One of my peeves is the callous attitude some folks have when
payment is not involved. We know that when a contract (verbal or written)
involves money, it is a professional agreement and deadlines count. But what
about agreements that don’t involve exchange of currency?
Some people think these aren’t real, or binding, or at the
very least “not as binding” as deadlines set by bosses/contracted editors/clients.
I learned this lesson years ago, when I was part of an
organization of volunteers who put together a biannual review of the private
schools in the bay area. We met, the chosen head organizer set directives for
the standards of the reviews, and we accepted which schools each of us would
review. The head set fixed deadlines for submitting the reviews. Some people covered
only one school, but I had two schools to cover.
When the deadline came, I submitted my reviews. They
entailed research, two school visits to each of the schools, (one an organized tour and the other an
impromptu school visit) and interviews with people whose kids attended the
schools. No small feat when I had a preschooler and a toddler, as well as a
mother who was full time in my care. The head organizer had the added task of
looking over all the reviews and making sure they met the standard of the
catalog the organization set. It had been a much-lauded publication for over
twenty years.
Only the head organizer and I met the deadline. She then had
the added task of nagging and needling the other volunteers to submit-please-do-it-NOW. She managed to
gain some gray hairs before the publication heroically met the final deadline
in time for the Bay Area Private Schools Fair.
I have since encountered this lackadaisical attitude in critique
groups and beta readers, exchanges that do not involve money but do involve agreement
to exchange favors. Most folks are professional in meeting standards and
deadlines. But then there are others who regularly
forget/get distracted and miss these obligations altogether...
...oops, so sorry!
I am not referring to unusual occurrences. Life happens.
There are medical and family emergencies. There are situations we can’t plan
for and couldn’t even have the ability to notify when they happen. But these
are not the rule, and if someone almost always skips and slips, we have an unprofessional
attituder (I made this word up 😎)
on our hands.
What these folks are saying, in effect, is that because they
are not paid, they’ve pushed others and their schedules to the back of the bus.
What to do about it? For myself, I make it a policy not to
be such a person. That’s what I do.
At the beginning of this post, I didn’t call it a pet peeve,
because I think it isn’t petty to ask for respect. I can’t fix others, but I
resolve to be the kind of person I respect. It makes me feel good.
I highly recommend it. If you’ve been such a slacker, change
this for yourself. I think you’ll feel good.
