Dame Lilith
But I’m going to give it the old college try. You knew I would, after all.
I actually (get the rocks and rotten tomatoes ready) like deadlines. They’re comforting. In the first place, a deadline means I’ve sold and promised to deliver a piece of work. This means I get paid, and if I get paid my kids eat. (Sometimes after a year of work and waiting, to be sure. But that’s another blog post.) So the deadline is like a security blanket for me.
That security blanket is along the lines of being in a shark cage, eyeing a Great White and wondering if I’ve cut myself shaving that morning. It’d be a lot worse without the cage, right?
Right?
Right. But I have a deep dark secret I’m going to share with you.
I always “pad” my deadlines. That is, I ask for more time than I think I need. There is no harm in asking, and that way I can arrange the deadlines the way I like them–far enough out that I don’t ever have to turn in a rushed job. I get nervous when I get within a month of a deadline. Really nervous. If I’m not turning things in “early” I start stressing out.
They’re not ever going to ask me to write for them again. I’m close to deadline. I can’t do this. I just can’t. It’s within a month. I know I only have four words more to go but what if they’re the most important four words of the book and I fail and my children starve and the sun goes out and it’s all my FAULT?
You know, the regular kind of worries that go with a creative life. I don’t say they’re rational, I just say they happen.
Part of making this creative life a paying proposition is taking a hard look at what you need to consistently produce. I need that extra little bit of time to fool myself into thinking I’m early, because I do better work when I’m not freaking out. And seriously, when publication schedules are done a year in advance, me asking for a month more than I think I need isn’t a big deal. It’s more like creative insurance. This way I am rarely late.
I also have to have my agent say “no” for me (and TO me) or I’d drown in a pile of deadlines. I want to please, you see. I want to please my editors so badly that sometimes I would agree to things that would work me down to a bare nub of myself, leaving me a burned-out, broken husk.
This is not what I want. The name of my game is consistency, and keeping the engine inside my head well-cared-for so it can continue to turn over and feed my kids. Really, most of my professional writing life turns out to hinge on that one simple priority. As well as getting a few chuckles along the way for my own personal gratification…but that’s another blog post.
This is yet another reason why a good agent is worth so much more than that fifteen percent. The agent’s priority is a business priority. He or she can make those decisions based on solid business sense that a writer may not be able to, because of the emotional connection a writer has to his or her product. Lots of “new” writers make inappropriate business decisions–and pay for them.
I asked my agent once if it mattered that I was asking for more time than I needed to finish a book. “Are you kidding?” she replied. An extra month is no dealbreaker. (An extra year might be. And really, if you’ve gotten to the point where you need that extra year, you’ve most probably got an agent and your agent should be taking care of this for you.)
But Lili, I hear plenty of my Friday readers saying. I’m not even published yet. I don’t have an agent. Why are you bothering talking about this?
Because deadlines are not just for the agented writer. They are also for the writer just starting out who thinks they might want to make a living at this crazy game.
Any time you have a job, you have tasks you need to get done by a certain time. Writing is no different. If you cannot set yourself a deadline and stick to it, you are probably not going to get far in the writing profession.
The editor is not going to come to my house with a brickbat and MAKE me write. The editor might ask for the advance back or just not take my book if I turn out to be an utter flakewad. This is a consequence, and no less dire for it being delayed. The consequence of not learning to set yourself deadlines as a new writer can be never getting published.
Some “writers” are okay with that. I’m not. I mean, hey, if you want to, that’s okay. But it doesn’t work for me. My kids have this need to eat, you see…and so do I. I’ve been trying to break myself of the habit, but no luck so far. I just like food too much. And I get all cranky when I’m hungry. (The first three letters of “diet” are a WARNING. I’m just sayin’.)
In fact, I’d go so far as to say that any creative career requires even more stringent self-motivation and the ability to set oneself harsher deadlines than most other careers. Consistently producing high-quality work (i.e., work people will pay for) in an industry that has such delayed gratification (and paychecks), when the only person it comes down to is you…well, it’s not for the faint of heart. In a writing career, there is no room for the person who wants to depend on Someone Else to provide the pin to stick yourself in the bum with–in other words, to provide motivation to get moving and DO. In the end, every deadline comes down to you, you, and you alone. It’s a hard place to be, rattling that shark cage and watching that monster as it edges closer.
