Hey there,

Last time I wrote about the book, One Thing, which I was reading at the time. I’ve finished reading it and I’ve done some more thinking. If you missed that post, you can read it here. It will make more sense to read it before this one.

I have only so much time, like everyone else. We only have 24 hours a day. But I’ve been thinking about this ‘platform’ stuff, and have come to a conclusion, that whoever came up with platform building has caused unnecessary stress and has done writers a great disservice.

Why?

Here’s why. Back in the 90s (or earlier) when authors were just starting their careers, they had only one thing going for them.

Their books.

They didn’t have blogs, they didn’t have FB, they didn’t make podcasts, they didn’t Twitter, they didn’t send newsletters (some publishers may have if they had customer names). What these writers did was write the next book.

That’s it.

Granted, there is a glutton of books out there. Thousands of them should never have been published, self-published or otherwise. This does make it harder for good books to rise to the top. But no author has become an overnight success. They have all, for the most part, been writing for years before their first book came out. (writers like me)

People who decide today to write a book and publish it tomorrow have no concept of writing and will fail miserably. I can’t really call them writers. If a person decided to become a plumber today and tried to fix someone’s kitchen sink tomorrow, without training and education, you couldn’t really call him a plumber. Same way with writers.

A true writer hones their craft, learns continuously and seeks input and editing. They don’t assume because they’ve finished writing a book, it’s ready to see the world. They know it needs some polishing and much more work.

All this said, I’ve decided that blogging, pinning, reading emails, etc. is taking too much of my writing time. What does this mean for you? I’m not giving up this blog completely, but will be cutting way back on my posts. I will most likely continue the Wednesday Prompts, but if I don’t have anything to say on a Monday or Friday, I’m not going to force myself to come up with something.

I’m going to spend more of my time writing and editing my books, which is my One Thing. I need to spend the majority of my time doing that, to perfect my craft and improve my writing skills. The hope is that each subsequent book is a little better than the previous. No guarantees, but that’s the goal.

Will I ever increase the number of blog posts? Maybe. Maybe not. I do love to have feedback from you and enjoy our little conversations, so feel free to keep doing that. I will occasionally send a newsletter.

Do you have a hard time with distractions keeping you from your One Thing? Do you have a hard time saying no to things that are good, but not necessarily the best use of your time? Share with us!

~~Michelle