The Writer’s Spring Clean

Avoid burnout and concentrate on deep work.

Mar 29, 2026

Those who notice these things will see that I have reduced this newsletter to every other week. It is part of my yearly plan to be more focused on deep work, my new crime book, and more present for my family.

I dropped this note last week:

One of the comments was, “FIVE newsletters? Oh, Sam, I shudder.” It explains perfectly how I have overstretched myself.

This is not the only newsletter I am moving to a fortnightly schedule; I am also dropping The Book Chronicles so that I can fully concentrate on Murder Mayhem UK. I have taken on too much.

But, as writers, are we not all guilty of this? We want to succeed so badly that we throw as many balls in the air as we can, only to drop them eventually. We end up doing five things poorly instead of concentrating on the one thing that got us into writing in the first place: the love of the craft.

We all set wild New Year goals, and by now, most of them are broken. This is why I prefer to have a “spring clean” of my work every year. As the flowers push through and the fairer weather arrives, it feels like the perfect time to declutter our lives.

I would suggest you all consider a spring clean of your own input and re-evaluate what truly matters. With that in mind, pop into the comments and tell me one thing you would like to change in your writing career.

Until next Sunday: Find the time, find the words, find the way.

Sam 😊

Reading Round-Up

I was very lucky that the sequel to The Will of the Many arrived in my Libby this week; I am currently busy devouring it as I loved the first. I have to say the second is a slower starter, yet it remains hugely intriguing.

My audiobook listen is The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith. Having read the entirety of this series, diving into this latest edition feels like coming back to spend time with old friends.