Benjamin
Franklin, who seemingly invented everything – post office, lighting rod,
bifocals, odometer, and a stove to name a few – once said words to the effect
of “Don’t put off until tomorrow what can
be done today.” He was not a
procrastinator, but rather a curious, diligent, creative, and assertive
individual who was driven by a passion for words, freedom, learning, and
succeeding at any endeavor he put his mind to.
He always seemed to act with a sense of urgency.
That’s
how he got so many things done, like founding a library, firehouse, and oh,
democracy in America. He was an author,
a publisher, and a great man of ideas and beliefs that still drive our nation
to this very day.
Do your book marketing and publicity efforts have an urgency attached to
them? Do you act as if you must do it
today and not wait until tomorrow?
You
have to work at marketing and promoting a book – every day in every way. You can’t just sit back and feel you’re done
or that you accomplished enough.
Complacency, laziness, and slowness are not the attributes of a successful person in any industry and certainly not in the book publishing arena.
Complacency, laziness, and slowness are not the attributes of a successful person in any industry and certainly not in the book publishing arena.
Time
can’t be lost to planning, researching, experimenting, deciding, or reviewing
what to do. You simply must do – every
day. Action taken is what positions you
for success – not the contemplation of action.
Way in advance of your book’s publication is the time to strategize,
explore your options, and brainstorm.
But at some point you need to get out of school and into the real
world. And once you do, you must work
hard at whatever you seek to create.
Treat
each day as being special. Pace yourself
so that you have enough time to execute your daily book marketing to-do-list. Each day, have a certain number of
things that MUST be done. Then, have a list of other things that COULD be done – if time permits. No matter how little or much you do today,
wipe the slate clean for a fresh start tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that.
Authors
need to be industrious, scrappy, and aggressive when it comes to book
marketing. You need to do what others
won’t, can’t, don’t know to do, don’t know how to do. You must keep an eye on the prize and
continually take steps to finish what is a marathon.
Voyeuristic
authors won’t get far. No time to stand
on the sidelines and just observe, hope, or bet on a wrong strategy. You need to dig in and keep shoveling until
you hit pay dirt – or find your hole is just too big to get out of. Remember Ben Franklin. He didn’t just stop with one
achievement. He willed himself to keep
meeting new challenges.
Maybe
Franklin didn’t have modern-day distractions to contend with; but he certainly
could have pacified himself with the pleasures of his day and not pursued his
work as heartily as he did.
Look
into yourself and connect with the inner entrepreneur, the inner winner who
wants to make his or her book a success.
It’ll take time, money, luck and disciplined effort.
You
can do it – but only if you keep at it. Do something! Now!
DON'T
MISS THESE
Sell
a book like a car salesman
Can
you write a book that never ends?
Who
has a monopoly on ideas?
Will
the media returrn to authors?
Writers
and their legacy
When
books are dead on arrival to the media
Do You
Believe In Book Publishing’s False Prophets?
A look
into the future of books and language and the struggle for relevancy
Working your own book publicity
miracle
Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this
blog are his alone and not that of his employer, Media Connect, the nation’s
largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed
in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2014.
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