Following on from yesterday’s post about why authors should embrace the entrepreneurial spirit, here’s one about why they probably shouldn’t be too entrepreneurial.

The reason is very simple: the writing always has to come first.

When you’re involved in independent publishing, or indeed traditional publishing, it can be all too easy to see your time eaten away by those activities that surround writing. Marketing, for instance. Social media is a great way to use up lots of time promoting your book, but it also stops you writing new ones. There are plenty of other marketing avenues that take up even more time. The business side of things (like the whole issue of money) takes up more time. Sourcing support for your work takes time. Engaging with readers takes time.

Don’t get me wrong, all of these things are massively valuable. However, at the end of it all, we shouldn’t be left asking ‘but what happened to the writing?’

The writing will always be the most important thing, because without it, there’d be no point in all of those other things around it. We’d have nothing to market, no sales, no income, no professional services to source and buy in. The writing is the main thing.

Besides, a well-written, exciting book is the best marketing tool any author could ever ask for. Let’s make sure that no matter what else happens and no matter what other demands are made on our time, we always make sure we let the writing itself take centre stage.