Comments on: Blowing a Deadline or Saving the Day?

By: Genesis Davies

Genesis Davies — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:46:49 +0000

I think the best thing you can do is make sure you give the client as much of a heads up as possible. Don`t tell them the day after the deadline that you didn`t make it, they`ll already be angry! On the few occasions when I had to ask for more time, I did so before the articles were due and since I`m usually ahead of time with my jobs, it wasn`t a big deal, I got an extra day or two without complaint.

However, I have to agree with Aurora that it`s best to just avoid these situations!

By: AuroraGG

AuroraGG — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:46:01 +0000

Great advice for when you are in the situation but better advice is to make sure you never ever find yourself in this position.

I would notify the client as soon as possible and have a plan in place before making the contact. Have an alternate deadline or working plan ready to offer and present it in a professional manner. Don’t leave it open-ended (e.g. “can I have an extension?”) and leave your client on the spot to ‘figure’ it out for you.

By: Barb

Barb — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:43:26 +0000

I just had this happen to me. The dealine was 5 pm Friday, once I realized there was no way to complete the work in time (about noon on Friday) I swallowed my pride and sent the e-mail. I offered to send what I had by the deadline or deliver the complete article Monday morning. Since there wasn’t going to be anything done with the article over the weekend anyway, I got the extension. Then I made sure to send it Sunday evening so it would be in the client’s inbox first thing Monday.

By: Hazel

Hazel — Sun, 17 May 2009 13:53:00 +0000

I headed a situation like this off recently by asking my client how firm the deadline was. I made it clear that I was prepared to turn the copy in on time (though I’m not sure how I would have done it …). I knew she had built a week into the schedule for editing and production, but I didn’t know what else was on her plate – so I took a chance and asked. She gladly gave me two extra days.

It’s trickier with print magazine clients unless you have a clear idea of what their copy flow is, but I’ve on occasion had similar experiences with them.

By: Ann

Ann — Fri, 15 May 2009 01:27:31 +0000

When I’ve put off an assignment that really doesn’t interest me and requires more research than I expected, I grab a nice snack, chase my husband out of the house, plop down at the keyboard, and don’t get up until I’ve written at least 200 words. Seems it’s just forcing myself to get started that provides the impetus and inspiration.

Once, a magazine assignment due date crept up on me, and I hadn’t started. It was one of those “here’s the theme; create the 1600-word article” doozies. I notified the editor, begged for mercy, and told her I’d make it a priority, but it’d probably be a few days late. Since I’d always met deadlines before, she was gracious, and I worked extra-hard to craft a super submission. My editor was fully satisfied, and I’m still receiving assignments!