D...Da...Deadlines...

Nateskate · Jun 18, 2008

How do you handle deadlines? Do you mostly meet them, or struggle with them?

Also, how have your agents, publishers...whoever, handled them?

The publisher asked for Books Two and Three. I had surgery on my right arm a few weeks ago, and I'm not exactly typing at blazing speed in my edits. I'm just curious how much leeway you've seen in the industry???

CaroGirl · Jun 18, 2008

I don't have deadlines in the publishing world (yet) but I do have deadlines in my job. I mostly like them because they give me something to shoot for. One day to be able to say, finally, this is it; it's done.

You could fiddle with something forever if not for The Deadline. Of course, on the flip side, they don't call it "dead" for nothing.

Kalyke · Jun 18, 2008

Nateskate said:
How do you handle deadlines? Do you mostly meet them, or struggle with them?

Also, how have your agents, publishers...whoever, handled them?

The publisher asked for Books Two and Three. I had surgery on my right arm a few weeks ago, and I'm not exactly typing at blazing speed in my edits. I'm just curious how much leeway you've seen in the industry???

I was once wondering about buying one of those programs that types for you. I totally hate typing. I actually loath going to the computer. On the other hand, I love to free-hand write. I figured I could just read and talk to the computer and it would type for me. I think Dragon's Naturally Speaking is one of those programs.

patrick bateman · Jun 18, 2008

For me, deadlines are a great way to quit procrastinating. I always finish that way.

geardrops · Jun 18, 2008

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

Phaeal · Jun 18, 2008

Be up front with your agent and publisher about your physical limitations and possible need for an extension. Better to keep everyone in the loop from the start than to run late and try to make excuses then.

You won't know how unbending the publisher's deadline is until you ask about it.

ORION · Jun 18, 2008

yeah...ask...
Some of my deadlines have been set in stone and others have been wiggly...
but ASK...

Aegwynn · Jun 18, 2008

Deadlines are the bane of my existence. I am terrible with them and the are one of my greatest fears. Thankfully my desire to know my work in and out has prevented me from having a deadline creep up at me without being prepared. Editing is the thing that takes the most time for me... not brainstorming or writing the first draft. Very meticulous and time-consuming, editing...

Liam Jackson · Jun 18, 2008

RE: deadlines
I gripe, moan, cuss, pace the floor, go fishin', smoke another cigarette, mow the lawn, ...then met 'em.

badducky · Jun 19, 2008

How do I deal with deadlines?

Get off the internet. Get out somewhere you haven't been before where you have no habits of procrastination. (new cafes, new hotel/motel room, new condo on the beach, friends' houses, heck, work in the BATHROOM for a change. Just change your physical space.)

Speaking of bad habits of procrastination, I've got to get this short story finished this week, so...

Dreamer3702 · Jun 19, 2008

Phaeal said:
Be up front with your agent and publisher about your physical limitations and possible need for an extension. Better to keep everyone in the loop from the start than to run late and try to make excuses then.

You won't know how unbending the publisher's deadline is until you ask about it.

I was going to say something similar to this.

Tell them about the surgery and take it one day at a time after that. Don't try to write as much as you can in one day - you'll burn out that way. Set daily goals for yourself. Like right now, I'm aiming for 5-15 pages a day. I don't have it completely set in stone becasue this isn't something a publisher is waiting on.

Good luck on your surgery and meeting your goals.

Nateskate · Jun 19, 2008

Use Her Name said:
I was once wondering about buying one of those programs that types for you. I totally hate typing. I actually loath going to the computer. On the other hand, I love to free-hand write. I figured I could just read and talk to the computer and it would type for me. I think Dragon's Naturally Speaking is one of those programs.

I have thought of that. I just have to do it.

Nateskate · Jun 19, 2008

Phaeal said:
Be up front with your agent and publisher about your physical limitations and possible need for an extension. Better to keep everyone in the loop from the start than to run late and try to make excuses then.

You won't know how unbending the publisher's deadline is until you ask about it.

Yeah, I have been avoiding that. I've worked really hard, but I'm limited in how long I can actually type (pain) and keep awake (meds).

Nateskate · Jun 19, 2008

Liam Jackson said:
RE: deadlines
I gripe, moan, cuss, pace the floor, go fishin', smoke another cigarette, mow the lawn, ...then met 'em.

