In my role as a book marketing consultant, I
talk to many authors who have dreams of breaking through the clutter. But many
are fragile and need not just advice, resources, and strategies, but love,
encouragement, and acceptance.
One author told me recently that he feels intimidated by me, even though he
knows I am on his side. He felt like his past errors were getting exposed anew.
He, at times, said he felt unprepared and dumb when talking to me. Though
he was being harsh on himself, he was not alone in how he felt.
Writers can feel insecure about a lot of things, including:
* Their ability to write well
* How they talk about their writings
* How they handle praise and criticism
* What others in their genre are writing about
The act and art of book marketing can scare off writers. They believe they need
to become someone that they are not, unsure of how to be themselves under the
scrutiny of the limelight. They think they need to have boisterous
personalities or look a certain way. They see marketing as a task for someone
else, and want to just leave themselves to write books.
Just walk away from the beliefs and unfounded
fears that may have been your narrative but truly don’t serve you well now.
That’s right. Just stop being a wimp and step out of your shadow. Silence that
side of you that wants to run away and fears everything.
Instead, take the mindset of the underdog who
has nothing to lose by trying. You are not known, no one is aware of your book,
and your prospects for success are low. That is not me being mean; just
truthful. But here is the thing — that is only a momentary snapshot. It can
change — not due to luck or randomness — but because you are changing how you
go about your book marketing.
Who cares if you fail and sound stupid while
pursuing success? What does it matter if you get five rejections today
when you can get a yes tomorrow? Where does it say you can’t lose until you
win? By what made-up authority or self-labeled standard do you let dictate your
life?
Get your sorry-ass out there, make a mockery
of yourself, and flame out! Big deal. Nothing bad will happen as a result of
that. You had few or no sales prior to that, so you can’t get any worse. It is
just the beginning of your ascent to rise. Eventually, you try, try, try, try
and surprise: success. Then you build on it and now your foundation of good
habits and productive tasks gets built up.
Remember when you were maybe 12 or 13, waiting
for your body to develop, to hit puberty and suddenly you have hair in
previously empty spots, see male muscles sprouting, enjoy female breasts taking
form, going on height spurts, hearing a changed voice… Well, your book
marketing is the same way, only you don’t wait around for nature to take its
course. You get out there and make your own book marketing puberty. You can
transform into a strong, beautiful author!
There is no upside to being shy, reserved,
passive, conservative, or invisible. Only good things can happen if you try —
and the potential upside of trying to succeed far outstrips any perceived or
anticipated injuries one suffers at the hands of momentary defeat.
You can do it! You have to.
Need PR Help?
Brian
Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 3.9 million page
views, can be reached at [email protected] He is available to help authors promote their story,
sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in
successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your
advocate, teacher, and motivator!
About Brian
Feinblum
Brian Feinblum should be
followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is
copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now
resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue
dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The
Writer and IBPA’s The Independent. This
award-winning blog has generated over 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ posts
over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by
BookBaby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018
as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by
www.WinningWriters.com as a “best resource.” For the past three decades,
including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book
publicity firm, and director of publicity positions at two independent presses,
Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres,
right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark
Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay,
Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan
RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He
hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and
has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah
Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association,
Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and
Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have
been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY
Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington
Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, &
Co-Op Association Handbook. It was featured
in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.
