Hey everyone,
My last “Diary of an Assignment” was super popular and I got a ton of emails telling me you all loved the behind-the-scenes sharing. So, here’s another one for a story on renewable energy I had published this month.
There is nothing like the sweet, sweet feeling of checking your email and finding an assignment from a publication that you respect, sitting in there all nice and comfortable, waiting for you to open it and get a little surprise. There is, of course, the immediate panic—Me? I’m supposed to now write this story? But I can’t!—before you realize that you’ve done this before, you will do it again, and that this is what you actually love to do. Once you get over yourself, that is.
So, here again, in what is becoming a routine feature of this newsletter, the behind-the-scenes of an assignment, this time for a story about excess renewable energy and how some countries are handling this particular problem.
Monday, June 15: Editor emails to thank me for the pitch and promises to get me an answer within a week or two.
Wednesday, July 8: Follow-up with editor to see if he has a decision for me; he apologizes and says they just discussed it and would like me to go ahead. He outlines the terms, I ask if he could possibly go a bit higher on the rate. He agrees.
Thursday, July 9: My deadline is August 3, almost a month from now, but Parkinson’s Law—“work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”—is especially true when it comes to writing. I have a couple of assignments on the go, but nonetheless I give myself a deadline of Wednesday, July 22, to have this piece done. It’s 800 words. There’s no need for excessive puttering around and making life difficult.
Wednesday, July 22: Er, so, let’s just say I have a new plan… and a new deadline. Do a bit of research, make a list of potential sources. Email sources. Two are on leave and won’t be available until the end of the month and one’s email bounced. Find correct email address. Also post on HARO, just in case.
Friday, July 24: Three perfect sources for the story have been found. Phone conversations for next week have been scheduled.
Tuesday, July 28: I get so worked up over interviews, convincing myself that I really hate being on the phone with people and having my entire day revolve around the 30-minute call in the middle, and yet, the moment I get on the phone with someone, all of that angst melts away and I really enjoy myself. I love interviewing experts, especially on topics that I care about because I learn so much and walk away with so many more ideas. Which is exactly what happened today.
Wednesday, July 29: Last of the interviews done and I’ve transcribed two of them as well. I’m down to the wire now because I have to go to Wales over the weekend to see family. We’re driving up on Friday and returning on Sunday. It’s a seven-hour drive each way so I’m not going to get any work done while I’m there. I’ve got an insane number of deadlines to meet before I leave as well so not when I’m going to do this. Urgggggh. I really do hate it when it comes down to the wire like this.
Sunday, August 2: Yep, just as I expected. Got nothing done while I was away and now I have two deadlines tomorrow. Flattened after that 7-hour drive today, so I’m not even going to try doing anything tonight.
Monday, August 3: I wanted to get this one in early, I really did, and the fact that I didn’t has me so stressed and frustrated that I’m finding it difficult to concentrate. Spent the morning working on a different deadline, the afternoon transcribing the last of the interviews, and stayed up until 1am writing this piece. It’s one of those stories where you have so much information that just choosing what goes in without taking away from the story takes up most of the time. Sent the story through at 1:16am, which is still technically Aug 3 in my editor’s world. Ideally, I like to get stories in the morning of the deadline, but it is what it is and I’m going to stop obsessing about it. It’s done, I’m happy with it, and I can move on. I hope the editor likes it, too.
Thursday, August 6: Check in with editor to make sure he received the story. He says he did, apologizes for not getting back to me. Been “jamming on an overdue story of my own,” he writes.
Tuesday, August 18: Editor emails to ask if I can make a one-sentence addition in the piece. He also sends through edits; story is going live tomorrow. It’s past 9pm by the time I receive the edits and I’m beyond exhausted after a tiring day, but the story is supposed to go out tomorrow so I suck it up and get to it. Finish and send everything over at 11:23 pm. I’m ready for sleep!
Wednesday, August 19: The story is live.
More tomorrow.
Cheers,
Natasha