Thursday, November 15, 2018

Can Authors Do What’s Needed On Book Publicity?




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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Brian Feinblum’s insightful views, provocative opinions, and interesting ideas expressed in this terrific blog are his alone and not that of his employer or anyone else. You can – and should -- follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels much more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2018. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s Independent.  This was named one of the best book marketing blogs by Book Baby http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. Also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America and participated in a PR panel at the Sarah Lawrence College Writers Institute Conference.

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