Why Do Great Books Go Undiscovered Like A Hidden Treasure?

 

How Does Your Book Get Discovered?

Anyone can write a book — and in the last few years, millions have done just that. How many are really good — or really bad? Who would be in a position to know — and by what measuring tool would they go by?

Think about it.

There are 1,440 minutes in a day. Three times that number is how many new books are published every single day. Assuming one works 10-hour days... which is a lot... that is 600 minutes a day. 3,000 minutes a week. Taking sick days, vacations, weekends, and holidays, one might work 44 weeks. That is 132,000 minutes. But you have at least 12 times as many books published in a year.

Even if you had access to every book published — and no one has that — and you spent all of a minute to glance at the cover and read back cover copy or a random page of a book, you would miss out on some 92% of all books.

So when The New York Times Book Review says s book is good or bad, it may seem good or bad on its own and in the context of the experience, training, biases, passions, mood of that reviewer. But the review was done without having even an awareness of all books that could be reviewed, and it certainly was done without having read even one out of every 1500 books published that year — and that is if he or she reads three books every single day, 365 days a week.

Do you get my point?

Literary agents, acquisition editors, librarians, book awards, and teachers are in the same boat.

One person is lost at sea with all of the books freshly pulped every day. But if you create some type of system or standard for evaluating books and then have a team of 1000 people divide and conquer, you will get closer to having a legitimate, uniform way of evaluating all books. Separate things by genre. Make sure your team if 1,000 have the abilities, mindsets, and passion to make appropriate decisions.

So, when you get rejected or ignored by literary agents, book publishers, news media outlets, or bookstores, just know that these decisions are made in a matter of seconds — if they even ever got to your email, manuscript, or submission.

We now lack a proper way to have all great books discovered.

How many really good books never get published? How many are published and go unpurchased because we couldn’t get even one gatekeeper to shine a spotlight on them?

Then again, shouldn’t greatness find its readers, even if it is self-published? After all, social media allows for a huge word-of-mouth megaphone at no cost, tight?

Nope.

Books require marketing. They must be championed and advocated for. All of the words in a book form a message that could change lives, but that book needs a voice.

You see the math. For your book to stick out you must be its advocate. It needs to be pushed out and put in front of people. You need to take a diverse approach. Mix it up with social media, speaking, advertising, traditional media, awards, freebies, reviews, e-mail blasts, partnerships, and many tactics from scores of guerrilla marketing approaches.

You can’t depend on being discovered. Too many books are out there. Too little time for any of the gatekeepers to take notice. It is up to you to be heard, and to show others how great your book actually is. Otherwise, it’s as if your book was never really published or written.

Contact Brian For Marketing Help!!

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand.

Learn, Grow, Succeed!!

I Guarantee Books will Soar Post-Pandemic

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/i-guarantee-books-will-soar-post.html

 

Are Literary Agents – Or Authors – Full Of Crap?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/are-literary-agents-or-authors-full-of.html

 

The Psychology of An Author’s Book Marketing

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-psychology-of-book-marketing.html

 

Is Social Media A Bust Or Boon For Authors?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/is-social-media-bust-or-boon-for-authors.html

 

Here’s Why Authors Need A Dominatrix!

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/heres-why-authors-need-dominatrix.html

 

How To Get More Social Media Connections

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/follow-me-on-twitter-theprexpert.html

 

How Authors Can Build Their List Of Potential Book Buyers

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-can-authors-build-their-list-of.html

 

How Much Should Authors Spend On Book Marketing?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-much-should-authors-spend-on-book.html

 

Are You A Book Marketing Badass?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2020/12/are-you-book-marketing-badass.html

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2021. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This 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 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.