50 I WRITER’S DIGEST I October 2019FUNNYYOU
SHOULDASK
A literary agent’s mostly serious answers to your mostly serious questions.
BY BARBARA POELLEDear FYSA,
I’m trying to be more disci-
plined about my writing. I want to
really push myself to hit that daily
word count, but I don’t know what is
reasonable. How do you settle on a
work volume that feels both mean-
ingful and manageable?
Signed, Sliding ScaleDear Sliding,
I recently sustained a running injury
that forced me to hang up my Nikes
for a while. When I fi nally began
physical therapy, I would work with
the therapist in the offi ce, get my
assigned exercises to take home
and then ... double them. Because
I mean, obviously that will mean I
will heal twice as fast, right?
Let me just gather an armful of
“Nopes” here and shower them all over
your desk like so many wilted rose
petals. Because nope. Going harder at
something doesn’t necessarily mean
you will then reach your goals sooner.
Going smarter at something, however,
oft entimes does.
I can totally get behind the idea
of daily word count goals, as long
as you can tell your inner drill
sergeant that things happen! At
any given moment, kids can start
barfi ng, spouses can have a work
trip, and people can tear all kinds
of ligaments. So, your goals should
not be so rigid that a few missed
days will lead to disgruntlement
and despair. I would also ask you
to consider what kind of writer you
are and to try not to work against
it. If you are a writer who has to put
your buns on the chair every day
or your muse starts eating her own
hair, then have a seat! But you can’t
expect to have the same high word
count every day—that’s just not
fair to you. If you are someone who
has to patiently wait for the days
where your muse shows up with an
ax and a head lamp, then, inversely,
setting daily word goals is a futile
endeavor before it begins. And now
that I am thinking about this ... why
daily? Have you considered setting
a weekly goal? Or even a monthly
goal? Th at way when you have those
productive high-count days you can
buy time for yourself on the other
days, the ones where your muse
shows up drunk and petulant, want-
ing only to work in haikus.
In the end, work with the kind of
writer you already are, and you will
work harder ... by working smarter.Dear FYSA,
My critique partner and I
are feeling the same frustration, and
I have heard this from others as well:
Why is it that we have contractual
deadlines to deliver and turn aroundedits, but editor deadlines seem to be
more of a suggestion, and they more
oft en than not come and go without
a peep?
Signed, Sell by DateDear Selly,
Right? It feels so frustrating and
dismissive to be told you will have
something by the 21st and to still
be twiddling your thumbs on the
22 nd ... of the following month.
And you are not outliers—a large
percentage of my job is contacting
editors to get a revised ETA on the
expected edits. It can be disorient-
ing and infuriating.
While there are some cases that
require me to go over the editor’s head
to the publisher and say “Th is is unac-
ceptable,” the vast majority of them
are due to a very simple thing: math.
You are you and have your one
book to deliver. Your editor is your
editor with anywhere from 12–15
books a year to revise, edit, and
usher through the publishing pro-
cess. Th en there are the surprises
an editor encounters. Like “crash”
books—books that have to be on
rush order for a variety of reasons:
Th ey are zietgeisty, they are front-
list hardcovers from a huge best-
seller that bookstores already have
massive preorders for, or a pub date
got shift ed because of competition.PHOTO ©ASK FUNNY YOU SHOULD ASK! Submit your own questions on the writing life, publishing, or anything in between to writers. TRAVIS POELLE
[email protected] with “Funny You Should Ask” in the subject line. Select questions (which may be edited for space or clarity) will
be answered in future columns, and may appear on WritersDigest.com and in other WD publications.