H is for Hurrying Never Helps by Marcia Lee Laycock

Photo by Max Fleischmann on Unsplash

I saw the flashing lights behind me and wondered why the police cruiser didn’t just go around me. When it stayed behind me as I pulled through the stop lights on the edge of town, I realized maybe it was because he wanted me to pull over. Gasp!

The constable asked for my driver’s license and registration, then asked the question I expected. “Do you know how fast you were going ma’am?”

I had to admit that I didn’t, though I did realize I was probably driving faster that the speed limit allowed. The women’s Bible study I’d just attended had gone overtime and my husband had a meeting to get to, so I was in a bit of a hurray.

“100 in an 80 zone,” the constable said. “That’s a $250. ticket.”

I groaned out loud and prayed for mercy as he walked back to his vehicle. When he returned his demeanor was a bit softer. “I see you’ve never had a ticket and I don’t want to ruin that record, so I’ll just give you a warning. But slow down, Ma’am. Hurrying never helps.”

I sheepishly said I would and slowly pulled back onto the road.

“Hurrying never helps.” I’ve heard that caution given at writers’ conferences on more than one occasion. It is usually given in regard to sending a manuscript off to an agent or publisher before it is ready. The strongest caution is usually in regard to skipping the editing steps that everyone should insist on or forwarding the wrong version of the manuscript.

Been there, done that and I can tell you the embarrassment is very humbling.

But even after the book has left our hands it is wise to be sure all the usual procedures are followed. I can testify from experience that it’s something we writers need to pay attention to.

When my first novel, One Smooth Stone won the Best New Canadian Author Award, I was, of course, thrilled and was anxious to see the book on bookstore shelves. My publisher was too, since the busy Christmas season was approaching. He kept me abreast of the how the process was going and as the Yuletide season approached sent me an email. “Usually we send out a proof for you to approve, but we’re kind of crunched for time so if it’s okay with you, we’ll skip that step and go right to print.”

I gave the okay. It wasn’t until I received another email from a writer friend that I realized we’d made a big mistake. “Does your main character have a stutter?” my friend asked. She alerted me to the fact that there were a number of strange mistakes in the first sixty pages of the book.

I groaned out loud when I examined the copies I’d been sent. It did indeed appear that my main character had a stutter and there were several other mistakes that were not in my original manuscript. My writer friend advised me to mention it to the publisher. “This should not have happened,” she said.

When I contacted the publisher, I’m sure he groaned out loud too. The mistakes occurred when my manuscript format was changed from a Word document to Quark, used in the publishing industry. He apologized and said they would do another print run of the book. He also replaced the books I had purchased at no further cost to me.

Lesson learned by us both: hurrying never helps.

So before you hit that send button, slow down, double-check that all the steps have been ticked off (it’s helpful to make yourself a physical checklist), and, Lord willing, you won’t have any embarrassing surprises.

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 Marcia is a prolific author and speaker. Find out more on her website