Excuses, excuses

Years ago, I tried out a different editor at the behest of one of my writing buddies. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, but I have to say I prefer the professionalism of the editor I've been working with for almost all my books (Thank you, Kelly!).

Why am I telling you this today? One of the things the other editor did/didn't do: She didn't give me a written contract and she built in a sliding schedule in case "life got in the way." I understand that. We all understand that. Sometimes events happen that move your schedule. In fact, that's the very reason I'm blogging about this today. I've had a month worth of "life events" that have interrupted my regular writing schedule, but more on that in a minute. So this other editor. She offered more passes on the book than my regular editor, which seemed like added value to me. Her price was slightly higher, but again, she offered other extra value to the process - or so it seemed. She offered marketing suggestions, too. When it came down to it, she did a good job, but it wasn't "I will get this to you by Friday." There was no definite "finish" date. And the extra passes? I didn't get the last promised review, and when I asked her about it, she tried to tell me my initial questions counted as a pass. To me, that isn't a pass, that's "I don't understand your comments." Again, I was pleased with the work she did, but I didn't feel the same level of professionalism, the set schedule, the promised extras that accounted for a higher fee. The book did reasonably well, and at her prompting, I did market it a little differently than other books. I would still recommend her, but she wasn't a good fit for me.

So when life gets in the way... From the end of September and through a good part of October, DH and I have been dealing with major life events and the aftermath. There are times it doesn't make sense to try to work through it. Too many distractions. When I worked the day job, we were given time off to deal with these sorts of things, but comparing to the day job, we had a limit to how much time we could take off, and then we had to show up for the job again. I'm well past that allotment.

I need to show up for the writing job again. I've been away from it, dealing with these life events. For a month. Yes, I've dipped back into the book in progress when I've had time, but the longer you get away from a regular routine, the harder it is to get back into it - and this week isn't going to be any better. The difference? I'm making more of an effort this week. I have a book that's more than halfway finished, and I want to get to the end. The only way to do that is to show up to the job and do it. Commit to it and be professional. The fact that it's a job I love should make it easier. 

Wish me luck.