They have to write, live and be a parent, spouse, teacher, sister, daughter and more. They have to buy birthday cards, clean the house, wash the car, take the kids to music lessons and cook dinner too. When festivals arrive writers have to throw parties, cook cocktail food, buy tons of beer for their friends and somehow find the time to finish writing projects.

But in the meantime, the literary world has been busy. Editors have been beavering away at books written a year ago, designers making new covers, journalists writing articles about digital publishing and critics reviewing books before they turn into books.

There are blogs, magazines, books and websites to read. There are Facebook pages that lead to wonderful articles, interviews, podcasts and publicity contests.

Where is the time to read so much content? When do you find the time to sit down, put up your feet and switch on the laptop or the tablet and say “Don’t speak until spoken to! I am going to read.”

I am single, work full time and write in all my free time. I still have to find the time during a busy commute, long day at work, tired night back home to write. When do I read? Some days when I spend ages reading, I feel guilty. Writers write, but don’t they need to read too?

But how much can they read? They love books written by their friends, friends of friends, big writers, up and coming writers. They love blog posts and interviews. They love a funny podcast. They want to read the library petition. They want to read the Bookseller magazine and the Carousel. They want to read all the twitter messages about new books, hot books, bad books and other writers.

How do others manage? I struggle. Some days, I don’t read at all. Some days I don’t write at all. Some days, I just click buttons on the tablet, reading a twitter message at a time. Sometimes the twitter message takes me to a wonderful blog or an article or a review. Some days, I am just happy watching TV, without reminding me about my writerly and readerly commitments.

It’s hard to be a working writer. This industry is prolific. A big industry but shrinking all at the same time. The technology is evolving – so reading about the digital age and the e-books is as important as word structure and voice.

But I know one thing from experience – there is no substitute for writing and there is no substitute for reading good literature that will inform me as a reader and a writer. Everything else is secondary to that.

So from next week, I am not only going to track my writing time as usual, but also my reading time. I am going to write down the books and articles that inspired me. I am going to write down the books I skimmed in the library and the bookshops.

Reading is the mirror-image of writing and as a writer, I have no choice but to find the time for it. But I know there is a time and place for everything and I just have to find the right balance.