But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
And now for the contest! The bad news is: I don’t have books to give away right now. The good news? Comment on this entry by midnight PST on Saturday, January 24. A random winner from those comments will get to choose two items from Japhrimel’s Corner. I’ll send you those items for FREE. And really, a coffee mug saying “Oh yes, I CAN kill you twice?” Everyone needs one. So comment away!
Related posts:
Great post, Lili.
Deadlines actually keep me honest, you know? No more “Yeah, I have this idea…” and then just wait for inspiration. (Okay, barring when my Muse gets all evil and inspires me to write a book or two while I’m trying to finish a contracted project. Cough.) Having a deadline is terrific motivation to actually write, let alone to finish.
What a great idea!
Great post
And should prove to have some interesting prizes picked.
Great post! And I’m glad I wasn’t drinking anything when I read your thought process on being close to deadline or I’d have ruined my laptop. I never thought about the sun maybe going out when I’m running out of time on a deadline. Thanks for giving me one more thing to worry about (as my Feb 1 deadline rushes at me with its jaws wide open)! LOL
I like the idea of padding your deadlines. Good call!
Great post
I like deadlines too. I find they can give me needed structure once in a while. My life doesn’t have a lot of that at the moment. I stay at home with my daughter and we home school/unschool and have no set schedule so deadlines can be helpful for me.
This post was too funny. Like I said yesterday I actually enjoy deadlines too. Thanks for the giveaway!
I get to telework once a week and I found that it was MUCH harder because no one is putting deadlines or expectations on me. Just that I’ve worked my hours and produced stuff. So I had to learn how to work on my own and set up what had to be done when and how to balance that with lunch and such, and how to have the willpower to keep the TV off. It’s amazing what distractions do in the dash for a deadline…
~Jana
Great post!
As an aspiring writer, I am beginning to finally feel the crunch of a personal deadline upon me, but I’m working fast to edit and so far and proud of myself. Here’s to hoping…
I wrote the requisite 50,000 words during NaNoWriMo and loved having the deadline every day; having to write 1600+ words daily. But since that deadline is over, I haven’t picked it back up and I know it is simply because I haven’t employed an internal deadline. Thanks for this post, Lili, it helps!
yeah i have to agree with you on the deadline thing. If i don’t have one, I can tend to leave things for way too long, just cuz i don’t feel like doing it. at least when i know something is due, i get off my bum and do it.
The perfect coffee mug to liven up every office interaction. WANT!
I swear, before grad school, I actually did well at not lollygagging around until deadlines loomed. Something happened to my brain in grad school…
Thanks Lili for your input regarding deadlines. As much as I hate deadlines, I need deadlines to prod me to do my work. I guess since I dont have someone to “motivate” (and I use the term loosely) me to work, deadlines just have to do.
When I was a stay-at-home Mom, I had to set my own deadlines and schedules, or nothing got done. So MANY of my deadlines are self-imposed.
@Kathryn, I miss NaNoWriMo’s structure, too. I will get ’08′s novel finished. Right after I meet two other deadlines – the second round of edits on my book (first sale) and polishing up the second book in the trilogy so I can submit it to my editor.
Lili – I like deadlines but if I pad them too much, that little rascal named “Procrastination” starts juggling balls in the back of my mind. I honestly work better if I’m bumping up against a hard and fast date rather than a “take your time, I’d like it back in thirty days or so.” Or so? my Muse shouts with glee. Off she goes to play in inappropriate sandboxes until I wake up and realize that twenty-five days have flown by and I’ve barely looked at what I was supposed to be doing. As New Year’s resolutions, I set some internal deadlines and posted them on the writer’s board next to my computer, as well as making note of the dates on all my calendars. I hope it helps.
BTW, I covet that coffee mug! Yes, I do!
Great post. Since I think most people dont really like deadlines, its interesting to see what someone who does has to say. And I cant wait to see what the winner picks.
