Helen Lacey with a Giveaway!

Updated to announce the winner! Congratulations to Jess over at The Secret DMS Files of Fairday Morrow!! I'm email you with the info!

Today I'd like to welcome Helen Lacey to the blog!

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How To Handle Deadlines : Writing Under Pressure

I have to admit I actually enjoy deadlines. It’s a buzz getting things in on time. If I make a commitment to get something to my editor on a certain date I will always endeavour to meet that obligation. Of course, it’s not always easy or smooth sailing. Things often crop up – family and other work etc. can easily derail plans and corrode much needed concentration. One trick, I’ve discovered, in all aspects of writing, whether it’s at the start of a project or pushing to finish revisions or edits, is to maintain a solid work/life balance.

 

Prior to working as a full time author I had a career as a retail manager for a department store and I lived and breathed deadlines. Although I didn’t realize it at the time this job put me in a good position to handle the deadlines I get now. I’ve known other writers who work a day job and meet commitments and deadlines without a hitch, but when it comes to the writing work, things often fall apart. Many years ago a prominent Mills & Boon author gave me an important piece of advice – protect the work. This is particularly significant when handling deadlines and the pressure that comes with it.

 

If it’s a revision deadline then I will take a day or so to go through the notes from my editor, take into account anything extraneous that’s happening – like a book release, a blog tour, or anything in my personal life (family weddings or holidays as an example) and then create a workable plan of action in a diary/notebook. If I have thirty days until deadline then I take out the number of days I need for the ‘other’ things I need to do and then allocate the revision time accordingly. So my thirty day deadline might in fact look more like twenty days once the time I need for other parts of my work and life are taken into account. Then I will work out a schedule of how many hours a day I need to meet that commitment. When I worked my old day job I would often say to my staff, ‘plan your work, then work your plan’ – and that’s how I approach writing deadlines. This is my way of protecting the work – keeping the balance and ensuring that commitments are met, both personal and professional. And the good thing about having an action plan – it can be changed if things around you change.

To celebrate the release of my second Harlequin Special Edition, Marriage Under The Mistletoe, I have a signed copy to give away to one commenter.

Helen around the web:
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 MARRIAGE UNDER THE MISTLETOE

Strong. Sensible. Dependable. That was Evie Dunn's type. Certainly not young, fearless gorgeous firefighter Scott Jones. She knew the wisest course was to keep her distance, but she couldn't resist the allure of a holiday fling. Now the widowed single mom found herself with an unexpected post-Christmas gift—she was having Scott's baby!

Scott came to Crystal Point to see his sister tie the knot, not fall for the alluring owner of the town's oceanfront B and B. He knew he was all wrong for Evie, but he would do anything to win her heart and build the family he'd always wanted. All he had to do was persuade Evie to take the biggest risk of her life…on love.

Read an Excerpt


Buy Links:

Harlequin             Amazon       Amazon UK        B&N      Book Depository

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Now, THAT's an organized approach! I'll have to keep that in mind for when I actually have deadlines! :) How, about you, do you like writing for a deadline? :)