If You Are Impatient, Do Not Become a Writer

I feel like I am forever trying to explain to people outside of the publishing industry just how glacially it moves, and I really don’t think they understand it. It probably doesn’t help that Hollywood has filled their heads with unrealistic expectations.

I can’t give you more details yet, but last week I received an email acceptance of a short story I had submitted to a magazine. (I would say more details soon, but who am I kidding? This is publishing. More details eventually.) This is wonderful news, and I am thrilled. Now, if you were to take a look at the submission guidelines for this publication, they list their response time as six to eight months, which to those outside of this industry probably seems like an extremely long time. It is, but as it happens that six to eight months estimate is a bit optimistic because my short story was submitted back in December of 2024.

So, if you are an impatient person, the publishing business might not be for you. Anyway, this is your reminder to be patient and keep the faith, because perhaps good news might be on its way to you too.

Speaking of good news, I do not have a picture of snow to share with you this week, because as of this writing our yard is about eighty percent snow free. Over the weekend we actually were able to go on a walk. Outside. A couple of doors down we observed a massive herd of deer — we counted 40. I think they were as happy as we were to see grass again.

I don’t have any pictures of the deer or the grass, which admittedly is still looking a bit brownish, but here’s some colorful flowers I painted the other day:

Photo of a watercolor and gauche painting of some daffodils and other flowers on a desk beside some paintbrushes.

Well, thankfully my years of being a writer have strengthened my patience. A winter of ceaseless snow? A spring that takes its sweet time in arriving? I can handle it!