Your
life experiences, schooling, family, friends, age, race, community, gender,
career and a whole host of other factors greatly influence not only how you
live but how you think. All of your past
impacts how you even read this blog post.
Think
about it. Don’t you wonder why a group
of people can’t see things the same way, despite the facts presented to them? The country is split on which party should
govern. A family of five is rarely unanimous in choosing which restaurant to go
to. A couple could see the same movie
and each person could have vastly different views on it. So my book marketing blog is no different.
People
will read my blog. A handful will disagree with anything I said. Others will misinterpret or not fully
understand what I said. Many will agree with me, in theory, but will, for one
reason or another, fall far short in carrying out my advice. Some will completely agree with me and
execute things just as I recommended. So
why is that? Why can’t we all, even for
a brief time, act in a uniform way?
I
can think of scores of reasons as to why one will stray from anything anyone
has to say. But why do those reasons get
in the way?
For
instance, some people simply won’t follow any advice because they are not
trusting of others. They simply can’t allow themselves to be led by another. They have to do it their way, and they are
very cautious.
Others
may blindly follow those they should not put so much faith into. They are prone to putting their fate into the
hands of others and can easily be seduced by a confident charmer.
Most
often, psychology aside, people have limitations as to why they can’t follow
along and do what’s needed. They lack
certain skills and traits. They don’t
have the right experiences or all of the information that’s needed to make wise
decisions.
Often,
I find authors operate out of myths or faulty thinking. They don’t understand why something works or
doesn’t work and then enter into something with the wrong assumptions and take
the wrong approaches.
For
instance, an author cannot go into a publicity campaign thinking that their
book is the best, most important, most interesting thing out there. Sure, they can be positive, confident, and
feel secure that they have a quality book on a timely topic, but if they assume
everyone in the media should want to speak to them, they will be mistaken. They need to think strategically and realize
the burden is on them to convince others why their book is special and that it’s
not for the media to sift through everything to figure out what is not so
obvious.
Another
example is timing. If you don’t send out
advance review copies to major magazine and newspaper book reviewers at least
three and a half months prior to launch date, there’s zero chance it will get
reviewed. Zero. To act as if the stated schedules and needs
of the media don’t exist is foolish.
Even
though you have the urge to disagree with me – based on your past, mindset, and
environment – you know what I say is true.
Most authors can’t, won’t, or fail to do what’s needed to properly market
and promote a book, but that is the main reason that a book falls far short of
an author’s sales goal for his or her gem.
If
people could agree with each other more often – and have the initiative and
ability to act on what they understand to be true – the world would be a better
place. And there would be more
successful authors.
So,
on the one hand, don’t beat yourself up that your book failed. It is human nature for you to not do what’s
needed, to not agree on facts, to not understand what you are being told. Forgive yourself, but try a little harder, to
get it right the next time around.
On
the other hand, some authors do everything right and still can’t break
through. That’s called competition. We can’t all be winners at the same
time. You can do well, but some may do
better. Don’t lose faith in
yourself. Next time around you may get a
lucky break or you’ll do even better at the things you did well the first time
around.
Another
reasonable conclusion is that I, nor anyone else, has all the answers all of
the time, so you are right to not follow everything. I or anyone else says all
of the time. I’d like to think I’m a
petty good horse to bet on – just don’t bet the house.
Do Smaller Lunch Breaks Impact
Book Reading?
The
average lunch break shrank by about 10% over the past four years, going from 43
minutes to 39, according to a survey published in USA Today. What does this
shift indicate?
It
could just be a blip on the charts – maybe next year we see changed
results. Or perhaps the survey method
employed was not accurate. But if it’s
true and the trend is towards a shrinking “lunch hour,” how does that impact
our way of life?
What’s
being done during those four minutes that got lost from lunch? Are people working longer – or do they simply
leave earlier than they used to – or come in later, thus, the net amount of
time in the office may even be down?
If
we have shorter lunch periods does this mean we have more time for reading or
writing books? We’ve become such a
rushed society, busy being busy, worrying about time, and always seeking ways
to be quicker and more efficient. What
if some people conclude they don’t have time for books?
Our
time increasingly goes to the little computer in our hands. We scan the web for news, games, cat videos,
and shopping deals. We tweet and text a
lot of nonsense, but we don’t seem to have time to see friends in person, read
books, or dedicate time to serving our communities. Why is that?
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