Patience And Editing

As I send out the first edits of stories submitted to 'Abandoned Places', I am reminded of something.

Recently, one of the publishers that was putting one of my stories to print decided to close their doors.

Forever.

They mentioned very politely that they were going to find homes for all their publications, as well as those that they were going to publish. It was all very well set out and nicely put forward. Just give him some time to get things together and then he would be posting about it on Facebook.

What was bothersome was the fact that his next post pointed out that FORTY people had sent him private messages of one kind or another. All of them asked what was going on with their stories within the anthologies.

I've been waiting for a year and a half now since acceptance into this anthology for it to see print. Waiting a week or so for information seems like a small price to pay for a clearer future of my story. I mean, the publisher asked for patience, and most waited.

But those forty people did not, could not, would not, wait. Why?

This is the thing I have problems understanding when it comes to getting things published. Anyone who has looked at the normal paper way of publishing knows that it can take a LONG time for something to see print. Usually the longer the work, the longer the process. But even for an anthology, it takes time. Time to select, time to edit, time to re-edit, time for art to get done, time to get formatting finished, and so on.

So why is it that people can't wait?

I know we as writers want the excitement of seeing our stories in print. But I have to remind myself that things take time, and like myself, publishers have lives as well. The smaller the press, the more likely that there will be some wait until your stuff sees print.

And now that I am on the other side of things, as an editor, I understand more and more about why it takes so much time. In the editing phase that I am in now, the process is fairly drawn out. Depending on how accepting or resistant the writer is to their story being altered will shorten or extend the time it takes for a story to see print.

In the end, publishing something the normal way is not a short process. A little patience, or a lot of it in some cases, is needed.

Try to remember that the next time you're asked by a publisher to wait a bit longer. (within reason of course)

Anyway, just some of my thoughts on this.