Deadlines
Well, I’m behind schedule today, so this will likely be a rather short article.
Today, because I so love the taste of irony, I will discuss deadlines. I like deadlines. First, they have the word “dead” in them, and as a horror writer, I’m just plain fond of that word. Second, I like that they help keep me focused. I tend to let my mind wander wherever it will, because for me that’s part of the process of being a writer. If I’m watching the news my mind likes to capture a couple of headlines from time to time and start playing around with them like a curious kid with a Rubik’s cube. It may not solve the puzzle, but it will certainly have a good time trying to. For that reason, I need deadlines. Left to its own devices, my mind is a hazard zone of contradictions and what ifs. Deadlines make me remember to focus.
Want a great example? Right here. I’m writing this essay on the fly, because I forgot to jot down the due date on my calendar (okay, reality check: yeah, I don’t have a calendar. I would never actually remember to use it, but I tend to juggle my work schedule, my writing schedule and what passes for my social schedule in my mental calendar. So let’s just pretend that I have a real calendar for the sake of argument, shall we? Thanks!) Normally I would have gotten this done at least a couple of days ago. This time around, I dropped the ball.
And remember, there are consequences to our actions. In this case, I’m probably safe. I mean, come on, I do this gratis. So if they want to fire me, I can accept it. I’ll be hurt, but I’ll understand. It will now, however, affect my pay scale in the very least.
This gig is the exception, not the rule. Most publishers understand that fiction writers are flakes. They probably factor in a certain amount of time for daydreaming, procrastination and intellectual navel gazing, but even so, they’re eventually going to want you to deliver your promised manuscript. We’ll start at the low end. Five thousand dollars for a novel. You have six months to deliver the first draft. That is assuming you’ve run across a publisher who trusts you enough to give you money for what hasn’t been written yet. It does happen, but a little less often if you are unpublished. That’s why I always encourage a first draft be finished before submission. Here’s the other reason: you’re already ahead of the game that way.
Now, the way it usually breaks down is three payments. We’ll say 2,000 upon signing, 1,500 upon delivery and acceptance of final draft and 1,500 within 30 days of publication. Sound crazy? Not to the publishers. That way, if you drop the ball, they haven’t lost 5,000 dollars, they’ve only lost 2,000 and even if you never pay them back, they can recover from that loss if they’re one of the bigger houses. The smaller houses will probably be forced to insert needles into a voodoo doll with your likeness and possibly a locket of your hair if they want to survive that sort of loss these days, but it is what it is.
Simple rules for deadlines:
One: Make realistic deadlines for yourself.
Two: Keep them.
Three: Factor in the Life Equation. Because, folks, life can and will screw with you. I don’t care if it’s the unexpected pregnancy, the sprained wrist, the broken collar bone, winning the lottery or Aunt Selma’s mental breakdown, life will screw with you. Expect that and factor in a few extra weeks to catch up to where you should be.
Jim’s Rules for deadlines:
One: See above.
Two: Subtract four weeks off the realistic deadline. (I like a challenge)
Three: Proceed as if step two never occurred and get your ass in gear.
The difference is I like the pressure of a tight deadline. Give me a month to write a novel and I’ll get it done. Give me six months, I’ll take my own sweet time. I’m not normal. Don’t try to follow my rules unless you dig having ulcers.
One final rule: ALWAYS make your deadlines. Fail on that one too often and your publishers will no longer want to deal with you. I’ve seen it happen to a few writers. If you must fail to reach the expected goal, make sure you give your editor plenty of warning. It might make a difference as to whether you get published by that particular house again.
James A. Moore
