Request for Full!

I got an emailed request for a full this evening, which means the editor wants to see the full manuscript of a novel I queried. That means the editor liked the writing in my sample chapters and thought the synopsis of the entire novel sounded pretty good. It's a very encouraging sign; it means I've done something right with this book.

I'm trying to come up with a good analogy for explaining the significance of a request for a full. It's like in high school, when your boyfriend gives you his class ring to wear. You shouldn't pick out your wedding gown at that point, but you can be pretty sure that eventually you'll end up married--although not necessarily to this guy. Well, that's a stupid analogy, actually. Hopefully you get the idea.

Anyway, I had my writer's group tonight. I managed to contain myself until after we'd done the night's critiques and were just sitting around talking, at which point I all but leaped out of my chair to announce my news. Everyone was very congratulatory, but of course not congratulatory enough (I figured they'd throw an impromptu parade at the very least), and the next thing I knew they were talking about Tom Bombadil, as if he's even slightly as interesting as my Request for Full.

Of course, now I realize that the novel is full of terrible errors and clumsy writing and I need to go over it before sending it to the editor, but I don't want to wait too long because what if she changes her mind or loses interest? Oh well, I probably won't be able to sleep tonight anyway. I'll just stay up and revise instead.