The wife is on level 3 support this weekend. In short that means that at any time the bat phone might ring to deliver us a crisis. Yummy.

I’ve got a bunch of revisions to do on the Ridge Runner thanks to Editor Person. Then there’s a whole bunch of pages to review for Velocity.

I’ve set a goal for finishing a rough draft of Velocity by the first week of May. It’s going to be tight but I’m giving everything I’ve got. Why early May? Two reasons, the first is the most pure reason of all, which is money. I’ve got some work lined up for a brand new client in May, so I’ll need to focus on that.

Whenever I get a new client I invest a lot of time learning how to do things the way they like and need them done, and that takes a lot of focus. No matter what any software vendors claim every company is different and ultimately unique. The second reason is that it seems like a realistic deadline.

I outlined Velocity in late December and started writing it in January. Four months and some change seems like sufficient time to complete a rough draft. There’s going to be problems with it, but a lot less problems than there were with the Ridge Runner the first time around. I’ll get it more right later, but odds are very high the second book will be done before I get an agent to represent the first book. And really in the end, is that a problem? At least I’ll have a decent second novel ready to go.

Sleep has been a big issue lately, and I’ve been trying to figure out why exactly. My official theory is that it has something to do with waiting for the agent to respond.

When I queried actively, it was easy to get some kind of result. For instance, let’s say on a Monday I queried agent A. Usually an answer came back anywhere from 31 minutes ( the fastest ) to 48 hours. There were a few agents that took more than a week.

I’ll never forget the 31 minute turnaround time for one rejection. Or my first rejection which took about 48 hours. But at least it was quick and it was only based on the query letter. It’s hard to take that kind of no personally, because it’s only a pitch they are saying no to.

Only now an agent has enough of the novel to make a decision about representing it or not. A no at this point is a little different.

So I’m stuck in limbo for the next couple of weeks, not sleeping so hot.

Editor person has heard my plea, we are meeting Thursday when they return from business. Curse the day job!

I’m still in a holding pattern with the agent. Is no news good news? I’m not sure. If I knew I’d be an agent, not a writer looking for one.

I’ve read that an agent can sell a book in as little as 1 week, or it may take as long as 1 year. Even if I signed with an agent today and they sold the book quickly, Mike Brody would not be in print until Spring or Fall 2005. That sounds weird since he first saw the light of day in October 2002.

But then what else can I do except keep writing?

The sun is shining, the weather is good and the wife is working. It’s the first nice day since the last grips of winter reared it’s ugly head and the only sun I’m getting is the light blasting through the window behind me.

I had a pretty good week at the machine. Momentum seems to have taken over and I’m closing in on the 120 page mark on Velocity. I’m starting to think I may not only have the second book done in the series before I sell the first, but I may get well into the third. If this writing clip holds, I’ll have a rough draft of Velocity done by mid May.

I’m not sure how long it will take to revise Velocity, since Editor Person is busy all the time these days. I can’t exactly ask them to take a vacation from their job to edit my book, so I’ll guess we’ll just sit down when the entire book is done.

Still I miss the Wednesday sessions. We’re meeting in a week or so to make sure The Ridge Runner is as spiffy as can be, in the hopes that the prospective agent asks to see the whole book. Still, if such a request comes from them it may not be for many more weeks. It’s all out of my hands…