Karen Foley
Lynn Raye Harris
Ellen Hartman
Diana Holquist
Samantha Hunter
Shirley Jump
Dee Tenorio
Jeannie Watt
Deadline Terror
I just sold another book. Let the deadline terror begin.
I have a love-hate relationship with deadlines. I fear them. I need them. I write best when I have them. My last two books had deadlines that honestly struck fear into my heart. A Cowboy’s Redemption was written in about six weeks, due to life interruptions. I had no choice but to simply sit down and write whenever I had a few minutes, hoping for the best. It worked. My editor told me the book had one of her favorite endings in a long time and my editor reads a lot of endings, lol. Then I sold Cowboy Comes Back, which had a very tight deadline in order to get it into the Superromance Cowboy Country month—July 2009. I was one of the original Cowboy Country authors, and my editor wanted me back in the line up. I wrote an 8 page synopsis, sold and started writing. It took roughly ten weeks to write that book. My Google gadget counted down the days until deadline and it got to the point that I hated logging in because the gadget was taunting me. Six days left. Can you do it? Yes. Barely. And again, it worked. I dare say it is one of my favorite books so far.
And after writing these books I realized that when I have lots of time, I tend to fritter away lots of time (spider solitaire, email, chit chatting on line). The actual time it took to write my last two books was probably the same as that for my earlier books, which had more generous time frames. The nice thing about a distant deadline is that when you’re not playing computer games and you hit a wall, you have time to backtrack, try another path, play another game, without reaching for the Maalox. With a short deadline you have to get tough with yourself, demand a few answers to the problem, then put them down on paper. If you’re very good and make your pages for the day, you may get to play one game. Only one.
So that is why I purposely gave myself a moderately short deadline on my new book, tentatively called The Forever Kind. It’s the story of a woman who was abandoned as a child in a store and raised in foster care. She handles her abandonment issues by never settling down, leaving before she gets left. She’s upfront about it. The hero is Mr. Stability. An ex-boyfriend who isn’t about to get burned again by Ms. Hit and Run. Unfortunately, they have me to contend with (insert evil laugh) and because of that, they will be dealing with each other.
I sold on Friday, did a lot of research over the weekend. I’m scared, exhilarated, and ready to write. So back to it. After all...I have a deadline..
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New Book
Congrats! Those love/hate relationships lead to flames. LOL.
Congratulations, Jeannie!
I'm so happy to hear about your sale! Like you, I work best under tight deadlines. The more time I have...well, the more time I have to do other things.
Best of luck in your writing!
Congrats on the sale!
You can do it. I agree--the fast books are sometimes the best. You get into the characters' heads, you can't second guess.
Can't wait to read it.
another Jeannie Watt book!!
WooHoo!!! Congrats on the sale. So very, very exciting.
I have to say - I am a proud owner of ALL Jeannie's books (recently purchased A Difficult Woman from Amazon to complete my collection).
I love your cowboy stories so can't wait for your July book.
Your work in progress sounds very intriguing. You can definitely put your characters thru the ringer (those poor guilt-ridden souls)
Congratulations again Jeannie!
Hey Marcie--Thanks for
Hey Marcie--Thanks for buying A Difficult Woman! My first born. I hope you like it.
Jeannie
Congrats!
Always good to know there are more Jeannie Watt books coming down the pipeline! :)
I like deadlines, it's what we're used to here, dh and I have always lived on deadlines and due dates in our work, but I like them long. I tend to set mine at least 3-4 months apart.
I'll be the odd writer out, and admit I enjoy the ability to write a little each day, mull, edit, and also do other things like sew, garden, take a day off, etc. I'm also usually working on more than one book at a time, so for instance at the moment, I'm working on one ms for a July deadline, but two other completely different proposals. I did about an hour of writing this morning, and will do another few hours throughout the day (also easier on the back and the hands). A long deadline allows me to work on several things, but not burn myself out.
As you know, I had a particularly short deadline on some work last week, and while I did it (and apparently successfully, my editor liked it) it's not my optimal way to work. Though it was good for the book, it wasn't good for me. I didn't enjoy it, had no time to do anything else, and was a complete crab to everyone around me. While that is a reality of the writing life, and on some level it's nice to know I *can* do it, I wouldn't want to do that very often.
For me, one of the perks of the writing life is enjoying life, LOL, which I can't do on a tight deadline.
