For every SF reader of that period, Robert A. Heinlein was also a touchstone.

An SF author who reads only SF will have little new to contribute, but someone with a broader experience will bring more to the table.

I now have to find a reason to write, every single day.

That's why editors and publishers will never be obsolete: a reader wants someone with taste and authority to point them in the direction of the good stuff, and to keep the awful stuff away from their door.

Even if you only want to write science fiction, you should also read mysteries, poetry, mainstream literature, history, biography, philosophy, and science.

My touchstone for every question is the Constitution.