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Canoerebel -> RE: The Good The Bad & The Indifferent (2/3/2017 11:09:33 AM)
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Quite a few veterans and some newcomers are reading. Some chime in with thoughts of how they might do things. Some chime in after detailed reading and analysis; some after only reading a few entries, and those sporadically; and some after reading John's AAR and gaining information that I may not have.
As the writer, I'm glad anybody is reading (it makes the effort worthwhile). Some of your comments are right on target, some miss the mark, and many generate ideas that I test one way or another.
An example of that was yesterday, when the "coup de main on Manila" comment made me think about how I'm approaching things; that prompted me to the analogy about how I use bombardment TFs; and that, in turn, eventually led to the decision to bombard Atimonan.
The situation is somewhat akin to my work. At any particular moment, I have several dozen manuscripts in from freelance writers. Receiving, reviewing, editing, and communicating with writers usually takes hours, sometimes mounting in the dozens of hours (if a manuscript is a good story but requires a lot of editing).
Every writer who submits a story hopes for a quick response. They figure I'm seated in my office, waiting for stories to come in, and immediately pounce on each story that comes in.
In reality, I have hundreds of little chores going on all the time, from office routine (answering mail, phone calls, speaking engagements, teaching, cleaning, writing checks, balancing the books, etc.) to creative work (proofing, editing, writing, searching for photos, checking facts, checking captions, writing authors with updates or questions, etc.).
This week, I spent all my time thus far (four days) proofing the Spring 2017 issue of the magazine, leaving little time for other things, and that mostly consisted of writing checks, answering mail and taking phone calls. Meanwhile, all those writers think I've had four days to work on their story...and they're calling or writing to ask, "So, what did you think of my story?"
And it's true that I could've taken the hour or two to attend to theirs. But, in the overall scheme of things, I have a complicated schedule. I know how to work it, and I know I'm getting things done effectively and efficiently, yet each of them may think I'm lagging. And sometimes a writer or photographer or reader throws out something that makes me think, "Hmmm, there's an idea...."
And sometimes one comes along and points out where I've made a mistake.
But, overall, through twelve years of experience and working hard, I have a pretty good notion of what I can do and when I should be doing it.
Does that make sense?
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