Writers,

It's hard not to focus on the doom & gloom with the COVID-19 pandemic.

While it's too soon to know what will happen, we could be on the brink of a global recession, or maybe a depression.

A lot of people (maybe you) have lost their jobs and there are surely more layoffs on the horizon.

Like you, I'm stuck in isolation right now, and the only times I get to go outside are to walk my dog or to risk my life at the grocery store.

It sucks, doesn't it?

And perhaps what stings the most is that the world we used to know and rely on was with us just a week ago. A lot of people desperately want it back.

As a husband, father, a son concerned about the health of my aging parents, and a devoted employee, I honestly don't know what will happen, or whether I myself will catch the virus or a layoff in the coming months.

But even in the face of this uncertainty, what I do know is this. Writers have two things: our words our imagination. And no matter what happens in the world, we will always be able to profit from those.

Look to the Future

In this time, one of the best things you can do is give some forethought to your writing business and how you plan to continue writing in this downturn.

Most people are “hibernating” right now and finding it so very hard to keep moving forward.

But if you can keep going—even though it's hard—when we come out of this crisis on the other side, you're going to be so much better off for it.

You'll have books to show for the time you spent at home while other writers scramble to catch up.

Focus on the Main Things

Your #1 goal right now is to avoid contracting the COVID-19 virus if you can. That may not be possible, so you need to assume you WILL contract it. If you don't, hallelujah, but if you do, you'll be prepared.

If you get the virus, your writing must stop. Immediately. You need to take care of yourself and mitigate the spread.

If a loved one gets the virus, you also need to stop writing so you can take care of them and mitigate the spread.

Do you have enough money in your bank account to pay for ongoing expenses while you're sick? (website hosting, AMS ads, etc.)

Do you have enough money to pay for your writing expenses for an entire year? It's never too late to start saving.

Do you have a communication plan in place with your readers if you are diagnosed with the virus? Don't fall of the face of the Earth. Communicate with them, and they'll support you and root for you. We've all got to take care of each other in this crisis.

A WORD ON THE INCOMING NEW WORLD OF PUBLISHING

It's hard to know just how deeply this pandemic will impact publishing, but a few things are becoming apparent.

Bookstores are hard hit and some of them may be at risk.

Traditional publishers are also hurt and that's going to hurt traditionally-published writers.

My personal opinion is that tradpubs are going to come out on the other end of this crisis with a newfound appreciation for ebooks, and they'll probably price them more competitively now. That's a win for readers.

It also means more competition for us, so shore up your advertising, run ads on all your books if you can, figure out which ones take, and keep marketing. You know, stuff you should be doing anyway.

I also believe that if this crisis drags on for more than a couple months, we may see author services take a hit. Your current editor, cover designer, subscription service etc. may not be able to weather this storm if their cash flow suffers.

And we have ZERO idea how Amazon will weather this, much less KDP.

Therefore, wrap up existing projects as quickly as possible, sit on as much of your royalty payments as possible, and play the waiting game.

Don't stop writing and publishing (if you can), but be careful with your money. You may need it.

What will the new world of self-publishing look like now that the landscape is being disrupted?

I don't know. But I do know that our #1 goal is to simply survive. If you can sustain your career in the midst of all this tumult, you're going to be far, far stronger as a result.

More opportunities will come to you as well because other authors will slow down or quit.

Resist the urge to slow down and stop writing. Dean Wesley Smith calls summertime “the time of great forgetting” because writers stop writing because it's nice outside. This very well may be the “time of great writing lobotomies” because writing is going to be the LAST thing people focus on.

OTHER SNAKES IN THE GRASS

Keep your wits about you and watch out for certain vipers that are almost inevitable to appear.

VIPER #1: Don't start giving your books away for free or lowering the price of your books. Some people are already doing this. You deserve to be paid a fair price for your work, no matter what the world's economic condition. Lowering your prices like this is a race to the bottom and it will hurt you in the long run.

VIPER #2: If we hit a worst case scenario, the prices of author services may rise and there may be fewer editors/cover designers, etc. Be prepared for that.

VIPER #3: Scammers. Avoid them at all costs. Be wary of anyone who comes around trying to sell you new kinds of snake oil.

We saw people price-gouge for hand sanitizer with the pandemic…if people can do that, imagine what kinds of BS they'll come up with for writers.

Self-published writers are especially vulnerable to scams because they spend their own personal money on their careers, and they're willing to spend big to realize their dreams. The bad guys know this and they'll try to prey on your fear.

In a time like this, The Alliance of Independent Authors will be more valuable to our community than ever before. Be sure to report scammy behavior to them.

We're in This Together

We'll get through this. It won't be easy, but if we help each other, keep our heads, and don't lose ourselves to the hysteria, we'll be just fine in the long run.

Books are cheap entertainment, and cheap entertainment is exactly what people need in hard times.

Also, consider that the barrier to entry for self-publishing just went way up. It's not exactly cheap to publish a book…and aspiring writers may not exactly have a lot of disposable income in a recession/depression. The existing books that YOU have on the market are officially an advantage for you.

Also consider that this time is great material for stories.

If you're adversely affected by layoffs or the devastating impacts of the disease, also don't despair. Remember that you're always a writer even if you have to stop writing for a time. You can always come back.

Restaurants, landscapers, retail stores…they can't come back. But we can. And for that, we are extremely fortunate. I've said for the last seven years that this is the best time in the history of the world to be a writer.

That's still true.

Even if you don't have any money, you can always keep writing.

Stay calm. Persevere. Keep writing, keep marketing. Don't hang onto nostalgia about how the world was just recently; look to the future and figure out how you can become the writer of the future who will thrive on the other end of this crisis.

And most importantly, practice the power of positivity. Be an example to others through your own actions and your service to those who matter most in your life.

All my best goes out to you and your families in this difficult time. We got this.

I'll be following this pandemic and discussing it more on my podcast and my email newsletter, so feel free to follow me there.

In the meantime, I've got some books to write.