So imagine. You've slaved over your manuscript. Had it poked, prodded, rejigged and rejected and then the impossible happens. A bite. An actual, verifiable, unbelievable bite. There is really no way to describe the feeling of getting a bite from a publishing house, much less from a big one. But I can tell you this. It's even better than you imagine. Because it represents something we writers tend to lose sight of in our hair pulling, self-deprecating, "I'm not good enough" bouts of depression. That bite represents hope. Because right there and then all the work you've done, the advice you've taken and the advice you've tossed reaches its culmination. You chose right and now they're thinking of choosing you.

My advice then to the aspiring writer: when and if that day comes, drop everything and relish the hours, days or weeks it might take to turn that bite into an offer (notice the word "might"). Because as odd as it sounds the best part of this journey may not necessarily be seeing your book on shelf (though don't get me wrong, I'm sure it'll be great), The best part may be the moment when all the work finally payed off, when your incessant checking of emails or voicemail finally delivered the one message you'd been waiting forever to get. That's a day you'll never forget.

Bitten indeed.