Poor planning is the most obvious cause of deadline pressure. External events sometimes contribute, of course. And then there are the writer’s self-imposed deadlines:
I want this done before I leave for Spain/honeymoon/surgery/grandchild’s birth.
I’ve scheduled my book launch for August so I can pick up Christmas sales.
I need it to begin generating income by (fill in the blank – usually within three months).
The self-imposed deadlines are invariably arbitrary. And these are the ones I’ve learned to not accept. The Christmas-sales launch is the most insidious. Most writers don’t understand the amount of time each part of the production process takes. For example, print on demand sounds pretty straight forward – I demand and the book arrives.
Well yes, if you are employing templates or sending PDF files. My experience with CreateSpace has been that Word docs are emailed, and long conversations with their designers ensue. But the techs who get the instructions somehow do not get them right. Which begins an email process (no phone lines to these guys/gals) with a five day hiatus between attempts. (One project required 30 days to make it through this phase.)
Cover design has to be approved (whether CS or independent designer). Proofs have to be reviewed for oddnesses like unwanted spaces and lines, weird margins, running headers changing in the middle of the book (a few times in one project I proofed). And the proofreading of the text before uploading.
Writers who plan to traditionally publish have to allow months for agents to respond (even if they accept – to say nothing of rejections delaying the launch. Even an agent who has asked to see a manuscript is likely to be backed up two months). Add time for the agent to find a publisher who wants it. Plus publishers’ production schedules and marketing guesses – figure minimum 18 months.
So what’s the rush? Wouldn’t you rather have an editor who can engage your manuscript with spaciousness and enthusiasm?
Most writers who contact me think their manuscript needs a quick polish before going to press or upload. Reality check: I hardly ever agree. And that’s not out of greed. I’m plenty busy, and often refer projects to reliable colleagues. Rather, I see the manuscript from the reader’s perspective: wobbly writing that needs tightening; weak word choices that need enrichment to empower the message; segments that are boring; bits of information that are missing to complete the logic of the piece; shallow characters; poor presentation of the passage of time; wrong voice for the intended audience.
(One exception is books with a limited market and tolerable writing, for which the investment in editing will not increase sales. Tolerable writing required. Bad writing will not even make it to a limited audience.)
If the structure does not work, or background material is missing, or characters are undeveloped, or there are patterns in the writing that the author has the capacity to rework with my guidance, the project is back on their desk before I can sit down to edit the text.
I plan on at least ten days at my end, once I become available – plus however long the writer will need in the midst of a busy life to do what needs to be done. Then the final round of text editing can take a week or several depending on the writer’s capacity to make the writing resonate with their audience.
Before putting pressure on yourself and your editor, consider the reality of an arbitrary deadline.
In the meantime, delight in the process.
Download PDF: DCC Editor’s Nightmare #3