Different Kinds of Deadlines

 

Writers have (and dread) deadlines. For writers with different kinds of work on their hands, it can mean different kinds of deadlines.

 

Ever since I decided to make freelance writing more of a hobby than something to earn money from (though I am grateful I still earn money from freelance writing), my deadlines have changed. Gone are the pre-set deadlines of article assignments, articles to write for clients and articles to turn in by a pre-set deadline an editor wants me to meet.

 

These days, I have my own deadlines, and they are all different.

 

Freelance writing may be a hobby for me these days, but I certainly don’t treat it like one! I treat it like a job. Old habits, I suppose. Monday through Friday, I am at the desk and working at it, but instead of pitching articles on a variety of topics or, for the niche writers, on a topic I can write well about, I am submitting essays, short stories, poetry and, lately, micros (very short writing ranging from 50-500 words). I do still write articles, but mainly on topics I am already published in and I know I can write well about. And I usually only pitch or submit articles when I come across a call for articles on something I know I can contribute to.  

 

On that note, I’m always looking for opportunities to submit to magazines, websites and anthologies. These usually have deadlines, and if it’s something I feel I can contribute towards, then I work on doing by that deadline. For example, one magazine will stop accepting submissions for a particular issue on July 31^st, so if I want to contribute, I make a note of this deadline in my planner. Writing the deadlines into my planner helps a lot so I can plan ahead and start getting to work on writing/revising/editing and finalizing my submission so it will be ready in time. Plus, it gives me the chance to plan my week and know what work I should focus on.

 

Sometimes, though, one of the many markets newsletters I am subscribed to might show up in my inbox, with a list of markets with deadlines ending soon. For example, on Monday, I received a newsletter containing markets that had July 31^st deadlines. I made a list of the markets I could submit something to and got busy submitting!

 

There are also deadlines I have which are related to my newsletter. The week I publish the newsletter is “newsletter week,” in which I spend all week putting together everything I will be including in the issue that will go out that weekend. I set deadlines on when I need all interviews and photos turned in. I also have a deadline on when I stop gathering content for the newsletter and start putting it all together. Plus, I have the deadline on when the newsletter must be ready to send out.

 

Then there are the books I write. If I’m doing NaNoWriMo, it goes without saying that the novel I’m writing must be complete by November 30^th. If I’m writing a book attached to a certain holiday, I’ll have a deadline on when to finish writing that book. If I have some free time to work on another book outside of the free ebooks project, then I set a deadline on when to finish writing the first draft. For the free ebooks, my deadline to have the manuscript ready to publish is usually the 25^th of the month.

 

Having these deadlines has definitely been more flexible for me. They also keep me busy, because there’s usually always something I am working on in order to meet a deadline.

 

While every writer cannot have deadlines like these in their writing life, I have found these kinds of deadlines to be less of a stress because they are far in advance. I also usually know what to work on next because of them. And I just like having self-imposed deadlines to get my writing submitted or turned in by, because I would really like to be a part of a publication or a type of anthology. By meeting that deadline and having my work considered, at least I am trying to make that happen.