The Dilemma of Deadlines
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there are challenges…
I have been writing on Medium since February 2016. From the start it was fairly sporadic. It hadn’t grabbed me, yet! That was then, this is now. At the present time, I try to post at least 3–6 times per week. That schedule seems to keep me in a poetic and writerly state-of-mine. It works for me, except when I am working on a deadline for my photography magazine
A couple of years ago, the deadline roared its challenging and controlling presence.
I publish a bi-monthly photography magazine, Shadow & Light Magazine. It was supposed to be released in a few days. It was not. It also did not get released on Sunday. Finally, it got released on Monday. For whatever reason, the obstacles were many and varied. If you have never published a magazine, or had a similar situation, you may not understand what it takes to put one together.
I have been doing this for more than 20 years and with each issue, something invariably pops up. A contributor may pull out. An article ends up not being a good fit for the main content of a particular issue. A contributor may have sent low resolution images and didn’t send the high resolution images in on time.
There are challenges. You can see the dilemma.
When a contributor pulls out and leaves me with 5–10 pages to fill with only a few days left before the DEADLINE, it is scramble time.
Then, for that particular issue, as I was doing the final edit, the power went out. It took me almost 1.5 hours to reboot the computer after the power was restored. More scramble time needed!
This is when experience takes over. I try to think about what I have published in the past that might fit. If I republish a feature, I like it to be at least a few years old. It still works on my psyche, however. I feel guilty about not being prepared. Silly, isn’t it? Nah…
One of the main things that has saved me on many occasions is my connections with other photographers whose work I know and respect, some of whom I have previously published. They are definitely professionals. There are a few I can contact at a moment’s notice and they will send me a new portfolio of work. Thank you, one and all!
