What Deadlines Say About Us

During the summer we were overcharged by several hundred dollars for some work we had done. In pursuing reimbursement, the office manager assured her that she would have the check within a week. We are now on our tenth “within a week.”

So, what do we think of the office manager? She’s unprofessional and she can’t keep commitments. She can’t deliver what she promises when she promises.

When we were revising my novel, Journey to Riverbend, for publication, my editor said the publisher would give us more time if we needed it. We made the deadline. Why? Because it was important to me to prove I could do it, that the publisher could depend on me to deliver the best possible work when they wanted it, not when I got around to it.

When the copy edit was ready, the editor and I had three days to review it and correct it. It was a weekend of phone calls and emails between the editor and I. We sent it in on time on Monday morning.

When I first heard the statistic of how few writers submit their work on time, I was shocked. The number I heard was that over 90% of writers missed deadlines.

If we see ourselves as professional authors, we need to act like it. If we consider ourselves Christian authors, we owe it to our fellow writers and our fellow Christians to remember whom we represent and to act with integrity and excellence that brings glory and honor to Him.

Yes, it means sacrifice. It means being honest. Sometimes a specific deadline is not realistic for us. We need to say so up front. If we lose the contract, believe the Lord has something better for us down the road.

Meeting deadlines proves our professionalism, our integrity, and our willingness to get the work done. Meeting deadlines proves we are dependable and we keep our word, our commitments. It proves we can deliver quality work on time.

And, meeting deadlines makes us standout above all those other writers who don’t.