I recently attended a great networking event, at which many of the writers present touted a specific book about the importance of “building your platform,” maybe even before you finish writing your book.

I’ve been reading the book now, slowly, for the past few weeks, and have been pretty satisfied to find that there are a number of recommendations within that I’ve already been doing–this blog, for instance.

However, I’ve been finding it harder and harder to balance the things I do that are platform-building related with the actual writing that I want to be doing.

The more steps I take to make myself more visible, ahead of publication, the more the possibility of finishing this last rewrite seems to recede.

Everyone out there says that, in order to succeed, you need to write each and every day, and I do–most days, I spend 4-6 hours doing nothing but writing. It’s just not writing (read, rewriting) related to my manuscript.

It’s not a lack of inspiration or anything. I am doing vast amounts of “soft writing,” that mental drafting and redrafting that whirls around inside your head before coalescing into something you can actually set down on paper. That has been helpful, to be sure, because I have definitely had some breakthroughs on plot points. But it always seems that there’s something platform-related that I’m having to spend some time on, and I’ll let you in on a little secret:

I hate it.

I know that I’m not alone in that–virtually every presenter at that networking event referenced just how much most writers feel uncomfortable in that arena. As a group, we’re much happier hunkered down over the notepad or keyboard, rudely ignoring the fact that marketing, sales, and platform will ultimately play a role in any work’s success or failure. But knowing that I’m not alone in my dislike of it doesn’t change my dislike.

Sigh.

There. I’ve updated my blog for today. I didn’t really want to. I wanted to spend some time on the writing I want to do, but I know that I need to keep things updated here, or else “my platform will suffer.”

Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I’ve got more important writing to tend to. No offense–just a writer, being, out of necessity, a little rude.