Thank goodness for the Writers Coffeehouse.
Went this Sunday, after skipping for a few months. Jonathan Maberry again led a fantastic discussion, plus Q&A. He gave us a rundown on options vs production deals, persistence in the face of discouragement, and told us some new markets opening up that we might not have considered before.
And he also gave me great advice about my nervousness with the magazine that I hadn't heard from since acceptance: Send them an email.
Yeah, it seems simple in hindsight. But what would I say? How would I ask the question on my mind?
He gave me a few examples of things to say, and insisted it was not too early (or too late!) to want to hear from them.
So I followed his advice. Sent the email, after rewriting it three different times, trying to avoid coming off too flippant or too formal or too needy.
And I got a response within an hour that cleared everything up.
I feel silly for not writing earlier. It was such a non-deal, and I felt so much better afterwards.
So much so, that I've already written 2,208 words this week, and I've still got the weekend :)
What about you? Has there been something you've been nervous about doing as part of your writing -- whether sending it off for review, or reading it to a critique group, or emailing an agent -- that turned out to be nowhere near as big a deal as you thought it'd be?
