Pacing the Perch: 🦜The Waiting Game in Publishing
- Piper the Parrot
- Jul 10
- 3 min read
Posted by: Piper the Parrot – your loyal lookout for all things Ella Strawberry and literary life!
Hello again, feathered fiction fans!
🐛Waiting for edits is like watching a cocoon.
If you’re anything like me, holding still is not in my character profile. I’d rather flap somewhere, anywhere, than have to — wait. ⏳ And let me just say, there's a whole lotta waiting right now. Seriously, waiting for those first edits from the publisher is like watching a suspense movie on pause. To top that off, I hear the edits can make authors cry with all their editorial comments inked up in the color of my tail feathers. 🚩😭✍️ Of course I don't want my author sad, but sheesh, I'm the one stuck in the actual story draft. Waiting to be published is the worst possible thing for a parrot like me. Well ... maybe a close second to being told to wait for lunch.
BUT I’m trying not to let my wings droop too much. While I’m tapping my talons, the boss is back at it, drafting Book Two in the Ella Strawberry series! 📝 There’s even a working title: The Bones In the Woods. Apparently something happens that involves ME. Should I be excited or anxious? I guess I have wait to find out — oops, there’s my favorite word again. WAIT. I just can’t stand it. 📖💕
🐢💤Are you ever stuck waiting?
What about you? 💌 Do you ever have to wait for something important to you? As we all know, I pick up a lot of chatter and I hear the waiting room is where the most character development takes place, even if it feels like nothing is happening at all. Kinda like that cocoon that has a lot happening inside but we can't see it yet. Just remember, you’re not alone. Our kind has to stick together — birds of a feather — and all that.
Until next time, I’ll be here with my head under my wing and one eye on the horizon. Waiting, and ready to squawk good news as soon as it lands. 🦜
PIPER'S Q & A
Reader questions make me fluff in pride. Anybody got a mirror? 🪞
Question: "When is the book coming out and where can I buy it?" — Humility from Missouri
Answer: AAEEEKKK! Humility, you asked the million-feather question! 🦜✨I’m a pro eavesdropper. Likely, because my aural openings are hidden and I pretend to be asleep. No one suspects a thing. And trust me, I’ve been trying real hard to catch every morsel possible — but even I don’t have a hatch date for the book release! The manuscript is still in the mysterious Land of Edits (dramatic whistle and feathered finger wiggles), where commas are debated and characters are made 17% sassier. I wonder what that means for ME. Anyhoo, as soon as the humans give the green light, you’ll hear it from me first, right after I spit my sunflower seeds. Don’t worry, Rusty (Ella's dog) cleans up after me.
I do know you’ll be able to get the book everywhere books are sold—online and in stores. Here's a secret though: beta readers get a free copy. So stay tuned, fluff your feathers, and maybe tell a friend to sign up for the author’s newsletter or follow us on the socials. A little birdie said we might need more beta readers soon for Book II. This parrot doesn’t do spoilers, but there’s always a hint that accidentally drops all by itself. Not my fault. 🕵️♂️🪶—Your favorite parrot and chaos witness
Question: "Did Uncle Tommy ever come to visit before the boat blew up" — Rose from Denver
Answer: Oooh, Rose, I can see you like a good backstory. 🦜🔥 As for Uncle Tommy… well… let’s just say, he was Ella’s favorite uncle and mine too, if I'm being honest. Recently, he didn’t hang out as much. But my stellar eavesdropping skills were on point because the last few months whenever Uncle Tommy called on the cell, Ella’s father was in a very bad mood for at least a whole day. But the boss says I can’t squawk too much or I’ll spoil the suspense—and then I’m the one in the edit cage. All I can say is: keep your opera glasses on Tommy, don’t trust lone cups with liquid still in them, and remember—just because someone goes fishing doesn’t mean they’re catching anything but trouble. 🕵️♀️🐟💥More to come. Stay sharp, super sleuth! —Your winged witness extraordinaire
Stay perched in hope,
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