Deadlines Help Writers

I've always found a deadline helps me get into my chair and get my fingers moving on the keyboard toward the completion of a writing project. In the newspaper business, the deadlines come fast and furious. I would write a story in the morning and it would appear in the afternoon newspaper. Print magazines work on a longer time frame yet also have deadlines to help the writer consistently work on meeting the needs of the publication. Books have a larger number of words and even longer deadlines. It's up to the writer to set the time frame and meet those deadlines.

Writers are notoriously late on meeting their deadlines. As an editor, I've heard almost every excuse from a writer about why they could not meet their book due date. What many authors do not understand is inside the publishing house, the staff is counting on the author to meet that deadline. Dozens of other functions are tied to the arrival of that manuscript.  I used to spend hours in schedule meetings where we talked about our various books and if the authors were on track to meet their deadlines. If an author was going to be late, then we needed to know how late and make adjustments in the other functions (such as the release date for the book, the publicity campaign for the book, the cover design and much more).

I have a number of writing deadlines. Each month for several writer related publications, I send articles. If I don't send my material then the publication does not have what they need.  It's something I plan into my schedule and meet the deadline. Yes I have the rare time when the editor prods me for my material but normally I send it like clockwork.

Do you have deadlines for your writing? If not, can you set one that will help you move forward with your writing project. Many writers set a goal of a daily word count to move forward on a project and complete it on time. Bestselling novelist James Scott Bell talks about the best writing advice that he's ever received—and it's to set a writing word count.

Watch this short video (less than a minute and a half) at:

If you don't use deadlines, then I encourage you to create one for your own writing. If you don't have enough deadlines, then I suggest you approach a magazine about a regular column or article from you. Maybe you write for a publication on an occasional basis and they would be interested in a regular column from you. Or possibly it is a new publication which is just getting started and they need a columnist or a regular contributor. You can use a Writer's Market Guide or the Christian Writer's Market Guide to learn about new publications.

We are surrounded with many opportunities for our writing.  The key is to take action and approach editors with your material or ask if the editor needs your regular contribution.  If you don't ask, you may never have the opportunity. But if you ask and the editor assigns you to write something on a regular basis, then you have a broader opportunity for your writing to get in front of new people.

Tips For Anyone Who Writes A Regular Column

On the surface many writers may look at The Art of Column Writing:Insider Secrets from Art Buchwald, Dave Barry, Arianna Huffington, Pete Hamill and Other Great Columnists and wonder why they should read it. Immediately they will eliminate themselves because they don't write a newspaper or magazine column. Yet I believe the information in this book is much more applicable to a broader audience. If you blog on a regular basis, then in the broadest possible sense, you are a regular columnist and can profit from the skills and tips in this book. Newspaper columnists have an admitted challenge to draw their readers into their work and compel them to read their writing. If you write a column for a newspaper or a magazine on a regular basis, get this book. It’s excellent and packed with wisdom from many different well-known writers.

These columnists have drawn a consistent readership and any writer can profit from the study of this book. Why? Whether you have a growing readership in your blog or a column for a magazine or a regular spot in a local newspaper, you have to draw on the tips and techniques in this title. I liked what author Suzette Martinez Standring wrote in the Introduction: the Quest for a Column saying, “It is better to ask, ‘How can I make my work worth of being published?’ Let’s take a moment to deconstruct a newspaper column. It compels or captivates with a tale, a message, or a persuasive argument. Jam-pack those thoughts into, say, 600 select words. Create an engaging start, an informative middle, and ideally, a surprise ending, all written in a voice so signature any reader could identify the columnist even without a byline. ‘What we do is more like a short story,’ said legendary metro columnist Pete Hamill during a 2005 NSNC (National Society of Newspaper Columnists) meeting in Texas. Time, talent, and practice are required to do condensed writing well.” (page 11)

EVERY WRITER can profit from reading The Art of Column Writing because the universal nature of the skill of column writing.