I have one week left to deadline. By that time, I will have finished with my to-do list (see "three things" in the sidebar for daily updates, if you're so inclined). But what I'd really like is another week to let the whole thing sit, then go over it again one more time. So I'm asking all you academic book authors out there: Did you meet your deadline? Did you ask for an extension?
Just how "dead" is that line?
5 comments:
I didn't, and I wish I had - my book has some embarassing typos in it, that I would have caught if I'd let it sit for a week or so before doing a final read-through. I say contact your editor and say you need another week, and see what the response is.
Barb
I did not meet my deadlines either--but not late by a huge amount--maybe a month or so in both cases. But I would ask the fab. ed. before hand. They have it scheduled for one of their seasonal lists and so there is some date by which point you will screw up their marketing plans. But a week or so is unlikely to be too problematic
I agree that a week is not a killer. Ask fab ed. How was the deadline chosen? In my case, all my deadlines were self-imposed.
Also, if you are going to have a copyedited ms. to go over, before it goes to press (i.e. you are not presenting camera ready copy) then you have another chance then to catch things.
First time I met it; second time I asked for a week; third time I asked for a month. They were cool with it (though it did push the publication deadline back on the last one). So not very "dead," I don't think.
I think I was a little less than 2 years late with my book ms. Granted, there were other things going on in my life in those particular 2 years...but still: I was 2 years late. I think I informed my editor my book would be late, but I don't think at the time that either of us knew exactly HOW late it was going to be.
I would never urge someone to delay submitting a final ms. for 2 years, but in the end, it worked out for me: I got some terrific comments from the series editor on a penultimate draft, which really helped the final draft, and in a weird way it was easier to edit and revise a ms. that I had neglected for 2 years because it felt like someone else had written it. I could be much more clinical and ruthless than I would otherwise have been, and I think that was a good thing.
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