Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Can You Harness Your Fear To Market Your Book?



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Fear.

It can drive us to take action, but it can also cripple us.

It can force us to confront our reality, but it can send us into hiding.

We fear the unknown.  We fear what could go wrong. We obsess over what we fear instead of seeking to take ownership of what we can control.

We let our minds wander into the negative, rather than take that same energy and passion and allow ourselves to dream and turn ideas into a positive reality.

How do you handle fear?  Is it an asset to you – or a burden?  Does it move you to go after what you want or does it become an excuse for not trying, for not reaching for the stars?

You can write your book today. You can market and promote it. You can get others to buy and read it. Or you can languish in fear and not take even a baby step towards any of these things.

It stinks to live in fear. And we do it to ourselves. It’s not all in our heads. Feat gets into our bodies. It permeates our actions. It’s in our words. It stalks our dreams.  There is no escape from fear unless you simply choose to dismiss it and not allow it any currency in your life.

I understand fear well. It leads to doubt, procrastination, bad choices, limited results and a nagging feeling that you are not reaching your destiny or living a fulfilled life. You look around and know that others are not better than you, but you marvel at how they got lucky or found someone to help them live their dream.

But you can break the fear cycle.  

How, you ask? Why should today be any different than yesterday, you wonder?

Here’s the thing.  Fear is only as real as we let it be.  Sure, there are times, situations, or circumstances where concern or even fear is necessary.  Danger, loss or pain exists all around us.  But that moment of concern should only last briefly, long enough to make a sensible plan to overcome obstacles or handle anticipated pitfalls. You need to take reasonable risks in order to grow. 

Even if you fail miserably, get up and try again. Don’t let yourself be held hostage by things that can be navigated, avoided, or dealt with.

This doesn’t mean you’ll go through life pain-free or without loss. On the contrary, you will have more pain and more loss as you try new things, do more things, and reach beyond your comfort level. 
But the pay-off can be worth it.

So how can your harness your fear to work for you – and not against you?

·         Take action, rather than overthinking or being obsessive over possible failure. You already fail what you don’t try.
·         Seek guidance from others – family, friends, therapists, or book industry professionals.
·         Come up with a list of ideas on how you can succeed – and dismiss listing how you can fail.
·         Get some success under your belt to build up your confidence – tackle smaller, easier tasks first.
·         Envision success – how it will feel and how it can happen. Meditate for just a few minutes where you can visualize a clear path to reaching your goals.
·         Rather than live in fear of the unknown, start to seek out answers and get a better understanding of where the real challenges live and avoid the danger zones.
·         Enjoy a few good motivational books and self-help seminars.  They will move you to reach for the stars. We all need a little push and a lot of inspiration.
·         Be willing to do something that you resisted, dismissed, or didn’t know about.  Perhaps it will work out and thus, you’ll see that you need to change your perspective of things.

Fear has little upside in the long run. But moving beyond your fear to accomplish wonderful things has a potentially huge benefit. 

Go for it!


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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 ©2020. 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.

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