Here’s the banner advertising The Twelve Days of Christmas. Things are moving so fast with the production of this book, these stories, I’m nervous. My deadline is Sept. 1 and the release of my single story is Oct. 1. I just finished it today… well, the first draft. Tomorrow I’ll read it in its entirety to see if it makes sense. If it doesn’t .. panic time!

I don’t know how writers deal with multiple deadlines. Or multiple deadlines with multiple publishers. Juggling stories and dates, characters, plotlines and settings … oh my! I don’t care how many white boards or excel sheets they have–it has to be mind-boggling and nerve wracking! What if a story won’t come? What if an author finds a major, MAJOR plot hole that changes/prevents what she’d originally planned, promised in the original pitch?

Can you tell I’m dreading reading my 8000 word story, expecting the worst? I’ve made my list of things I know I’ll have to add and flesh out. That’ll up the word count some. I’ll read a hard copy with pen in hand. After I do the final revision, I’ll send it to a reader/freelance editor who’ll do her part.

When you do a final read-through of a project, how do you approach it? What do you look for? Do you have a weakness when it comes to writing short fiction–with characterization, plotting, conflict? 
Or maybe I should ask … when you read a short story, what ruins it for you, what will make you quit reading? Share!