The title of this post is, admittedly, misleading, as there has been no progress.

Yet, today is something of a key day as it marks one month since I submitted my manuscript to the agent, who requested a 30-day exclusivity period on the work. In other words, after today, I can submit the manuscript to whoever I want.

This is a dubious comfort. When I realized the 30-day exclusivity period would be coming to an end, I envisioned getting an e-mail (or a phone call or a letter or whatever) on my birthday, because hey, what a good anecdote that would make! When that didn’t happen I declared, brazenly (and as it turned out, presumptuously) that Monday would be the day it happened. I had what I thought was a good feeling, but it looks like it was just wishful thinking.

Now, the day is still very young and, bearing in mind the agent is out on the West Coast, a lot could happen…technically, it’s only 7:30 AM where my potential agent is so she’s almost certainly not even in the office yet, and then she has to get settled in, check e-mails and phone messages, take care of any more pressing business, and then, THEN…

And this is how my mind has been working lately. I’ve been making excuses for the agent as to why she hasn’t touched base with me to let me know how awesome my manuscript was and she can’t wait to represent me. It’s some weird mutation of the denial stage of grieving.

Not that I have anything to grieve about. Not yet and hopefully not at all.

But: I can’t count on this panning out in my favor. I have to keep forging ahead.

I’m giving it until Friday, and if I’ve heard nothing from the agent, I start submitting again and in the meantime hope something positive develops.