Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash.
Deadlines.
In many ways, this is a four-letter word for writers. Whether personal deadlines or ones given to you by an editor or publisher, having a set amount of time in which to complete tasks on your story is daunting and stress inducing. But deadlines are important, and meeting them equally so. How are you supposed to handle them as a writer?
The Method for the Madness
Believe it or not, deadlines in the publishing world are not simply to add stress to your life. Publishing is a business, and like any business, it works with deadlines. This is so that it can coordinate everyone who works on the project. Many different professionals work on a single book in order to bring it into existence. Editors, cover designers, formatters, book designers, and proofreaders will all be involved in the process of releasing a book to the world. A delay of a few days with one person leads to a domino effect that can push the release date out by several weeks.
More than this, respecting a deadline and working to get the manuscript to the correct person on time is a sign of respect and professionalism. Remember: publishing is a business. Deadlines come with the territory. Meeting them tells the industry professionals you are working with that you are serious about having your story published.
Managing Deadlines
What are some ways you can manage deadlines and your life and still look like a normal human being (if that is a concern of yours)?
Know Thyself
How many words can you write in your typical writing session? Do you tend to make many or few grammatical errors when the muse comes calling and the words start flowing? How long does it take you to address comments and edits from beta readers and critique partners?
The first step in managing deadlines is being honest with yourself about these types of things. Knowing how much work needs to go into self-editing your work and how much time it takes you will give you a good idea of when you will finish. The same goes for knowing how long it takes you to write your first draft and to address comments and edits from critique partners.
Assess Your Free Time
Again, an honest assessment here is needed. When you have a deadline to meet, the way you’re going to meet that is showing up and doing the work. Sometimes, that means giving up some things for a short season so that you can put more time into your project. Netflix, social media, coffee dates, and some other things can be set aside for a time.
Now, a caveat: I am not recommending that you work every spare moment you possibly can until you burn out. I am a firm believer in the principle of sabbath rest and do believe that nothing is worth sacrificing your physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health for. (If you’d like to read more on this, then see the Sabbath Principle with Writing). I am also not recommending cutting all social things from your life and doing nothing except write. But when it comes to deadlines, it may be necessary for you to focus exclusively on writing for a short season of a few weeks so that you can meet the deadline.
Break the Project Down
Now that you have assessed how much time you can spend on your project and have been honest with yourself in terms of your writing and editing speeds, it’s time to look at the big picture and set some goals.
Let’s say you’re being traditionally published and have just received your manuscript back from the copyeditor. Your deadline for getting it back to the publisher is forty days from now. Your big goal is to get through all the edits and return the manuscript on time. While that is a good goal, it’s not really actionable. We need smaller milestones that will help us assess whether or not we are on track.
You could divide the word count by forty and say “I need to go through xxx words each day.” Good, but that’s not allowing yourself rest days and could lead to stress if your life gets disrupted and you’re unable to meet your daily goal. Personally, I prefer to work with weeks, so I’d take the forty days and convert it into a number of weeks. Then, I’d work out how much I need to do each week to meet the deadline.
By having a weekly goal, I don’t feel bound to having to meet a number of words per day (although I will generally have a daily goal that I try and meet). What this means is that I don’t stress too much if life happens (as it will) and I am unable to meet my daily quota. I will probably be able to get through more words later. Also, having a weekly goal helps me accurately gauge if I will meet the deadline. A daily goal is too short to accurately assess that.
Build in a Buffer
When I agree to a deadline with a client, I like to have a week or two, depending on the size and nature of the project, as a buffer. What this means is that I believe I can complete the project a week or two before the deadline. This means that if things crop up and I am unable to work some days, it’s okay. I will still meet the deadline.
When it comes to writing a first or second draft, you will probably need more of a buffer than two weeks. Characters can develop minds of their own and start doing their own thing, dragging the story into a massive plot hole that you need to dig out of. You could discover things that you need to research more before you can write them, meaning that you lose precious writing time searching for facts.
When it comes to deadlines set by publishing-industry professionals, one trick I have heard is to tell yourself that your deadline is a month earlier than it really is. You then work to meet the amended deadline. Doing this means that you know you will meet the deadline set by your publisher or editor.
Ask for Help
Yes, I need to work on this one too. Sometimes, even with giving up some of our free time and pouring more into our story, we still won’t meet a deadline. When that happens, ask your family members or friends to help you with other things, like washing the dishes or mowing the lawn, so that you can meet the deadline. Once you’ve met it, you can (and should) take up your responsibilities again. But for the few weeks before your deadline, family and friends are often happy to help. Many times, we don’t get the assistance we need because we don’t ask.
Another aspect of this is reaching out to fellow writers and asking for them to help when you’re stuck. Often, just talking about a problem will lead you to see solutions that you hadn’t before. And sometimes you just need a fresh pair of eyes on that particular passage or that particular chapter that you’re working through. Again, we often don’t get the help we need because we don’t ask for it.
For the Independent Author
If you are pursuing independent publishing, the temptation might be to approach deadlines as good ideas that don’t apply to you. After all, you don’t have a publishing schedule with twelve to twenty books that need to be released this year like publishing houses do. So what does it matter if you miss a personal deadline by a few days or months?
This attitude is what can keep many skilled writers from ever releasing their stories into the world, and it is a dangerous one to entertain for any length of time. Again, publishing is a business, no matter what route you pursue. As an independent author, you are responsible for managing your publishing business well. Part of running a successful business is managing your time.
Now, I’m not recommending that you adopt the attitude of Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh and stress yourself with keeping to a rigid schedule. Certainly one of the advantages of self-publishing is that you can be more flexible with your deadlines. If you miss one, it’s not going to affect the production and release of multiple other books. It’s just affecting the release of this book.
At the same time, you don’t want to be too lackadaisical with deadlines just because you can. Take an honest look at the various things listed in the above post and then set a date for certain tasks to be completed by. Share this with a friend and ask them to keep you accountable. If you miss the deadline, be sure to explain why it happened. As far as is possible, treat your personal targets and deadlines with the same respect and attention you would if you were being traditionally published.
In Conclusion
Deadlines are not your enemy. They come with the territory of publishing and are there to help you bring your story into the world. If you approach them wisely and find ways of making them manageable, deadlines can be a useful tool in your writing toolbox.