Tips on dealing with change for authors

It’s 2021 and Time for an Author Do-Over … A Change in Plans

2020 was a wallop of a year in dishing out change, flowing it from multiple directions. The way you worked, where you worked, and how you worked morphed. Socializing was flipped on its head. Outside entertainment took a deep-dive. Health awareness and care dominated conversations and airwaves. Most likely, you felt that you were in a never-ending change spiral.

The truthiness is that Change is an everyday occurrence. It has always been, and most likely, always will. There is nothing new about that simple statement … how it evolves and what components bubbled up—that too will change. It happens, whether by choice or involuntary. Some changes arise from chaos; some form crisis; some from not have the skills to tackle a job, and some are just created from the roll of life’s dice. Some change is gentle; others with hurricane force. The year 2020 was the latter. It’s time to change your box of thinking and doing.

Here are 4 tips to navigate your way through change.

People … your relationships weigh heavy in dealing with unwelcome change. Friends, Colleagues and Family become your tether lines.

Are you reaching out?
Are you asking for input for redirection or confirmation of what you are doing or contemplating doing?
Are you willing to “let go” of what is no longer working (including people)?
Skills … what are yours? Most of us have already acquired the necessary tools to carve through the waves that are encountered. If you need to acquire new ones, get signed up.

The world moved online in 2020—being a techno klutz is no longer a valid excuse.
Resources to showing/learning the how-to abound. The “Google” and a search that starts with “how to _____” brings out articles, videos, and names. Do the reading of customer reviews. For social media, my first spot to do “the ask” in the search box is Social Media Examiner.
Discover “local help” via groups like Next Door—started in San Francisco in 2011, it’s now national and currently available in 11 countries. Users of Next Door are required to submit their real names and addresses (or street without the exact number) to the website; posts made to the website are available only to other Next Door members living in the same neighborhood.
Next Door is one of my “go-to” resources for a variety of needs—from getting an electrician, a computer geek, even posting Author Events that I’ll be doing.

Remain True … what brought you to where you were before the change came into play? With no exceptions, be myopic about who you are, be true to yourself.

Right now, what are your priorities for YOU and YOUR WORK?
Revisit your brand … is it on target … or is it in a change mode as well?
If it doesn’t feel like the “right fit” … trust your gut. Another option is around the change corner.

Action … deal with it. Burying your head; or fantasizing about the “good old days” does nothing. is here. Acknowledge what has happened and start asking, “What’s next? Start with:

If I had a magic wand, what would I really like to be doing?
What tools do I have that I can use AND what new skills do I need to acquire to go the next step?
Who do I need to mentor and guide me in my quest?

Is there a plus to change? That’s a yes—when change hits, huge growth can happen. Sometimes a direction that was never in your vision. Other times, a finetuning of what you were doing or headed toward that delivers a leapfrog to your growth and success.

I’m doing things for my clients and business in a way that I hadn’t envision. Then the change in my plans bubbled up. It’s a good thing.

My final thoughts: with age comes wisdom … as it does with action. When there is no action, stagnation is guaranteed. With stagnation, oblivion opens a door.

How about you? Which door do you choose?

Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. She empowers authors and works directly with authors who want to be seriously successful and has been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the ’80s. Judith is the author of 37 books including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms, Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers, and How to Create a $1,000,000 Speech. Her personal memoir When God Says NO-Revealing the YES When Adversity and Loss Are Present is a #1 bestseller on Amazon. Collectively, her books have earned over 45 book awards. Judith speaks throughout the year at publishing conferences.

Throughout the year, she holds Judith Briles Book Unplugged experiences: Publishing, Speaking, Marketing, and Social Media. All are two-day intensive limited to a small group of authors who want to be seriously successful. Join Judith live for the “AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing” podcast on the Toginet Radio Network HERE.

Follow @AuthorUYOUBooks and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU, and join the Facebook group Book Publishing with The Book Shepherd. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact me.