[...] times, Avid Fans! First, if you haven’t checked out today’s Deadline Dames post, by the fantabulous Lilith Saintcrow, please do so. Find out why deadlines shouldn’t [...]
I love your writing posts.
They are so informative and actually bring some realness to the writing biz.
Even if I don’t win, I might just have to buy that mug. Cause it’s just made of Win!
Great Post!
I do my best work when I have a deadline. Often the little inspiration bulb above my head remains dark until the clock starts ticking, and then the light comes on… @Silver James – I think my muse sometimes joins yours in said sandbox… and I want the coffee mug!
This is something different for a change. Nice thinking!
I also like deadlines cuz they keep me from procastinating too much
Any time you have a job, you have tasks you need to get done by a certain time. Writing is no different.
This is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks!
I give so much props to you authors!
You’re the true celebrities in my book!
Great post! And padding deadlies, what a good idea
My internal deadlines are always so much harsher than the ones imposed on me. If not, that little demon named Procrastination leads me into temptation. Like now. Instead of re-scripting a firewall, writing out new procedures at work, or drawing out that revamped troubleshooting matrix, here I am posting on a blog *wink*
Padded deadlines, what a great idea!! Unfortunately, I can’t pad my own deadlines cuz I go right up to the real one.
Great post! It’s what I needed to hear.
i think those padded deadlines would be a great idea in any area of life. thanks for the great idea. in fact, i need to get back to my laundry deadline (next time i’ll pad that deadline for sure).
Without Deadlines I don’t really try as hard as I can. I just kind of coast and then end up being late.
Toni
You are still one of my favorite authors.
Deadlines do have a way of lighting a fire under my butt. But I still don’t like them. Lol.
I totally loved the Dante Valentine’s series, I was bummed that it ended, but like all great things they sometimes must come to an end. But I totally loved the stories that were in Dante’s world from The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance. The new Jill Kismet series is totally kick ass too. And yeah, deadlines can so be pain in the ass, along with many, many other things in this world. Even though they “can” be helpful at times so you’re not dwadling, they still can suck!
hey i like items too, to win
oplease enter me, and i do like this new blog
I need deadlines. If I don’t have them or feel any pressure to get something done…guess what? It doesn’t get done
i adore your books lil
I’ve got a sticky note stuck on my desk that says: The difference between a dream and a goal is a deadline. I have no idea where I first saw the quote, but it definitely keeps me motivated. I finally realized that if I was ever going to achieve my goals, I needed to get serious about them – and for me, that meant sticking to some sort of consistent schedule. Most of my deadlines are still self-imposed, but they’re no less serious to me.
Thanks for a great post!
I have to have firm deadlines along the way to keep me on track. Without the midway points telling where I should be and what I should have accomplished, I would never be able to complete anything.
I really miss Japhrimel…maybe you could take pity and include him in the books more about Eddie & Gabe’s daughter. I would love to win something of Japhrimel.
LOL, I could use another coffee mug.
Deidre
deidre_durance at hotmail dot com
Excuse me while a become a raving Fangirl….yeah it’s Lilith talking about deadlines, woohoo!
Love your writing and sure enjoy your posts.
cheers!
Excellent post.
I need the deadlines on rpg freelance writing that I do. It gives me a structure to work with, so that I don’t start panicking or getting behind. If I can look at it and say “so much must be done by this date”, then I know where I am. It may not always be a good place to be, but I know where I am.
Love your Dante Valentine…can’t wait for Strange Angels!!!!
What a great first week it has been here at Deadline Dames. Good series of posts.
I know I need to make myself deadlines since I stay at home but I just can’t being myself to do it. Usually whenever I plan to have something done or do something by a certain date something always happens to throw me off.
What a great post! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on deadlines as well!
I enjoyed your blog post!!
Having a little extra wiggle room when it comes to your deadlines is a pretty good idea.
I’m glad it works out for you!
thanks for the thoughts! greatly enjoy your posts–read you faithfully–blogs and books!
Excellent post. And excellent week, too!
I am not a published writer,but my own personal writing it helps me a lot if i set my own guidelines.
