Deadlines DO Matter

When I talk to new authors about submissions, I always tell them to only submit when that manuscript is 100% ready to go. I stress this because there are a lot of authors who, after receiving a request from an editor or agent, respond that they want to send it to the critique partners for another check, or they still have more to write. While I understand their desires to have that project in great shape, these authors are missing one important element of the publishing world. There was a deadline to meet and they failed to

meet it.

I get that we live in a busy world today. We are all juggling multiple hats at a single time. We work. We have kids and families. We have houses to keep up. We have social obligations such as church. We volunteer... and we write. But writing cannot just be shoved to the back of the pile all of the time. OK, it can if you want to be a hobby writer, but if you are a professional writer, deadlines do matter.

For me, this is a big pet peeve of mine. I get amazingly frustrated at people who cannot  get work done in a timely manner, and those who cannot seem to meet a deadline. Those that do not meet deadlines seem to miss the fact that their delay just held up the process for a lot of other people. Let give you a stack of examples and then cycle back to publishing.

I just signed on to the board for our Home Owner Association. We have discussed getting a new company to take care of the paperwork for us, along with getting new playground equipment and getting some repairs done on fences. As soon as I was on board, I found a company that would take care of the management issues. I sent it out to the other board members and that was 2 months ago. I am now sitting on the second contract from the new company and need to get the approval of the board. One person, after repeated emails and messages still has not responded. The playground equipment and fence repairs is also on hold because that board member had been "busy." That's fine, but remember, we are stuck on everything until that is done. Deadlines are not being met.

I am sure you have all been in this situation as well. You are at work and reach out to someone in another department or admin for a quick answer. The direction you need to take depends on that message. According to your email system, that person is in the office that day. You send repeated messages wanting to get on with your task, only to have to put it aside, and miss a deadline on your end until you hear from that other person, who responds back the next day with a "Sorry, I just saw your email." Deadlines are not being met.

Now let's talk about publishing. When you sign a contract with a publisher, you list your delivery dates. These are when you are expected to have proposals, partials, or completed manuscripts to your editor. These are set far in advance because the entire editorial team is fighting for their own authors to get the coveted places on the yearly calendar. The editor's calendar is now linked to the art department's calendar, the marketing department's calendar, the book seller's calendars, the copy editor's calendar, the print shop's calendar... I think you get the idea. 

And now you feel you need another 2-4 weeks to get your project finished...

This is when a domino effect kicks in. When deadlines were not met, it hurt a lot of people.

Let's take this a step further. Have you ever wondered why some authors seem to get all of the great promotions and the great opportunities and others don't get those slots. The connection often comes back to the meeting of deadlines. Those editorial teams sit down and ask who, out of all of the authors, can be trusted to get the work done. Meeting deadlines matter.

But what about those new submissions. That doesn't matter, right? You don't have a contract yet, right? Maybe not, but remember, when editors and agents are reading your new submission they are thinking about potential placement. They are already thinking about revisions. They are ready to move. But if your project did not make it to them in a timely manner, that opportunity is now gone. I don't know how many times I have had an editor say they were looking for something, I find that great author, and then the author doesn't get back for months. Bummer, they lost out.

So here are the take-aways:

• New authors - If you cannot meet deadlines, this is not a business for you.
• Established authors - If you want the great slots, the increases in advances, and those great projects, don't just meet the deadline, beat the deadline (and by the way, do it right the first time).