My boss is an absolute slave-driver with no pity.
As I sit here, on the final recovery steps of whatever the heck I brought with me from Portugal, I’m haunted by the certainty I should already have finished one of the three pending books, because I’ve spent an entire month getting ready and traveling, and then a week being sick, and part of me thinks I shouldn’t allow myself that kind of time.
This is of course what is known as ridiculous.
In my awake, sane moments I KNOW this. But the back of my brain is going insane because it’s a lot of time wasted.
Which, combined with the fact that the rest of the year was consumed by writing a 225k word book (which will probably end up longer, once it’s done with revision) it means this year is a huge deficit. Normally when I do my birthday sale, I have at least some new books. This year zip, nothing.
And I have three novels ALMOST done, that I should finish. And I could have finished one this past week, but– I was sick.
And man, if I were an employee, this year I’d probably fire myself. Which is utterly unreasonable, because I’m over sixty, and when I get sick it takes forever to get better. And at that, so does stress make me less able to concentrate, etc.
So, if I were an employee, this blog post would at least warrant a trip to the office for a talk about phoning it in.
You won’t tell the boss, right?
I think I’m well enough to go write at least another half of Rhodes to Hell.
Ciao.
Mad Genius Club 
21 responses to “I Work For Myself”
Please take care of yourself, Sarah, and feel better soon.
I honestly am trying.
The guys in my Barbershop Quartet are not my employees, and I have to remember that sometimes they get sick, or have conflicts, or are otherwise unable to do rehearsals to make us all better. Just like me.
Cut yourself the same slack. We’re not the bosses of anything except real employees, and even they can decide to leave without our permission. We tend to be spoiled, because we seem to control the lives of our invented characters… but have you noticed how they have a vein of rebellion, too?
I tell people that when you own your own business you work half-days. After all, 12 hours is a half-day.
I know where you are coming from. I have a book to deliver on Dec 31 and am only barely started on it due to computer problems.
Self-employment is wonderfully flexible. You can work any 16 hours of the day that you want!
And often do.
Sniff, sniff, snnniiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIfffffff. Tell me about it, Mama Sarah. I keep feeling that I should have finished Threads of Empire and moved to the next book. And that sinus problems, allergies, Day Job, and Life shouldn’t count as reasons for not getting the book finished last month.
I’m not getting September or October’s Employee of the Month at Boykin Books, I can tell you that much. 😉
Yeah, I have had several stern boss-to-employee convos with myself this month, mostly about underestimating how much I had left to do on the WIP. Haven’t taken as much “sick leave” from the writing job Sept-Oct as I did in July-August, but I have spent too much time lately playing with AIs, trying to find ones that are good at dictation cleanup and blurbing.
Wow. One week to recover from jet lag plus cold? Er, I just passed the one month mark and am frustrated at still not being back to whatever is normal for me.
and I’m behind on everything too. 😬😢
gotta go, laundry won’t fold itself, and I’ve got a deadline on Friday and a husband to chauffeur.
What is this thing called folded laundry? I haven’t seen it in months 😀
I folded some yesterday, but my bedroom is still chockablock with the remains of PACKING. Sigh.
Yeah, I’ve been there too, although not recently.
We’re taking Valeria cat to vet becaus eshe’s not doing well. Sigh.
Poor critter! Here’s hoping the vet has the good kind of answers for you.
My boss is fine, her assistant (me) sucks though – I’m retired.
Get some rest! It’s been a stressful year.
I think I’m within a week of getting the rough draft of Colors turned into a first draft. A t which point I wonder if my brain will go fzzzt…. Or maybe that’s the bug going around. Meh.
Hoping getting that far will allow me to pick up at least one of a half-dozen other plotbunnies and get them going.
HR sez that if you have burned through your paid leave, take unpaid leave under FMLA. And REST!
Get well first, screw the boss!
On the other hand, I am still waiting – patiently! – for the next Dyce Dare.
I need to finish those two. Today we lost our oldest girl cat. it doesn’t help.
*hug* I am so sorry.
i basically tell my riders the first sentence all the time.