Waiting for the...

It's been said many times that writing is like dating. You create this perfect date scenario (your manuscript) then you have to ask the other person (agent or editor) and see if they're as into you as you are them. The part people don't talk about as much is the relationship after you finally hook up.

Once you're dating, there's still usually one person who does most of the "calling" while the other waits for the phone to ring. In all fairness, when dating, you tend to have a pretty good...