I submitted a full manuscript. Now what?

I submitted my first full manuscript. Yay!

Now what?

I attended a writing conference in September. It was there that I had a consult with an editor from a small publisher and a consult with an agent. Both ladies requested to see my full manuscript. I hired an editor and polished it up. I sent it off to both ladies in November.

So what do I do now?

• Keep sending out query letters.
  • I sent out two but what if they reject me? I’m giving those ladies a head start and plan to send out more query letters while I wait.
  • I really love these talented ladies and would be ecstatic to work with both of them, but part of this process is finding out what I don’t know. I’m sending out more query letters to get feedback and maybe even find someone I didn’t know about that could work well with me and my book.
• Participate in critique groups to improve your writing.
  • I have two chapters I attend every month (ANWA). One is an online suspense group and the other is an in person group.
  • I’m apart of two critique groups that post weekly. Having others look over your work and ask important questions is invaluable!
  • I try to read/ learn from other authors as much as possible (books. podcast. articles). 
• KEEP WRITING!
  • Book two is halfway done and I plan to finish it in the next couple months.
  • I have a third book outlined and ready to be written as well.
  • I keep book ideas organized so I never have to worry what the next book will be.

Those are some of the things I will be doing while I wait to hear back from those ladies. Sitting around doing nothing would just drive me crazy. I have books to write. The more others critique my work the better my writing is getting. I'm so excited for the future!

If you know of anything else I can be doing while I wait I would love to hear it! I'm always eager to learn more about the writing and publishing world. 

Thanks friends!

Tanya Strong