Depending upon where you live, you either call in sick or call out sick. They both mean that you are not showing up for work today. People like me, who write from home, do not have that luxury. First of all who would I call? I cannot call a client and say I am going to miss a deadline because that would be unfair. But so would turning in substandard work. So I work through it by resting frequently, taking Advil and drinking whatever homemade concoction my wife raked from the internet from Punjab. Once the piece is done I take another nap before proofreading it and correct all the inevitable errors, hoping that my watery eyes found them all. Once done, I pass out again.
Last Thursdays situation was as bit unique however. At days end on Tuesday I was alerted by a potential client that they wanted a sample work to decide if I was a match for a well paying opening that they had. They sent a format and said that it must be completed for review by 11:00 AM Thursday. I had several commitments for Wednesday but I figured I could easily write it Thursday morning, with plenty of time to proofread and tweak. I was feeling a little rough in the chest Wednesday as I worked through getting my commitments completed. I went to bed early that night. The following morning I awoke at 5:30 feeling worse. I had developed a deep recurring cough that would leave me breathless. It was about 9 AM when I finally pulled myself together enough to write the test article. It was a constricting, non-sales, format regarding a well known public utility service provider, fact filled and technical. Five minutes before deadline I was sweating and coughing and trying desperately to proof read the piece. At 11:00 sharp I hit send. At 11:30 I was at the Ocean County Emergency and by noon was admitted to the hospital where I am writing this page. I am also being treated for pneumonia. Was it worth working though it? Probably not. It would surprise me if I wrote anywhere near my best while feeling so ravaged.
I was reminded by this experience that I had forgotten to practice what I had been taught so many times in so many tasks, writing being only one of them. You owe it to your client or employer to provide nothing but your best work. If you can't, politely bow out and hope for another opportunity. It is your integrity that will eventually define you.