Lol- Thanks Liam. I definitely relate to the gripe, moan, and pace the floor. It's not like they snuck up on me. Actually, I didn't realize how much editing these two books would need. They're both written, but I have so much riding on this, as you know.

Lol- It's like getting a date for prom, and showing up with spinach in the teeth. "Hey, you're a one trick pony, a hack! Out the door you novelist huckster!"

scope · Jun 19, 2008

I think we should all love deadlines. Well, maybe not love them but at least respect them for what they are. It means that someone -- an agent or publisher -- wants to see our work. Isn't that one of our most sort after goals? If the deadline is totally impractical, or if there's an overriding problem -- as is the case with NateSnake -- discuss it with the aget or publisher.

Claudia Gray · Jun 19, 2008

I mostly make my deadlines, much to my surprise. I do this mostly by setting a lot of preliminary deadlines (hit 10K words by this date, halfway point by that date, etc.), so that if I start to fall behind early, I know it and pick up the pace earlier. I also factor in beta-reading time and my own review time at the end.

I agree with those who have said to tell your publisher what you've got going on. Both writers and editors are notorious for pushing deadlines, so it's unlikely that there's no leeway at all; also, nobody wants you to hurt yourself. I had to have surgery last fall, so as soon as I found out about it, I wrote my editor and told her I'd be doing some things a month or two later than planned -- they were fine with it. Chances are your editor will be too.

Nateskate · Jun 20, 2008

ClaudiaGray said:
I mostly make my deadlines, much to my surprise. I do this mostly by setting a lot of preliminary deadlines (hit 10K words by this date, halfway point by that date, etc.), so that if I start to fall behind early, I know it and pick up the pace earlier. I also factor in beta-reading time and my own review time at the end.

I agree with those who have said to tell your publisher what you've got going on. Both writers and editors are notorious for pushing deadlines, so it's unlikely that there's no leeway at all; also, nobody wants you to hurt yourself. I had to have surgery last fall, so as soon as I found out about it, I wrote my editor and told her I'd be doing some things a month or two later than planned -- they were fine with it. Chances are your editor will be too.

Thanks Claudia. I guess with multiple movies and books (still technically) on the line, I'm rather hesitant to talk about my broken wing, simply because I want them to know I'll do whatever it takes to get this done. I didn't even talk about the surgery, which I'd hoped would go more smoothly.

I actually spent a great deal of time revising two books during the past year, at least for what spurts I was able. The problem was that I had to make some major changes, which required going back over the book again to check for consistency. Now I feel like I'm dancing the minute waltz.

And worse, Workman's Comp through some loophole has refused to pay my PT bill, and I was forced to pay almost $600 out of pocket- goodbye new computer. I was only halfway through therapy and had to stop.

Namatu · Jun 20, 2008

Nateskate said:
Thanks Claudia. I guess with multiple movies and books (still technically) on the line, I'm rather hesitant to talk about my broken wing, simply because I want them to know I'll do whatever it takes to get this done.

Your publisher and editor will appreciate you more if you tell them. If you miss the deadline, they will understand why. If you meet the deadline, they will be appreciative of your perseverance despite the obstacles. If you say nothing and miss the date... is it worth possibly damaging your reputation in their eyes? They likely have marketing and revenue plans tied to your work. If you're late, they're late, and then their bosses are mad so they get mad... Do tell.

Nateskate · Jun 21, 2008

Namatu said:
Your publisher and editor will appreciate you more if you tell them. If you miss the deadline, they will understand why. If you meet the deadline, they will be appreciative of your perseverance despite the obstacles. If you say nothing and miss the date... is it worth possibly damaging your reputation in their eyes? They likely have marketing and revenue plans tied to your work. If you're late, they're late, and then their bosses are mad so they get mad... Do tell.

It's good advice. They knew initially that I'd had health problems, including a complex arm injury. And they were more than sympathetic.

The reality is that I'm getting it done, but not at the pace I'd like, and not without pain. But you are right insofar as this being too important for them for me to be thinking only of myself. I do realize this is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, as there is an investment on their side- I don't even want to know, as there's enough pressure.

Looking back on my reasoning, if I got them the first three books, that would give them enough material to play with for quite awhile, and give me some space to heal. It would also (if they loved the next two books also) increase the chances that the movies would be put on a faster track. It was my mistake to tell them I thought I'd be done by now.