I’m just now starting to write to strict self-imposed deadline (duh) and it did help me get over my traditional Chapter 7 hump. Cuz you’re right; nobody cares as much if I get done as me. I’ve seen word count widgets, and I love the idea of posting it someplace public. Who can’t use just that little extra frisson of guilt and potential humiliation?
“Oh yes, I CAN kill you twice?”
I love that line. I wish I had written it. Darn it. LOL
I am not a writer but I do work best when I have an actual deadline to meet.
Great post! Congrats on the new blog.
I’ve gone through that panic time just before a deadline, but I don’t think it’s ever been that extreme. Heh.
I can honestly say though, I have never found a deadline comforting.
Impending doom and deadline are pretty much synonymous in my life.
Never really have had to deal with deadlines…. but the idea of having to create on one would freak me out. LOL
Creativity cannot be controled by a clock.
I like the asking for more time than needed route. It gives time to bask in the sense of accomplishment produced by making (or even beating) a deadline.
Great message! Thanks for always giving us newbies the straight talk.
I loathe deadlines, but padding them seems like a great idea. I always add a little extra time when I set my alarm, why not do that to other deadlines?
Thanks for the great post! I actually work better when I have deadlines.
I love all the talk of deadlines coming with a deadline for everyone (for the contest)
-Lucile
I’m actually similarly in love with my deadlines. It’s love and hate and it’s without a doubt an abusive relationship, but I need a deadline to work even if it’s self inflicted. (I work better if it isn’t self inflicted, however.)
I’m the opposite, in that I tend to shorted my time frames. If I have something due in a month, I work like I have three weeks. Part of that is due to my editing process, which always needs more time, but also because I work BETTER in a panic. It forces the fingers to go.
I’ve done that, padded deadlines, for all the good it ever does me since I procastinate until the last moment anyway often, lol – but, I seem to thrive and do well with last minute.
Lots of “new” writers make inappropriate business decisions–and pay for them.
Tell me about it. Been there, done that. I need to succeed at that self-imposed deadline thing and get a new novel written so I can get myself an agent. As God is my witness, I will never go agentless again.
I realized late last year that part of why I was struggling with my self-imposed deadlines on projects that don’t have an immediate pay out is that I kept pushing them back for the projects that had deadlines from other people. Because I need those guaranteed projects to support my other writing… well, it’s a vicious cycle. But a group of local writers who I really like are starting to gather bi-monthly, and I’m hoping having a community will kick my brain back in the gear where I’m doing the stuff I love–not just the stuff I’m getting paid for directly. We’ll see!
Great post, very informative
Great post. Since I had my 2 kids, I pad my deadlines and need to be somewhere also, I wouldn’t get anything done, or arrive on time otherwise.
LOL…I have to agree with you Lili deadlines are scary but needed. for myself i keep all my clocks, watches and anything that remotely resembles time keeping 10 to 15 minutes fast so that not only will i make it on time if something delays me by a few minutes but sometimes I’m actually early…*yay* progress in anything is easier with a goal insight ;p
Argh!! No books!! And here I thought I could get an early fix!!
Deadlines…I’d be hopeless without them: I can’t start getting serious about exams until they’re literally breathing down my neck. So yeah, I hate deadlines, but can’t live without them.
Excellent post
Having you guys on my blogroll is really helping my motivation. I get stuck in the “oh my god I suck why do I think I can write” rut. But these posts really yank me out of it. Thank you 
I have a love-hate relationship with deadlines. On one hand, they’re great to get me working. A specific date looming over me like Damocles’ sword really makes me put in that extra hour of work.
On the other hand, when I feel I can’t write a single line worth reading (or in my actual job, can’t get the research done right), a looming deadline makes me wobbly and cranky and scared and completely ruins my chances of ever getting anything done.
Very insightful post (yet again)!
Also, I so do need that mug. I have to have it at work.
I always pad my deadlines too. That’s pretty comforting to me. And besides, you get to look really great when you get something done before your deadline.
exellent post,always intresting to see the inner workings of a great author!!deadlines keep us sane and stable…just think about it..the world world be nuts without deadlines to keep us in line,it doent feel like it at the time
toodles
becca
I agree, Lili. Said as much in my comment yesterday, actually.
