The title of this page is more than a bit of a double-entendre. I know it has taken me a little bit of time to produce it, and the next few pages may take me more than the usual week to produce, but I have a good reason — the story is getting fiendishly complex, I’m putting a lot more into the artwork, and I’m trying to keep the quality up and not let it slide in favor of just “getting it out”. I know, that isn’t the standard or even accepted “professional” model of pushing to meet the deadlines.
One. I’m not a professional yet. I’m still learning this stuff. I don’t have a pro’s skill or a pro’s speed. So it gets done when it gets done, and when I’m satisfied that it’s good enough. Period.
Two. I’m the boss, so the deadlines are mine. I came from the computer industry, where all of the deadlines were artificial. They weren’t based on the publishing industry, that had to get something out by a specific date, or the theatrical community, where “the show must go on” is driven into your bones before you can talk — though I have roots in both of those as well. Believe me, it rips at me to let a deadline slide — I want to have that page hit at the tick, and I want the “curtain” to rise on the hour. These are embedded in my soul. But just as embedded in me is a loathing of a deadline that makes no sense, that’s set just to be set. I remember a hundred times a programming project was rushed to meet a deadline that was pulled out of thin air, a deadline that could have been changed when the circumstances changed, instead of requiring people to pull 12, 14, 16-hour days, or all-nighters. When I get a boss, and that person sets a deadline, then I’ll meet it. But for now, the deadlines are mine, and if circumstances change, so will the deadlines.
Three. I’m disabled. My health comes before any project.
Four. I’m taking art courses so I can learn how to do this better. Those come out of the pool of available time.
And last, I can’t concentrate on this at the exclusion of all else, or I’ll fry out. So far, this has been the longest I’ve ever stayed on a single project in my life. I plan to continue on it to the end. That means managing my time and energy so I don’t lose interest or burn out along the way. This story will be told. That’s all there is to it.
On another note, I’m not signed up to table at any conventions anytime soon, but I’ll be attending Intervention Con in September, so I’ll see anyone else who goes to it there. I know, it seems like a long way off to September…but Intervention fills up fast, and the time goes by faster than you think!
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