The process of  writing is beautiful.

However not if you’ve just read the latest post from the nytimes.com

Steve Berry quotes how every writer will feel as their publisher tries to squeeze more and more marketable material to serve a hungry audience between publications.

“I have been known to be a little grumpy on the subject sometimes,” said Steve Berry, a popular thriller writer who writes short stories that are released between books. “It does sap away some of your energy. You don’t ever want to get into a situation where your worth is being judged by the amount of your productivity.”

Authors show resist – the publishing industry can only advise what it only knows—more writing that sells.

What they aren’t so hot on is what people really want—access to the author.

How many authors write a journal? Lots/many/some/few. How many authors would start writing an online journal if they knew they could make money from it? Instead of writing shorts and burning themselves out – write a blog post. Keep it informal, friendly, personal and fun and fans will pay a monthly fee to have access to their hero.

What really surprises me, is the print industry is clearly lost, yet they are still advising.

Authors need to ditch these struggling behemoths and reconnect with their biggest fans: write when you like, whatever you like and benefit accordingly. Anything else is and will lead to digital burnout, I believe.

Mark