And I respectfully disagree with CGinCA. Creativity CAN be controlled by a clock, or really, nobody would ever finish a book. Also, the more you do it, the more able you are to do it. If you sit down and wait for your muse to show up, of course a clock won’t help you. If you sit down and work, your muse will start showing up regularly because she doesn’t want to be left behind. It’s this thing called discipline, really. The more you open yourself up to living creatively (say, by writing every day, or something schedule and order-oriented like that), the easier it gets to always have the creative switch ON, and then the clock really doesn’t matter.
So good to read your thoughts on deadlines. I’ve been feeling the same way about my debut and its sequel. I’ve been writing for deadlines in college, but of course this has much more potential to make me angst. I find it also helps to pad deadlines so I feel better about myself for finishing “sooner than planned” and also get more work done.
I actually like deadlines as well. Especially when I can meet them. I try to set myself weekly goals/deadlines and then work towards them.
Thanks for the interesting post.
-Julie
“I’d go so far as to say that any creative career requires even more stringent self-motivation and the ability to set oneself harsher deadlines than most other careers.”
Very good point–I totally agree! Thank you for the great blog!
Yay, enter me to win something from Japh’s Corner!
Thank you very much!
I like the finishing things early deadlines too. It makes me feel better and life overall is better when you can breathe in between your due dates.
Love the blog post! I’m actually working on setting realistic personal deadlines so I can complete my first novel in the next few months. I recently had to take a couple of weeks off from working on it while I was on mind-fog inducing sinus medication, so now I have to get back into the habit all over again.
Your post was inspiration enough for me to sit down and set goals for when I want to have my first draft completed, so thanks!
I think that anyone who likes deadlines and doesn’t stress out about them, even a little bit, is insane.
Great post. I like the idea of padding your deadlines.
Wonderful post! I think I’ll have to start padding my deadlines, too. Very clever!
Not currently working with any deadlines now, but the information is good to know. *grin* Will file away for future reference.
Yaay! I met my deadline today! A habit I intend to keep. Schoolbooks bought, wallet incinerated, and I live another day. Now to just keep up with my editing schedule AND clean the house…hmmm~
Wish me luck!
Btw, thanks for the links pages, I wasn’t sure where to start on finding an agent or what they expect to see from possible clients! Now I have my goals as much more real than clouds in my head! *they can be clouds on my calander now…*
i agree. i am not a writer or anything. i am actually a high school student. but i like having a definite deadline. that way i won’t freak out cause some of my teachers just randomly pick a day to present something and everybody is basically saying what the fuck?? worse for me since i can’t public speak to save my life.
Definitely enter me in for this one as I’m always looking Japh’s Corner and coveting! I’m still contemplating putting my ideas down in more than outline form and seeing what happens, however, I’m a rabid reader and would rather have bookshelves and books than pretty much anything else. Books are old and new friends, comfort and entertainment, knowledge and guilty pleasure. I’m amazed with all of the interesting ways that people come up with to express themselves and how it translates to something I can have of my very own and escape into the world created by reading. My pretties!! I’m enjoying reading more via LJ and DD about all of you Ladies and how it comes together. Thanks for sharing, Lili!!
I think that deadlines are good. Writing is all about deadlines, and I’ve been my most productive when under deadlines. I really enjoyed your post today. =)
My hat’s off to you. I know what a procrastinator I am and having it rest solely on me with all the self distractions I can come up with I don’t know if I would meet the deadlines. So i commend you.
Thanks for pointing me to this blog. I’ve really been enjoying it!
I shudder when thinking about acquiring a deadline once I publish. I really like the idea of the padded deadline, I can easily see myself doing this. My problem, ironically, is producing too much material. I like to write long, long and long. It may take more time and use of more precious deadline wiggle room to fight the muse and keep the story going and flowing at a more appropriate length without killing the creativity. I love Dante and Japh and your newest series. Keep it coming with your deadline gymnastics, Lili.
Well, this just goes to show I can’t meet a deadline.
Especially when I’ve been putting off catching up with my blog reading to get some actual writing done.