Courage to Face the Changes

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

I'm writing these words from a hotel room in Nashville. Later today, I'm flying home from a several day Morgan James event for our authors. It is my ninth trip to this city in the last four years. Yet it was my first time to walk the red carpet with my fellow Morgan James Publishing authors. It was in celebration of my new book, 10 Publishing Myths. While I've watched others be interviewed in the past, it was fun and exciting to be interviewed and be able to tell others about my book. I'm including a photo. I understand in a few weeks I will have a video clip of my time on the red carpet. 

By the way, my flight home was "different." My plane backed up from the gate, then they told the passengers the ski resorts in Colorado had closed. The plane returned briefly to the same gate and about half the plane got off since they were headed to ski but now couldn't.  The airline wouldn't remove their luggage but straightened that out later.  It was something in all of my years of traveling, I had never seen. 

The news is full of changes in our world. Events are being cancelled and because of this coronavirus pandemic and the uncertainty, many plans are changing. 


For example, last Thursday night I planned to see one of my publishing friends who lives near Nashville. She and her husband didn't come to the event so I texted her to ask if she was coming. Her response was telling about our current situation. She leads a large Christian organization with a huge annual conference in June (several thousand people normally attending).  She had only slept a few hours all week and been consumed with leading her organization. She was not coming to our event. 

While I was on the road, I received an email about the cancellation of a convention in April which I often have attended over the years but was not planning to attend this years. It is probably the first time in the long history of this organization that they have cancelled their national meeting.

In this article, I want to give several ways to find courage in face of these changes. This time in history is an unusual time but publishing is always changing--now more than usual. 

1. Have courage and continue writing. Books and magazine articles will continue to be published. Deadlines still need to be met and you will stand out from others if you continue to  produce and write. Some people will be stuck and not write so if you do, you will be different.


2. Use your common sense about protecting yourself and keeping yourself healthy in the midst of these changes. The news is full of advice about cleaning and washing your hands and just simple actions you can take.


3. Eventually the situation will pass and everything will return to normal. History shows us this will be the case even though it might not feel like it at the moment.


4. Look for opportunities in the midst of the changes. Is there an online way for you to do something which you can't do face to face? Many teaching opportunities are moving in this direction. 


5. Keep learning from others and growing in your skills and craft of writing. I have some new things I'm trying and learning. I will be showing you these new skills in the coming days. I hope you will take this type of action as well. 


The world needs the stories only you can tell and only you can write. Yes there are many changes in our world but I encourage you to keep your fingers on the keyboard and find the courage to face these changes and keep going.

Let me know what steps you are taking to handle the changes and keep going in the comments below.


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How do you find the courage to face the changes? Get ideas from this much published author and editor. (ClickToTweet)