You Got A Deadline?  “Nothing gets done without a deadline.”

 

Hey everybody!

You may have heard this quote about deadlines before.  I heard it from my friend Andrew Seltz.  Do you know what it’s like to be behind deadline?  It doesn’t feel good!  But isn’t it funny that when you give your deadlines over to God, while doing your best, somehow things work out?  God has a better deadline for things than we do.  I try and remember that. :-)  

Anyway, you already know (from my previous post, One of THOSE Projects) I’m working on this Big Project - my second book - a novel.  It’s about a boy in high school who’s going through some serious issues; but through a series of amazing events, he ends up going from a bad neighborhood to the world stage!  I’m pressing for it to be released in time for the February NY ComicCon Convention. 

Even so, I have to try to be realistic about things.  I was thinking about my ‘Plan B’ option if I can’t get the book done by then.  There are always other conventions, right?  Like the San Diego ComicCon in July.

I shared my worries with Andrew and he immediately stopped me in mid sentence: “let me reframe this for you.  Your ‘Plan B’ is to refer to ‘Plan A’!”  Then he said, “You need to have the book done no matter what.  ‘Plan A’ is a fully produced book, ready to be sold.  ‘Plan B’ is, at the very least, to have a finished, bound copy of the manuscript that people can actually see and hold.  Even if all the corrections haven’t been made.  This way, people can at least see that you are serious about getting the book done.  Then they can sign up on your orders list for the finalized book.”

His ’strong arm tactic’ totally revolutionized my perspective.  “Press for the finished copy, but get something of substance done no matter what!”   

My option was to forgo the convention if I didn’t have everything together.  Andrew’s option was even if I didn’t have everything together - don’t miss the opportunity of leveraging the experience of the Febrauary convention towards the one in July.

He even offered to help me if I run out of time for February.  “You can have a few copies of the finished manuscript made, and then I’ll bind them for you so they can look presentable.”  You see, in addition to all of his marketing expertise, Andrew also has some quirky hobbies; bookbinding is one of them.  Check out his site: www.DIYbookbinding.com.

Man, it pays to have people around who are supportive, even if they have to tell you a hard truth every now and then. :-)  So, what’s going on with YOUR project?  Did you start it yet?

More info to come!

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Filed under: Announcements • Book Publishing • Risks and Opportunities • Writer Resources

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