Why Publishing Every Day Doesn’t Make Sense

But focusing on writing authentically does

Photo by The Creative Exchange on Unsplash

There’s a well-worn mantra from those proffering the secrets of their success on this platform: publish a story every day no matter what. You’ve got to feed those fickle algorithms before they go begging elsewhere.

I’m all for getting an insight into the processes of other writers but hearing this all the time is just making me tired.

Reducing writing to a productivity exercise skews its purpose and takes all the joy out of it. Writing is so much more.

Publishing every day isn’t the same as writing every day

I’d be the first to agree that regularly exercising the writing muscle is essential if you’re to develop your skills and hone your voice. But putting yourself under pressure to produce something publishable every day isn’t the way to do it.

Sometimes you just have to write and see what comes out. It’s when your thoughts are hovering somewhere out of frame and you need to call them in. Before you know it you’re processing something that’s been fermenting unconsciously: that’s how creativity works.

But can I go from zero to ten in one go and be pushing the publish button before I put the dinner on? No, but I can thrash out something that might…