WAITING

I'm not the most patient person and never more so than waiting to hear from an editor. And it's not unsual to have a six month wait for an answer. Even then, one should expect to do some rewrites.
I know the rule of thumb is to have seven (yes, seven!) things out there at all times.
I'm sure the suspense of wondering who is reading what and what do they think of it would render me completely helpless. After all, how many hours can one reasonably spend in front of a screen that isn't platinum?
It's a heady thing to have your manuscript requested. You begin to fly around wondering what to wear, what time he'll pick you up, (oops no, that's high school prom). You begin to fly around wondering how you'll cast your leading character when Hollywood comes calling. Then you weakly crawl to the publisher's site and hesitantly peel back the covers of what he already deemed publishable. Oh, no, I'm not nearly edgy enough for the YA market. Oh, God!, that character has my character's voice! Rendering my character now speechless.
I received advice a long time ago; tell your story. Have engaging realistic characters, Then worry about marketing. Having done that, move to the next project. OK. done. Excuse me while I check my email.