It’s been eighteen months since I started blogging weekly.

Since then, The Writer’s Cookbook has grown in ways I never expected. But other areas that mean more to me had to take a step back for me to achieve that goal.

As Andrew and Pete say, you should spend 90% of your time on one thing and get really, REALLY good at it.

Blogging has never been my end goal—my books have. But blogging is no longer helping me with my books. Instead, it’s taking time away from them.

I haven’t been able to give my books the time that they need, therefore I haven’t published as much as I’ve wanted to. I’ve been so regimented about my schedule for here that the schedule for my books has taken a step back.

I don’t regret the decision I made at the time—after a questionable attempt at NaNoWriMo, I needed to take a break from writing fiction—but recent events have reminded me that I need to do things that help me towards my bigger goals.

I also need to spend the little time and energy that I have left at the end of the day on things that help me, mentally and physically. And that has always been writing books.

If I’m going to make money from my writing, I need to focus on ways that I can monetise my writing skills.

I need to find ways that I can offer you even more in-depth advice to help you grow more and become a stronger writer.

(I have several things in mind, which I’ll be sharing news of soon.)

What does this mean?

I’m not stopping blogging completely.

I still want to keep sharing advice with you.

Stepping back from blogging is a need, not a want: 2019 has exhausted me already, and if something doesn’t give, my mind and body will.

It makes sense for the thing that gives to be something that costs a lot of time and money to do well, but that generates little in return.

Keep in touch?

I’ll stay in touch with my mailing list, so if you want to hear from me, that’s the place to go. (You can sign up in the sidebar!)

Posts on here, for now at least, will be fortnightly.

Some will be written by me; others will be written by my very talented writer friends (as many have been over recent months. If you hadn’t guessed already, this was a conscious decision, but editing and formatting posts still takes time and energy that I have in very short supply).

If you’d like to submit a guest post, check out our guest post guidelines then drop me an email. 

This isn’t the end of The Writer’s Cookbook, nor of my writing. No, my friend: it’s the start of a new (and exciting!) chapter.

We’re at the midpoint now. And I hope you’ll stick with me to see where this journey takes me next.

In the meantime, stay awesome ?