Sam
Thanks for the
Thanks for the congratulations, everyone!
Sam--I agree. Everyone has to work at the right pace for them. I am a turbo screwer-arounder. Translation: I can always find a way to do something other than what I'm supposed to be doing. The blessing of being ADD. I'm telling myself that I will give myself more time on the next book, but who knows? This seems to work for me.
I have enjoyed three months of down time, during which I worked on my mosaics, took a couple swipes at the basement, outlined and brainstormed several books. Now I'm excited to get down to actual writing.
I know exactly what you mean
I know exactly what you mean about being excited to get down to the work. I just don't want to do it really fast. LOL
I am perverse enough that the months of downtime, when they happen in between contracts, for me, is torture, but as long as I'm on some kind of schedule, even a long one, I'm good. I generally need to have work hanging somewhere in the day, so that I don't feel completely shapeless, if that makes any sense. I know writers can work anyway, set deadlines for ourselves, new projects, etc but it's not the same as a contracted one... Real deadlines give us purpose, I imagine.
Sam
ADD...
Jeannie, Congrats! I need deadlines. But sometimes I get myself in trouble! I'm chronically late-not a good thing-I just try to do too much in not nearly enough time.
I set timers when I need to focus. Do laundry, set timer-read, more laundry, dishes, whatever, set time-read/relax, ect. Otherwise I drift and am not very productive to other peoples stanards. Although I am scattered, I like to work that way. I get done what I want and 'putter' around. Dh can't stand that, he is do it and get 'er done on a daily basis. Ack! If you think I'm gonna vacuum and sweep/mop floors daily-you are nutso.
FlyLady helped me for awhile. I get 'messed up' when I my schedule changes(like each week with work and my on-call nights), kids' schedule changes, and the like. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it ;P.
I've always wanted to write a book. I'd have to have a deadline to do it.
Congrats on the sale
I love the premise, Jeannie! Lots of potential for fireworks. Can't wait to read it.
LindaC
I agree, deadlines can be
I agree, deadlines can be good for a writer. Granted, i'm not pubbed so mine are self imposed deadlines.
I enter the golden heart one year, without having written the first word. (I do not reccoment doing so!!) after i mailed out my fees i started writing like a mad woman, and was incredibly pleased that i completed the book just in time to send to RWA> granted i didn't place and the book wasn't great, but it's nice to know that i can produce pages when necessary. Now to get those pages better, and to make my books great! that's the challenge now.
I do have too much time that i spend bloggin, and just plain ol goofing off. But hey everybody does that right!
cool post.
jody
good luck with the book Jeannie, i loved "A Cowboy's Redemption" can't wait to read more!
Jody--Congratulations on
Jody--Congratulations on finishing a book! Placing doesn't mean anything. One of my chapter mates finaled two years ago in the GH, didn't final last year with the same manuscript, then finaled again this year, once again with the same manuscript.
Also, the one time I entered the GH, the book got trashed by more than half the judges--fortunately I had sold that story before I got my scores. I hadn't yet figured out the importance of starting a story with a bang--pretty much a prerequisite to finaling from what I've seen.
Woohoo
Congrats on the book sale, Jeannie. Good luck finishing the book.
Congrats on the sale!
I totally agree that if I have extra time i will waste it :-) It's nice to know that you can write fast under pressure!
Jen
http://www.jenlewis.com
Congrats on the sale! Love
Congrats on the sale! Love the premise---can't wait for the fireworks.
WTG Jeannie
I hear you on deadlines. I've lived with deadlines my entire adult life as a reporter. They don't faze me but they do narrow my focus. Without them I tend to procrastinate, goof around and generally do anything but write. But once I have a deadline, it's always in the back of my mind.
My hat goes off to you, my friend. Six weeks to write a book? You beat me. It takes me about eight weeks to finish a book. Good for you!
Alright, speaking of finishing a book...a deadline looms!
Congratulations on the sale!
I'm like that with deadlines, too. The more time I have, the more time I waste (or 'fritter away' - I like that phrase!). If I know I don't have time to do it, I can buckle down and get it done, and usually do a pretty bang up job. I often wonder why that is!
Good luck with this one! Can't wait to read it.
Oh goodie!
Another book to look forward to. I really enjoyed A Cowboy's Redemption and am looking forward to the July release.