By HD Silversmith
This past Tuesday I got some good news and some bad news.
Remember that project I referred to in my January progress report on my 2010 New Year's resolutions as Write draft of Heavenly Creatures chapter by June 1. Ongoing?
The good news is that the book for which it's slated has been accepted by a reputable press in the UK. Moreover, it shares a branch with a very fine university press here in the U.S., so the book will have an international profile. This matters in academia.
The bad news is that the editor wants chapter drafts done by the end of February. Not June. And I'm no where near done.
I'd put this project on the back burner because the prospects of publication seemed -- not slim, but not immediate. To be fair to the editor, he did indeed set the end of February as the original deadline. The contract hadn't been nailed down, though, and I've seen many a hopeful editor get shot down in flames, particularly in today's academic publishing market.
Suffice to say that I'd better get hopping. Since the volume doesn't go to the press until May, there's probably a tiny bit of wiggle room for me, but no doubt they'll want revisions between the end of February and May, and I have to allow them enough time for them and me to turn those around.
Naturally I get this news as my schedule for the spring becomes more hectic.
So I must remember one of my other resolutions as well, the one about prioritizing: Practice saying no (to myself, to colleagues, and to students) instead of yes as my default response.
I'm going to go stare at my calendar now and assess what can be done.
