Firstly, no one knows what's going to happen. So we aren't going to pretend we can see the future. Nor are we going to tell you - 'This is what you should do. This will give you infinite job security'.

What we can do is give you some general guidelines, which will help you regardless of who wins The Future of Books and Publishing

1) Do not trust anyone

2) The best job security is becoming world class at what you do
Whether the future is owned by Publishers or Book Stores or Authors or some entirely new company/consortium, they will need services and products
If you're one of the best in the world at what you do (Top 100 in the World; Top 1000 in the World) you will always have a job

3) Start building your brand
Build a website
Get Referrals and Reviews - even if you work in a company
Build your LinkedIn Profile
Build a Portfolio of your best work. Add it to your website

4) Build and Strengthen your Relationships with your Clients and your Colleagues and Bosses
You will have to do a lot of networking and relationship building in the future. Get an early start

5) Be prepared for Complete Chaos

Publishers' Vision of the Future is based on very little changing
Amazon and Barnes and Noble's Vision of the Future is based on them eliminating Publishers and very little else changing. Just a replacement of the Old Kings by the New King
There is going to be a Lot of Change

6) Do not try to control things you cannot control
Control how you deliver your product and service
Control who you work with
Do not control things you cannot control - you cannot force readers to purchase what you want them to purchase
Similarly, you cannot force Authors and Publishers to buy your product. Make what they are looking to buy
When building your own Brand and Website, give them the services and products they WANT and NEED. Not what you would like them to want and need

7) Save up enough money for 6 months to 3 years
If there is a period of extended chaos, you would need 3 years worth of living expenses, to get by until you find your niche in the new World of Publishing
If there is a quick end to the chaos, you might still need 6 months to 1 year worth of living expenses

8) Start building up a clientele outside your Traditional Publishing world
Even if it's just $500 a month, start building it up
It's much easier to transition from $500/$1,000 a month to $5,000 a month, than it is to go from $0 to $5,000
$0 to $5,000 can sometimes seem and be impossible
Make sure you set up side gigs that are bringing in $500 to $1,000 a month. When the Storm hits it will hit hard

9) Do not EVER trust any tech companies
Crowd Sourced Designs - making designers work for free, and then the 'winner' get a few hundred dollars
Kindle Unlimited Subscription - authors reduced to being paid per page read. Remember, only 10% of purchased books are read beyond the first chapter. It's a remarkably anti-author move to have authors paid based on 'number of pages read'
Search Engines - goodbye newspapers
Social Networks - privacy compromised, repeatedly
You see the pattern? Never trust any tech company

10) Expand your skill set a bit
If there is some very valuable skill that is related to your core skill set, learn it
This is lower priority than becoming Top 1000 in the World in what you do. Think of it as a bonus to add AFTER becoming World Class

11) Focus on Your Core Competencies
If your job entails a few areas that you are superb at, and a few you are mediocre at, transition your job to where 90% to 100% of your time is on things you are superb at
That will guarantee you aren't in the first few rounds of casualties if jobs start getting killed

12) Learn as much marketing and sales as you can
EVERYONE in the New World of Publishing will have to sell and market themselves
Most of your time should go to becoming world class in what you do. Any additional time you can scrape together - learn marketing and sales

13) Cut down on vacations and TV and Netflix for a few years
Sounds crazy, eh. Well, not as crazy as being unprepared and wishing you hadn't spent every weekend watching Narcos and Stranger Things
Weekends should be your time to build up a side income of $1,000 or more a month

14) Start understanding the Business Side of what you do
What core value do you provide?
What value does your company/publisher/agency assign to your work?
What value does the Client assign to your work?

15) Avoid negative people and easily excitable people
As things change, the foremost thing to do is to be calm and sans emotion
Stay very far away from people who over-react and muddy your state of calm. Same for people who are overly negative
You will need to have a very clear mind and think very clearly when the Chaos starts. There will be opportunities, not just challenges. If you keep a clear mind you will be able to seize on these opportunities (while everyone else panics and runs around willy nilly)

Winter is coming. There's no avoiding that. You can get prepared for Winter, and you should. Set aside what you wish would happen. Set aside emotions and feelings. Prepare well. Seize the opportunities that will come up