Waiting Game

So, waiting for a response from an agent isn't fun. Ostensibly, I know why it takes so long. It takes time for them to read through all the slush letters, much less read the actual manuscripts. Oh, and then they have to do their actual jobs. So I get it. It isn't fun, but waiting is part of the game. Any aspiring author could tell you that.

But then, there's that pesky title. "Aspiring author." I think it identifies the whole problem with the waiting game.

First, let me get this straight once and for all. I'm NOT an aspiring author. An aspiring author is someone who says, "Man, I'd love to write a novel one day." Or else, they're someone who is currently working on a novel. I've done that. I've written a novel. By definition, I'm an author.

What I am is an aspiring professional author. Or else, I'm an amateur author. I have not published the novel (although I'd like to, if you're offering. Hint, hint).

Still, we hear that term. "Aspiring author." It's our own fault. I use the term myself. We're not really "authors" until we're published, and published by a real publishing company. Self-publishing is "vanity publishing." See how much emphasis we put on this?

Oh, don't get me wrong. I want to be published. I would love to make money doing what I love. Nevertheless, even if I'm never published, I'm still an author.

That was the whole point of my switching from writing screenplays to writing novels. I wanted to accomplish something.

And I have. I've written a novel.