When I titled this post “quick change,” I did not mean the speed with which the sales associate at Barnes and Noble gives you money back from your twenty dollar bill.  I’m talking about rapid alterations in our lives and our plans. This can be brought about by financial, technological, or personal events.

As you are aware, if you follow this blog, my family recently suffered some health issues and that has meant sporadic postings here. But the biggest recent change was that my publisher dropped me.  This was expected and was in my business plan - for a year from now.  Instead, the publishers’ notification that I would no longer be part of their catalog after thirty days was a shock and left me scrambling.

I had to quickly contact my graphic artist, do any necessary editing (there were a lot of typos in Greased Wheels), and arrange for publication through another source.  Currently, my books are not available in print; however I am pleased to say that all three of my mysteries will be released in print this year through a new publisher. Change can be good: I am thrilled with the new cover for Greased Wheels.  If you want a sneak peek, you can see it on Smashwords. 

Why am I telling you this? To illustrate that even the best plans are subject to change, sometimes with no warning. It is a good idea to have a Plan B and maybe even a Plan C.

When you do your year-end review, give some thought to various scenarios that will address points in your plan where you predict change.  As we saw with e-readers, one thing can create an entirely new paradigm, seemingly overnight.  Digital publishing was expected but the immediate and nearly instant impact of e-readers was not.  

Change can be good.  It is even better if we can anticipate it and be prepared.