Market Your Book Like An Aggressive Cabby Drives Through Traffic Jams?

 

I just came back from a relaxing vacation of two weeks in California. No, I wasn’t near the wildfires that have scorched chunks of the state. My sister-in-law hooked me up my wife and I. and our two teenage kids, with her boyfriend’s family beach house in Huntington Beach. Lots of sunsets, ice cream, and walks on the beach. We also ventured out to do touristy things like attend a taping of Bill Maher television show. I also added two more presidential museums to my list of conquests -- visiting the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum, and The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum (I had already visited ones for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Jimmy Carter, FDR, Teddy Roosevelt, and Andrew Jackson). But before I arrived in the Golden State,

But before I could enjoy any of that, I had to sweat my departure from New York.

Yes, there is a book marketing lesson in all of this.

First, let me explain what happened on the way to the airport in New York city from my house in Westchester.

We took a taxi from our home to get to LaGuardia Airport. We almost didn’t make it.

It was a hectic cab ride. As soon as we were not even a mile from our house, just beyond the entrance ramp of I-95, we came to a complete stop. Not a crawl. A stop.

There was a huge accident just a football field or so in front of us on the highway. We couldn’t see it but we later learned that two trucks jack-knifed and hit a car. Traffic grinded to a halt. Luckily, no one died.

Our cabbie decided to take matters into his own hands after he say the logjam of traffic on his GPS and calculated we would miss our plane.

He angles over to the service lane on the right, slowly backs up and then turns the car around. He is now driving against traffic, head first, illegally, on the service road.

But it gets us nowhere. We still are stuck. Others try the same thing, in front of us, and behind us.

State troopers come. Instead of ticketing, they thankfully guide us out. Then, to get to an alternate highway, we hit a ton of traffic. Our industrious cabbie starts going down one way street the opposite way. Then another and another street, same thing.

I hold my breath and don’t question it aloud, only in my mind.

His seat belt indicator was sounding. He forgot to strap in. Somehow we made it alive to the nearby highway.

Then, we cross through several more accidents on both sides of the highway. It rained in the morning and slicked the roads enough that so many vehicles got into trouble.

While our cabbie navigated the roads in his inimitable way, he regaled us with stories of how he was held up at gunpoint three times in past four years. One time a shot went off — but it didn’t hit him — yet he suffers from headaches.

Who would want this job?

We miraculously made it to the airport, checked our luggage, and raced through security like it was 1995. We didn’t even need to take off our shoes. Our plane took off on time and our vacation helped distance us from the hairy ride to the airport. But it is an experience we will not forget so quickly.

This guy is crazy and should have lost his license that day for all of the violations he committed – and yet he was my hero worthy of a fat tip. This journey made me realize that sometimes you need to do things in an unorthodox way. It can be hard, risky, even punishing, but you find a way to persevere and move forward. Literally. 

Book marketing perhaps doesn’t risk anyone’s life, but it comes with pitfalls, costs, and challenges. Authors must rise up to the moment the way our cab driver did. I don’t advocate that one break the law, but I do applaud those who do what they think is right under the circumstance and resourcefully take a can-do spirit to get them where they need to be.

 

Need Book PR 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. He has 30 years of experience in helping thousands of authors in all genres.

 

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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.