The Hardest Part of my Job

The end of March is pretty hectic for me. Between the 17th and the 31st, I have 8 articles due, 3 of them rather lengthy, four of them mid-sized. And that's not counting what the first two weeks of April look like. Not that I'm complaining. I don't mind have articles due virtually every day. I actually kind of like it.

Last week I was telling the husband that things were a little stressful for me. He looked surprised, saying, "I thought your busy time was the end of the month."

It is, I answered, but that's the easy part, the best part of my job. That's the writing. I love the writing. It comes naturally to me, kind of like breathing. When I reach that part of the job, all is well.

The stress comes in the search for sources. Most of the trades I work with provide the sources, which is wonderful. Sometimes those sources already know I'll be calling -- even better.

But sometimes the source search is like pulling teeth -- and there is nothing that makes my blood pressure rise like the thought of the dentist and pulling teeth. I know who I want to interview. I call, leave a message. I email with details about the article. And I never hear back.

Sometimes I just find another person to take that source's place, all well and good. But other times, that person is the only option. Or like one article: it's a series of profiles and I need to do 8. I have a list of about 25 companies to contact. I have 7 profiles now. But I can't for the life of me get number 8. People aren't interested, or they can't find a good candidate, or there are internal issues that make participating impossible. Or, my favorite, they never answer.

It's very stressful, when you are creeping up on a deadline, or your deadline is very short, and the sources don't materialize.

Finding sources: to me, the hardest part of the job. Writing 25,000+ words in a 4 week period, piece of cake.