The road to finishing a manuscript is riddled with obstacles. Of the social media kind, I mean. As independent publishers, we have a longer list of responsibilities than our fellow traditionally published authors. But one item on the majority’s list—independent of being indie or trad— is the biggest hurdle: the need to develop a brand, create a public image, promote one’s work.

Every day we are faced with the long list of things we need to do to keep the backlist alive and well while we write the next books. That in itself is what challenges Cecilia and me the most. Making time to write becomes a challenge in itself. Between personal commitments and time spent on solidifying that public image, something is lost—the drive to write.

Last weekend I attended a very insightful presentation by Lisa Stone Hardt. She talked about making time to write. The part of her presentation that resonated with me the most was when she gave us all little rocks to give someone else in the room together with a little reminder as to why he/she shouldn’t stop writing. I am certain the results still reverberate  among those involved in the exercise as it does for me. My rock sits on my desk right now as a reminder of why I shouldn’t quit writing even when the pressure becomes almost unbearable.

Lisa finished the presentation with the last (but not least) reason we shouldn’t stop writing…because we can’t. Indeed. As much as the workload is heavy, as much as we sometimes doubt ourselves (I believe every single author out there has questioned him or herself to various degrees), the stories continue to flood our brains, new ideas spark our creativity, new worlds are born in our minds and grow bigger, wider than we ever imagined they would.

And that is why Cecilia and I are taking a step back from social media. Not because it’s unimportant. On the contrary. Having a public front is critical to getting the word out about our stories but the need to write, the need to explore all those new worlds and new adventures is calling much louder. It drives deep and its cry begs to be heard and obeyed.

So, if you are missing our banter on Facebook, please know we are also missing it dearly. Know that your friendship and support have been the beacon pushing us to continue to tell our stories and we hope that same beacon will shine bright, waiting to greet us when we surface from the writing cave from time to time. Please have coffee and tea brewed.

Sláinte!