On the surface, 300 may not seem like a big number. But because I don't have an unlimited amount of material to work with like most secular writers have at their disposal (remember, I try to keep it centered around Southern Gospel music), I'll take it. There have been days when I've stared at a blank computer screen while trying to come up with a topic - and there have been days when I have typed a few lines, got frustrated at the lack of words coming from my brain, signed off and tried again the next day.

So, thanks for sticking with me through these 300 entries.

If you'll recall, in the last entry I was talking about the process of putting together a magazine. We had the cover shoot all lined-up and we were beginning to work on the inside (or "guts") of the magazine. Remember, I made a comment about phone tag, too.

One of the biggest issues any magazine faces in the building process is getting everyone else to work on the magazine's time schedule. By no means am I saying people fight deadlines, but there are so many outside factors that can slow things considerably that we might as well admit that deadlines are mere suggestions. It's almost like that yellow traffic light you sped through this morning on the way to work. You know what it really means, but you work around it anyway.

The sames applies to any form of journalism. For example, let's say you're writing a story on artist A. You have an interview set up this coming Wednesday - a date set because you and the artist assumed that the artist is not on the road yet. Well, little did they know group management set up a photo shoot for that day and forgot to tell everyone that the bus is leaving 12 hours earlier than normal. Those kind of "last-minute changes" happen on a regular basis. It's not really anyone's fault in particular, but they still happen.

Unexpected last minute appearances, recording date changes, bus breakdowns and so many other things play into the equation. Thank goodness for cell phones.

Well, maybe.

Can you hear me? Can you hear me now?

Cell phone technology has come a long way and yes, in general, it's much better than what it was even just a year ago. But have you ever looked at some of the places Southern Gospel artists travel to? In some of these towns, they're just now getting electricity (well, it seems like that sometimes) and we're expecting it to have decent cell phone signal? I cannot tell you the number of times an artist has called me on a Monday or Tuesday, saying "I tried to get you all this weekend, but I couldn't get a good signal long enough to make a call."

The Internet has helped that situation ... some. But then again, you can't expect to have too good of a internet connection if you can't get decent cell signal.

Sooo ... after years of this kind of experience, we've learned to move deadlines around to accommodate such fickles of life and technology. For example, many of our deadlines are 45-60 days ahead of publication - and sometimes, that's pushing it way too close for comfort. To put it into perspective, we're right now beginning work on the July 2006 issue of Singing News.

And, like always, we're playing phone tag. The cover photo shoot is tenatively set and our writers are awaiting confirmation of who is going to be available to interview on such and such date. The phone companies love this as we're making calls out, missing someone, that same someone returning the call and missing us and the process starts all over again.

It's a part of our lives, just as is waiting on a truck delivery for a warehouse foreman. It will eventually get there.