am no closer to knowing what is happening with my non-fiction book or my novel but at least they could tell me that my manuscripts had reached them and how long I may expect to wait for a response which was at of some comfort.

I think it is so important to take all these sort of things into account when you are waiting for an answer. I had a great conversation with a lady who had purely picked up the call from another department and had nothing to do with the book publishing side, yet she was able to tell me that with events like the book fair, personal holidays and bank holidays, this is how it works and we may have to wait a long time for a result.

However, on a positive note I have spent the afternoon in my sunny little attic, scribbling down new ideas, ordered a few writing books, applied to join the Society of Authors and also looked into some writing courses which I hope will help me develop my writing skills in the future.

I reckon that is a positive result and perhaps I did time it just right!