The Waiting Game

Every day since early December 2012, I've been sitting on pins and needles, my mind a chaotic whirl of 'what if's' and 'when's' and 'what now's?' The cuckoo clock on the wall has ceased to be my time keeper, and is now just an annoying reminder that I still have no idea what is happening for any given minute, hour, and day. It's little chirps now sound like the rancorous cry of a grackle, making my ears ring unpleasantly, and only adding to the intensity of the moment. I am in waiting, playing that age-old game that Father Time must get a sadistic little kick out of. It's a state of limbo unlike any I've known before.
Okay, a little dramatic I know, but I haven't written in a while and my fingers are twitching to express some sort of emotion, and with the week I've had, drama won out. So what have I been waiting on? What has flung me into the empty limbo of time as if I've been sucked into a black hole?
BOOK SALES, that's what.
I have absolutely no clue how my book is doing. Any other first time authors out there experiencing the same agony? If so, I'd love to hear from you and how you're coping!
Yes, I can get on Amazon.com and check the rankings. I can do the same with Barnesandnoble.com, but I'm sorry people, these numbers really tell me nothing. And to be honest, I don't like seeing all those digits, especially when they reach up into the millions. It does not comfort, to say the least.
Pre-order sales should be composited soon by my publisher, and I will get a report that will at least give me some idea of the road that 'Seven Days Normal' is taking. The next report showing all over sales will be in June, then my first paycheck comes in August.
That's eight months of waiting, my friends. Eight months of chewing on my nails, hoping my book is getting out there to the world. Eight months of squirming in anticipation. And it's not really the paycheck I want(yes, it will be nice), it's just the knowledge that my marketing skills, measly as they are at the moment, have paid off at least a little, and that the story I created has touched enough people to travel by word of mouth.
So, the question begged is this: what do you do in the meantime(considering you have time, that is)?
Write, of course!
I have a 14 month old and another one due within the next few weeks, so I only write about ten minutes here and there, between changing diapers, picking up toys, cleaning, cooking, and all that other domestic stuff. But at least I'm writing.
Because no matter if 'Seven Days Normal' bombs out and never gets to be that best seller I wish it to be, I will continue to write as if it was the best story ever told and sells better than the Good Book itself.
In other words, don't let not knowing hinder you from doing what you love to do. Have I thought about just stopping until I know sales, at least for the sake of saving my precious time? You bet I have. I am only human, and am no stranger to discouragement. Common sense says stop until you know how well the market receives you, but the heart says, "Don't give up! At least you got published! At least it's for sale! At least some people like it, even if they are only family!'
So while you're playing that waiting game,  even if you feel like it's kicking your tail all over the place, don't stop writing, don't stop honing your skills, and don't give up hope that the world will know your story.
Happy waiting. Happy writing.