So a few weeks ago, I talked about where an author’s advance goes. Today, I thought I’d talk about something else authors have to deal with — waiting.

Because nothing – nothing — in publishing happens fast. Not one darn thing.

Case in point: I started working on the first Assassin book in the fall of 2007, and it’s not coming out until February 2010 — more than two years later. Of course, this one is partially on me, since if I’d written the book right to start with, things might have happened faster. :rolleyes:

But for the most part, when it comes to the world of publishing, you’re in for a lengthy wait — whether it’s waiting for an agent/editor to read your work or getting royalty statements or getting paid. Plan on waiting months — or even years — for stuff to happen.

Another example: The proposal for the second Assassin book was due back in October. I sent it in a few weeks before the deadline (because I’m anal that way). But I didn’t get paid for it until mid-February — four months later. Why? Because that’s how long it takes for a) my editor to read and okay the proposal; b) the money to be released by the publisher; c) the check to be sent to my agent; and d) the check to be forwarded on to me (minus my agent’s 15 percent of course).

And royalty statements? Forget about ’em. Most publishers issue two royalty statements a year — on June 30 and Dec. 31. But I still haven’t gotten my statement for Dec. 31, 2008. Frankly, I’ll be lucky if I get it by April 1. And of course by then, the information is already out of date, which means I never know exactly what’s going on with my sales.

So why does this all take so long? Mainly, I think because everyone is overworked. Editors and agents can have dozens (if not more) authors to deal with and read their books/proposals/e-mails/whatever. That’s a lot of material to get through every day, every week, every month, every year.

But what really sucks is that I’m terrible at waiting. Seriously. I suck at it. So how do I cope with all the waiting? I write. Seriously. I have written books waiting for various things to happen. Some days, it’s all that keeps me sane while I wait for whatever I’m waiting for.

So I guess my point is this: If you’re serious about being an author, start taking yoga or tai chi or some other Zen-like class that will teach you how to be calm and patient. Because you’re going to need it. Unless you want to look like this guy: :hulk:

Got questions? I’ll answer what I can in the comments.