The Danger of Getting Ahead of Ourselves
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Sometimes (rarely), a book flies along as I write it. The words come automatically into my head and I type quickly to get them down. The book I’m writing now is like that. I’m probably at least a couple of weeks ahead of schedule on it.
As soon as I realized that if I continued at the pace I’m working that I could finish the book at least a month early, I started getting in my own way. I thought, “Then I can start working on the book that I said would come out in fall—maybe get it out in summer, instead. Then I can work on the next book that I was hoping to get out by January and move it up to October. Maybe then I can…”
But I managed with some difficulty to stop myself. There are lots of variables that can get in the way. There’s no point getting ahead of myself—I just need to keep writing as much as I can every day and adjust my production schedule accordingly.
Issues hubris might cause:
Setting ourselves up for a fall.
Not being realistic in measuring either our ability to deliver or the income our project may generate.
Getting overwhelmed and then immobilized by the big picture.
Setting expectations so high that we’re too eager to put the book out on the market…and we take shortcuts with our editing (or even cover design and formatting).
For me, it’s most helpful to look at what I’m doing each day. Work on that day’s goals instead of jumping ahead. There’s definitely a time for me to set long-range goals and plan: that’s on my production calendar. That’s when I’m in a logical mood, carefully calculating how long it will take me to write books, have the books covered, etc.
If I work faster than I’d planned…great. Then I can move my production schedule up. But it shouldn’t mean that I’m counting my chickens before they hatch. If I set my expectations and goals low, I’ll keep meeting them. Slow and steady wins the race.
Do you ever get ahead of yourself? How do you rein in your expectations?
Image: MorgueFile: Alice10
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