"Puzzled about how to spend my time" by Stephen M. Miller for Friday, 5 June 2015 - Bible blog of award-winning bestselling Christian author, Stephen M. Miller.

"Puzzled about how to spend my time" by Stephen M. Miller for Friday, 5 June 2015 - Bible blog of award-winning bestselling Christian author, Stephen M. Miller.


WRITING USED TO BE THIS SIMPLE. Get a pencil and a piece of paper and write. But now you need a social media platform, your own marketing strategy, and your afternoons open to write free stuff like blog articles that one in four of your subscribers will read – if you’re lucky enough to beat the 17% industry average. Photo by Thomas Leuthard/flickr.
WRITING BOOKS about the Bible has gotten complicated.
It used to be I’d write books about the Bible and get paid a decent royalty by most Christian publishers.
But today, the business of writing now requires so much more than writing.
I can’t just write a book.
I have to build and run a platform. And doggone if that doesn’t mean I have to write lots of stuff for free.
Blog articles like this.
Newsletters like the one coming July 1.
Website articles about me and my books.
I’ve got to:

• tweet
• Facebook post on my a business Facebook page
• create videos about the Bible and Christianity
• post pictures on social media sites like Flickr
• do interviews
• give away signed books

And I’ve got to feel good about it when pictures of my dog attract more viewers than anything else I post about God, the Bible, or me.
Typically, my days now run 10-12 hours. I spend the best part of my day – morning through early afternoon – writing the book that’s under contract at the time.
When my brain starts to fragment, I jump to one of the other projects, which somehow reboots my brain. I switched to writing this blog article at about 2 p.m. on Thursday.
After I get this done, I’ll probably go back into some art research for the book I’m writing. Or, I’ll work some on the newsletter. Or, I’ll work on Sunday’s Bible study session that I’m leading.
Or I’ll take a break from brain stuff and go out in the garage to put that second coat of polyurethane on that antiquated wooden planter my daughter wants made ready for rainwater on her back deck.
All the while I’ll be wondering what topic I should cover in my next Bible video. And I’ll be thinking about the next two illustrated books I’m hoping to begin writing soon, once I wrap up my current project.
I’m guessing that about half of my time as a writer these days is devoted to doing free stuff – maintaining my platform.
I’m wondering how many careers require people to do so much stuff for free.
I did have a plumber give me a good deal on a toilet once.
But another plumber made up for it by putting in a toilet that made a dripping sound when it wasn’t supposed to drip. And when I complained, he called in the owner – who couldn’t hear the drip because he wore two hearing aids.
I’m wondering what readers think about this extra stuff we writers have to do. Or if they think about it at all.

• Do they want the social media stuff and blog articles as much as publishers think they do?
• Do they need the author websites?
• Do they find the Bible videos helpful at all?

Or may I shorten my days and possibly lengthen my life by zeroing in on the books, while writing fewer articles like this, and leaving the videos to the videographers.
I’m just wondering. Friday is a good day to wonder.
Random book winners this week

• Lisa Miller (no relation, far as I know)
• Linda Russell

I give away free books each week to randomly selected subscribers to my free blog and quarterly newsletter. (Part of my platform, don’t you know.)
Lisa and Linda are random this week.
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