It is for a lot of people, Jenny. Myself included!

Time is ALWAYS the rub with me.

Take a look at the stats on sales from social media vs sales from a writer's email list. The email list is much more powerful. There are ways that you can start your list without having a site - Mailchimp's free plan, for example.

I'm curious about what you meant by an empty blog space. If you're paying for that spot, it shouldn't cost more to use it... And...there are ways to save money if you need to do it on a budget. But you may just mean that you've reserved the domain but not bought hosting. And if that is the case - WELL DONE. Saving that domain for when you are ready to use it is smart.

I'll share my #1 tip for budget conscious authors. You can team up with a couple of other authors and share the cost of hosting. Most web hosting plans that will support more than 1 website can support a few authors together. For example, A2Hosting's "drive" plan costs $12.99/month regularly, with the sale price at $3.99. If 4 authors work together, you can get it for $1/month for 3 years. There's even a thing called WordPress multisite - where you set up 1 WordPress install and it runs many websites. I have about 30 on my own network right now. Everyone who can chips in, and we have a premium server at a reasonable price for all involved.

There are ways - even on a tight budget.

But having the time to set it up is often more of a constraint.

Awwwwww! This is the sweetest comment!

I hope I don't remain small, but I also have a finite amount of money to throw at it. I have a strong SM presence, so I hope that will bridge the gap when the time comes.

Awwww... Jeanne - you've done really well and dealt with many more technical headaches than average. I'm excited to see your new site start performing for you!

Karen - great! Have fun! You might also look for other communities that share long-form content. You might find people on Reddit as well. Have fun and watch to see when you start connecting with new people again. The change could be slow, but once you start connecting, you should see your wheel start turning again.

Thanks Lisa! I've done some of what you suggest, including posting on Medium, but I never looked for a people-pleaser community there - great idea! Also, I'm active in a FB group, and I love your suggestion about looking for an active thread and then using the title as a blog. I love these concrete steps- thanks again!

Denise - Do you intend to stay small? Then you're right - you may not need the power. But if you do decide to grow, you might want to consider starting before you need the strength. I've seen authors wait until they are ready to launch and then they find out they should have started their marketing journey about 3 years before the book comes out.

Some people can carve out a strong niche audience and do quite well without the work of a website. It all depends on how widely you want to market your books.