Face the Music! Hit SEND for Cryin' Out Loud! + Giveaway!

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Come on. Wail it out. That's right, dunk your head in the empty pan and let the wails bounce off the sides.

You'll feel better if you do.

*deep breath*

Do it again if you have it. I'll wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Are you done yet?

Here's a tissue. Dry your eyes, wipe the snot out of the pan and let's chat.

Ooo BABY is it hard to hit send.

Did I realize how debilitating that was until my finger was hovering over the left hand clicker button? Um. No.

Did I have to call and chat with a writer friend and have her pray with me before hitting send? Yes.

Three things you should do before hitting send:

Read over the submission email one more time. Not ten more times, just one more time. Especially if you're submitting to Chip Macgregor. His big pet peeve is misspelled words. Just sayin'.

Double check that EVERYTHING is attached.

We've all sent those emails that said "I"m attaching such and such" and then never hit the attach button. Um...yeah.

PRAY. Find a friend and pray.

Talk about a stress reliever! This makes a world of difference and is the #1 thing you should before hitting that all important key. Your writing career/life/marriage/relationships do not hang in the balance of the response of the agent. (Though for the sake of your spouse's sanity they might think it does. ;-) I couldn't believe how much more prepared I was to hit that all important button until I called my friend. Thanks Beth!

Bonus suggestion: DO NOT, (let me repeat that) DO NOT reread and reread and reread what you sent out.

Inevitably you will find mistakes. You are human after all and there is SOMETHING you messed up along the lines. Forget it. It's gone. There is nothing you can do it about now, so just his send and move on.

We all know these things of course, but knowing that others get it make a great deal of difference. We so often celebrate only the great things that have happened in our writing, but we should also take the time to acknowledge that it doesn't happen quickly. It's a hurry up and wait process, even when you send in a follow up email. There is always something going on in the background that God has got His hands on that we know nothing about.

Gives me goosebumps. I love that thought.

Another suggestion? Tell some friends that you've submitted. Let them join in the excitement of waiting. I decided that was one thing I didn't want to be shy about and while I don't tell everyone I'm waiting to hear from an agent, I did tell several of my coworkers and people that stop by the clinic. It's fun to give progress reports, even when there is nothing new to share. It's these kind of support systems that you should embrace.  Waiting can actually be kind of fun...once you get past the first nervous week. ;-)

Have you hit send yet this year? Planning to?

Leave a comment for a chance to win Ethel Herr's An Introduction to Christian Writing (second edition) which I'll be giving away and announce the winner in tomorrow's weekend edition!