The Slowness of Being

As I get farther into the author-thing, the more I realize it is a slow world. I am a non-artist, no drawing talent, can't sing, or play an instrument, so I am surprised as to what a slow world being creative is. Writing is slow, if it is to be worthwhile. Devoting a few hours here-and-there to writing means a 70,000 word novel will take the better part of a year to complete, counting edits, re-edits, devastating re-re-edits, etc. A good author can expect to turn-out, on average, one book per year. So, even a long-lived writer will produce only a modest inventory of work.
Slow is made all the slower in distribution. I submitted a couple books to a small publishing house several months ago and have not heard a peep since. (I actually check their website occasionally to see if they went belly-up) I sent a query to an agent a few weeks ago and have not heard a thing back. Slow, slow, and more slow. Suppose I discovered a previously unknown gem from a big name author (Bradbury, Heinlein, Vonnegut) and slapped my name on the cover. If I submitted it to a big publisher, while soliciting an agent, I'd be lucky indeed to see that book on Barnes & Nobles racks within 2 years.
With production and the pipeline being so slow, it poses an interesting barrier. As I write more, my approach and skills change. As a result, anything I push out there is badly out-of-date by the time it's new and fresh on the market. Also, if I have a rip-roaring idea to commit to paper, I know before hitting the first key that it won't be done and enjoyed for, well, you guessed it, a long, slow time. It's not frustrating, but it is an issue.
All that said, I continue to lay down the foundations of Time Diving, and continue to be pleased with my efforts to date. I'm still stalled in producing the print version of TPN, since I can't see galley prints, I think, using Create Space as the Print on Demand publisher. I've decided to wait till early December and use the "one-free-copy" offer they have with NaNoWriMo winners. That way I can produce a free copy and see if it looks right, and then use that manuscript as the template for actual production. Slow, but, as with everything else in writing, necessarily so, I guess.
Have excellent weekends, my friends, and I'll keep writing and keep you posted.......craig