Do’s, Don’ts, & Maybes For Authors

 

 

Dear Author,

What will you do today to advance your writing career, especially when it comes to marketing a book?

Did you notice I identified you as the one to take ownership for your marketing — and no one else?

There will be literally 5,000 new books published today. Tomorrow. And on sick days, snow days, vacation days, and weekends. Every day of the year. That averages out to three and a half books per minute. By the last day of the year, two million new books will have been released for public consumption — on top of all the other tens of millions of books in print that came before them.

Your book could have the secrets to becoming rich, curing cancer, or achieving world peace. You won’t sell enough of them to fund the filling of your gas tank if you don’t step up and seize control of your book’s fate.

Times keep changing in the book world. Just one generation ago, the formula for successfully marketing books was executed mainly by publishers – not authors.  

Their tool box consisted of mainly physical things:

* Handing Out Fliers
* Mailing Postcards
* Sending Faxes
* Newsletters
* Putting Authors On Road Tours
* Bookstore Appearances
* Traditional News Media Interviews
* Book Reviews In Print
* Newspaper Ads
* Book Clubs

Now, things have moved into the digital world, and more so during covid:

* Blog Tours
* Podcasts
* Social Media
* Paid Book Reviews
* Free ebooks
* Webinars
* Media Interviews By Phone or Zoom

Ok, let me give you the down and dirty of what needs to be done by authors. I come to you with over 30 years of experience in promoting many bestsellers as well as first-time, self-published unknowns — in all genres. This blog of 10 years surpassed three million page views. I want to get you on the right path.  I grew up in New York City and this is what I call Brooklyn Book Marketing Boot Camp!

First, the list of Dos:

Know why you write and set goals

Understand what can be done -- and then form a strategy on each area:

* ads
* news media
* testimonials
* awards
* social media
* speaking
* web site
* networking
* paid reviews
* marketing tactics

Determine what you will do or your publisher (if you have one), or what gets outsourced to a professional publicist, and what you will ignore.

Dedicate time, budget, and mindshare to book marketing.

Be assertive with strangers and be aggressive with those you know — and always ask someone for something that can help you.

Don’t:

Think your book will sell on its own, because it won't.

Believe someone else or something is responsible for your book -- it is you and only you.

Just do what others do. That is not enough.

Fail to do the obvious things -- the easy to reach fruit.

Start late or quit early.

Let biases, ignorance, rumors, or fears dictate your actions.

Give up hope or stop trying.

Maybes

Maybe this year or day will be different because you thought it to be and didn’t let the usual pattern of thought keep you closeted.

I wish you well on your book marketing journey.

Your friend,

Brian

 

 

Please Contact Me For 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 successfully 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 ©2022. 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.