How Authors Deal With Transitions, Challenges, & Changes

 

 

Someone close to me got laid off. It is one of those life-challenging moments, a point of loss, change, and transition that forces one to take stock of things and map out a plan to right things. Authors go through many moments like this, from getting rejected by a publisher, struggling to find readers, or bring criticized by a book reviewer.  

Writers need courage, resilience, persistence, and hope to move forward. So will the jobless.  

He changed his LinkedIn status to “Open To Work.” Typical story. The older guy who makes more than some others but far less than what the executives he had made money for gets pushed out the minute profits slow their meteoric rise. Corporate loyalty and compassion have long left us.   

Now, as he turns into his late 60s, still hungry and wanting to utilize his many assets — decades of experience and knowledge in his industry — he finds himself at a crossroads. Does he continue working full-time for others? Scale down to part-time? Launch his own venture? Consult?  

He strategically grapples with his future while psychologically trying to download what just happened.  

I told him about a former client of mine, who actually was big in jewelry in KC, (Helzberg Diamonds). He said in his book about 20 years ago, “You don’t need anyone’s permission to succeed.” 

I have no doubt the newly unemployed will find his path.  

I told him: Screw all of these places. You help enrich them and then they treat you like, as the song says: “Now you’re just somebody that I used to know.” 

My former employer threw me out 3.5 years ago amidst a covid slowdown, after 21 years of making them many millions. Best thing to happen to me. I make more money with my own business.  

He will recover, get whole, and then carve out his thing. That is what writers must do with setbacks, rejections, and criticisms. But, easier said than done. The process requires honesty, patience, and conviction. Being a writer is riddled with pitfalls. 

Life offers many moments where one is forced to assess, regroup, and invest in a new future. Just look at some of the major aspects of life and the things that may cause us to really re-evaluate our path: 

Health: sick, injured, disabled, aging

Wealth: debt, loss, fired, bankrupt

Relationships: death, divorce, move away

Like I said, writers are constantly confronting something, navigating through opposition, indifference, and unawareness. In any given day or moment, the author has gone through a spectrum of feelings, from pain, anger, and jealousy, to euphoria, accomplishment, and happiness. More often it is the former and not the ladder.  

Writers need to have a thick skin. They must sustain a belief in their writing capabilities and marketing abilities. They must remain vigilant in the face of rejection, criticism, ghosting. Most of all, they must stay optimistic and know that with every failure they are getting closer to success. Every setback is temporary, a mere detour, but not a permanent obstruction, to their ultimate destination. 

Here is a real process authors can utilize to withstand any negativity: 

1. Dismiss what happened as an aberration: You will succeed next time. Just keep believing. 

2. Blame those who rejected you: What do they know — and who the f—k are they to judge me? 

3. Reflect on what you would change if you had to do it over: I will make these adjustments next time around. 

4. Challenge your assumptions: Maybe I guessed wrong or applied an ineffective strategy. 

5. Consult others: Ask others who have broken through how they did it. Get feedback. 

6. Outsource to a pro: They can do it better than I can — and now I am freed up to do other things. 

7. Question your effort: Was I too lazy or late in my actions? Did I do all that I could to put me in a position to succeed? 

8. Amp up your skill set or knowledge base. Perhaps you discover you need to secure a fresh perspective or obtain a new skill. 

9. Don’t play in this arena: Perhaps I would be best served to compete at a different level, to write in another genre or medium, or to pursue a different type of media.  

10. Come to see authors as collaborators, not competitors: What can I learn from them? How can we help each other?  

11.  Turn the ego down a notch and don’t expect anything to be handed to you. Don’t cheap out on the time, effort, or money needed to accomplish whatever you want to do.  

12.  Take a break and change of scenery. Cleanse your head by briefly stopping all writing and marketing activities. Take a vacation and get out of your current mindset.  

13. Consider doing something radically different, from quitting your project to firing anyone helping you. Sometimes nothing short of a radical shift or complete makeover will do.  

14. Question your support. Are you getting love, comfort, and encouragement from those closest to you, or do you need to cut some toxic people out of your life?  

15. Get organized. A chaotic, messy, or disorganized life can tug away at your ability to gain clarity, focus, and soulful balance. Clean shit up and gain back control over your environment.  

16. Seek to get the rest of your life in good order. For instance, if you have overwhelming distractions in your life, your writing and marketing are likely to suffer. Can you block that stuff out, fix things, or find away to insulate from them?  

Bottom line: You’ve got this. You simply refuse to throw in the towel and are trying everything with all of your might to press forward and embrace today, regardless of what yesterday brought you. 

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.6 million pageviews. With 4,800+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.