I have a deadline today. I need to turn in a chapter and an outline. The book format is new to me and the topic . . . well, I thought I had a small clue. Nope. I had a tiny clue. I am buried in research.
As I was working on this, I got a message from one of my editors. “Hi there! We need you to redo chapter 1 and 2 but I’ve included some ideas on how to do it.”
I don’t doubt that it needs to be done. The whole time I was revising based on his comments, I was concerned about how similar the two chapters were. But they were what the client wanted.
The client has now had an epiphany.
Then I got to the next line from my editor. “I don’t know how busy you are, but can I have this by Monday.” Two new chapters in less than a week. Could I do it? Probably. But I know my brain well enough. I’m a problem solver. If I opened that document before finishing today’s deadline, my brain would flip to the new project. “Hey, I know this topic! I can do this super easy.” Hint: My brain always thinks things are going to be easy. Some days my brain is clueless.
This editor has worked with me several times. So I emailed him back. “I might be able to have it done by Monday. But I can’t look at it until I finish this other job. You know, the one about (this is another one of his projects). Can I tentatively have until Wednesday just in case and I’ll turn it in Monday if I can?”
I don’t know if all of my editors appreciate my transparency. Life is a numbers game so it is almost certain that some of them don’t. But the ones that I work with most often do appreciate it. They know that I will tell them if there is a problem. They know that I will turn things early if I can.
And they know that if I’m not sure, I’ll tell them I don’t know.
–SueBE
One Writer's Journey 