“I appreciate receiving it earlier than expected but the deadlines were provided based on (available time/competing priorities/project availability /whatever sounds best) and any changes would need to be (confirmed/agreed upon ahead of time/whatever)”?

I can work with this.

Basically, the message is from the middleman from my former employer who said that production was expecting the first two chapters of my copyedit review yesterday (when on the schedule Ch 1 is due today and Ch 2 two weeks from now) because I received both chapters from the CE early. I'm sure my keeping to the schedule (which they set) is fine since the book is not going to be published any earlier than the date on the schedule regardless, but it really irks me that this company makes you jump through hoops to make sure you have other clients and are not an "employee" of theirs when you set up contracts but then seems to think you have no other clients and can just drop everything for them whenever something comes in. I think I'll go with some variation of “I appreciate receiving it earlier than expected but my schedule is based on the original deadlines provided.”

Thank you!

And now off to my membership library to try to make the actual deadline and borrow 9 to 5.

So sad about Dolly

And I was thinking of the vampire slayer/garlic irony immediately but could not think how to put it in comprehensible words...

Ha, the only finger on my left hand that is responding at all normally is the one I use for flipping people off. My occupational therapist had a good giggle over it: "C'mon, Karl, show me how you really feel about it."

“I appreciate receiving it earlier than expected but my schedule is based on the original deadlines provided.”

That sounds right. Better than "How about fuck no?"