Tracking Your Progress

Editors are notoriously busy folks, so when I’m lucky enough to score an assignment—whether it’s for a new-to-me market or one I write for regularly—I try to get my questions out of the way early on so I can move forward with any necessary interviews and then the writing. I don’t want to bug the editor with a lot of questions as I work on the piece. If everything goes according to plan, once the piece is accepted or assigned and I’m clear on the direction, the editor won’t hear from me until the story’s finished. Of course, there have been some instances where I was having a lot of trouble contacting a particular source or I needed an extension on a deadline, but as long as I gave them a some notice (as opposed to not turning anything in), it’s never been a problem. Every editor is different, obviously—some may want to be kept informed of how the story is progressing, for better or worse—but in most cases, I’m pretty invisible until the deadline rolls around.

I’m taking a different approach with my business clients already, however.

With an article, the editor typically sets the deadline and it’s up to me to deliver on time. A businessperson, however, isn’t as familiar with editorial timelines—I may have a rough idea of how long a project will take, and it could seem like forever to a businessperson (most of whom need things yesterday if not sooner). So out of courtesy to my client, I’ll provide them with progress reports as I complete various steps of the project. Some request this up front; others may not. But for my last project—which admittedly took much longer than I’d anticipated—I included the client on various emails and would just keep him informed as I moved along. I don’t want anyone to think that work isn’t being done, or that it’ll be rushed at the eleventh hour. He didn’t respond to all of my emails, but I think he appreciated being kept in the loop. Since our client base is still building, it’s more important than ever to make a good impression.

What about you? Do you maintain contact with clients and editors as you work on your various projects, or do you disappear until deadline day?

Christmas Already?

On some level I've known that Christmas was coming up--fast!--for the past few weeks, but I've honestly been inundated with so much stuff, it still seemed like a long way off. Now here I am, finally free of teaching/grad school commitments, and surprisingly on track with my Christmas prep (well, at least with my shopping), and still scrambling somehow. I sent out about 3 cards and didn't even make an attempt to put up my tree, but I justify that with the fact that I'll barely be home to enjoy it this week, so I was OK with cutting out that part of the festivities. I'll see what next year brings and perhaps put one up.

But anyway--on to other things...as in, one of the big reasons why I've been so lax in my yuletide preparations:

The copywriting projects are finding their way to me. Last week I had a meeting with a potential client for some ongoing work. I got started on one project and said I'd put together a proposal for some long-term work in the meantime. Tonight he emailed me and asked if I could do a rush job--some copyediting for his website. It was a fairly quick editing job, so that was finished in no time. I also attached my proposal. Let's see if I was efficient enough to be impressive. I really couldn't turn it around much faster--this weekend passed by in a blur of holiday get-togethers, shopping, and the housework that's been sorely neglected over the past few weeks. But I think the fact that I turned it around at all puts me well ahead of the game compared to some other writers, from what I hear.

What about you? Do you consistently deliver, and has this brought you repeat business?