Lol, I pictured this oasis, where I could work on books 4 and 5 at a slower pace, but everyone's telling me that once this ball starts rolling, things will move so fast my head will spin.

Nateskate · Jun 23, 2008

Update

I explained some of the situation with the publisher, and they've been terribly kind once again.

I can't wait to sing the kudos for these people.

Feathers · Jun 23, 2008

Eekers, Nate. Sorry about your arm. Happy about your book deal!

It sounds like you've got the whole deadline thing under control by now. My only advice now is that you pace yourself, prioritize, and be realistic about how much you can accomplish...then make sure you accomplish it.

Smile.
-Feathers

Penguin Queen · Jun 24, 2008

Nateskate said:
<...>hey're both written, but I have so much riding on this, as you know.
<...>

Thats the thing, isnt it? The more important it is, the more terrifyingly does the possibility of success loom.
Well, it does for me.
It love deadlines. Ive been writing stuff for radio for 17 years, so deadlines have become part of my bones now. Theyre how I work.
With the fiction stuff, I dont have deadlines, yet. Plus, while I love the journalism & never want to give it up, the fiction is that much closer to my heart. Writing books is what I want to do most in the world. So the pressures are greater. So I take much longer to apply, as PG Wodehouse put it so well, the seat of the trousers to the seat of the chair, and get on with it.

Mind you, even when there is a deadline, I dont actually start work until Ive tidied my desk, baked a cake, cleaned the windows and counted all the tiles in the bathroom...

Oh - and good luck with the editing.

Nateskate · Jun 24, 2008

Feathers said:
Eekers, Nate. Sorry about your arm. Happy about your book deal!

It sounds like you've got the whole deadline thing under control by now. My only advice now is that you pace yourself, prioritize, and be realistic about how much you can accomplish...then make sure you accomplish it.

Smile.
-Feathers

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm moving at a steady pace now. In book two I had to add much of the backstory, which is so difficult in an Epic Fantasy where you've built an entire cosmos, rather than build on a previous foundation.

In doing that, I had to find ways to keep it interesting, and that just made so much more work.

DeleyanLee · Jun 24, 2008

Hope your arm is healing well.

I always handled deadlines by only signing contracts with options, never a book. Instant no deadlines.

Nateskate · Jun 24, 2008

Penguin Queen said:
Thats the thing, isnt it? The more important it is, the more terrifyingly does the possibility of success loom.
Well, it does for me.
It love deadlines. Ive been writing stuff for radio for 17 years, so deadlines have become part of my bones now. Theyre how I work.
With the fiction stuff, I dont have deadlines, yet. Plus, while I love the journalism & never want to give it up, the fiction is that much closer to my heart. Writing books is what I want to do most in the world. So the pressures are greater. So I take much longer to apply, as PG Wodehouse put it so well, the seat of the trousers to the seat of the chair, and get on with it.

Mind you, even when there is a deadline, I dont actually start work until Ive tidied my desk, baked a cake, cleaned the windows and counted all the tiles in the bathroom...

Oh - and good luck with the editing.

(Smiles) You're so right. I'm extremely fortunate to be in this position. I think the thing that has made me worry is that the release for Book One got delayed. They love book one and we're back to talking about the Author site...etc, but I feared that if they got book two and thought it was substandard, it would be like the Great and Terrible Oz, and they would see the man behind the curtain and change their minds.

I'm confident the story is good, and I've already explained the story to them. But book two brings in the backstory- Equivalent to 'Who is Sauron?' and 'Why is the ring is so important?', but in my mind its far more complex.

It's like Goldilocks- too little or too much info and people will gag. Book three is smoother, because the backstory is now understood.

D...Da...Deadlines...

Nateskate

CaroGirl

Living the dream

Kalyke

patrick bateman

geardrops

Good thing I like my day job

Phaeal

Whatever I did, I didn't do it.

ORION

Sailed away years ago

Aegwynn

Liam Jackson

Heathen Horde Elder

badducky

No Time For Chitchat, Kemosabe.

Dreamer3702

a real life cupcake

Nateskate

Nateskate

Nateskate

scope

Commonsensical Maverick

Claudia Gray

Nateskate

Namatu

Lost in mental space.

Nateskate

Nateskate

Feathers

emerging from the writing cave

Penguin Queen

Break the rules.

Nateskate

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

Nateskate