How Does a Writer Keep Up with Change?

by DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills

Changes in the publishing industry often send a streak of fear up a writer’s spine. We quiver at what is expected of us, and wonder if we can comply? Professional writers evaluate the publishing industry’s modifications and choose to accept or reject the change. Acceptance means adjusting, while ignoring might mean a writer’s publishing career is over.

None of us want our careers sliding to an abrupt halt. If the change meets our personal and professional guidelines, then we want to move forward. Updates emerge consistently with marketing, promotion, methods of publishing, platforms, writing genres, reader needs, style, publishers, and any number of updates that affect a writer’s career.

The question rises, how do writers keep up with changes in the publishing industry? Below is a list of tips and resources to ensure the latest information is available daily. 

17 Ways for a Writer to Keep Up with the Changes in the Publishing Industry:

1. Subscribe to industry newsletters and/or blogs, such as Ingram, Publishing.com, and The Writer’s Digest.
2. Subscribe to your publishers’ newsletters, blogs, and podcasts.
3. Subscribe to Publisher’s Weekly and Jane Friedman’s Hot Sheet.
4. Subscribe to literary agents’ newsletters and/or blogs.
5. Research reputable sites that offer specific up to date information regarding your marketing and promo questions, such as BookBub.
6. Learn how to create memes, videos, and exceptional content through BookBrush, Canva, or YouTube. 
7. Stay active on social media, such as BookBub, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, YouTube, and X to establish and deepen your brand. *Don’t spread yourself too thin. Study the platform’s structure to see if your readers use it. 
8. I encourage you to follow established and respected writers in your genre, read what is posted, and comment.
9. Join communities of authors and network and participate.
10. Attend writer conferences in-person and online.
11. Understand and know your readers’ needs.
12. Consider joining the Authors Guild, Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), or the Association of American Publishers(AAP). 
13. Keep current with libraries through the American Library Association and state libraries.
14. Own the latest edition of The Chicago Manual of Style.
15. Own the latest edition of Christian Markets Guide, Children’s Writers Market Guide, Concise Guide to APA Style, Writers Market Guide, and/or a specialty market guide that fits your genre. 
16. Understand ethical use of AI and how publishers view the tool. For example: using AI to market, promote, brainstorm. 
17. Read. Read. Read.

We writers can keep updated on what is happening in our writing world, but the process takes discipline. Are you ready to accept the challenge?

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DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She creates action-packed, suspense-filled novels to thrill readers. Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. 

She is the former director of the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Marketing Retreat, and Mountainside Novelist Retreat with social media specialist Edie Melson. Connect here: DiAnnMills.com