What Do Authors Want To Be When They Grow Up?

 

 

Sports journalist.

That is what it says under my name and photo in my high school yearbook.

The caption puzzled me. Right there, in 1984 black and white ink, my career ambition at age 17 was clearly defined. How uninformed I was!

We all know how that turned out. Instead of working for the news media I work with them as a book publicist. I went from wanting to be a hack to serving a career as a flack.

In high school, I more often than not, read The Monarch Notes, and sometimes The Cliff Notes, rather than read the assigned novels, cover to cover. How odd this confession is for someone who makes a living with books, but it is a part of my unwritten resume.

I always wanted to be a writer, a journalist, hoping to use the pen to create, record history, shed light on the truth, and advocate for what I thought should be the way of the world. But as I came out of Brooklyn College, I was told one must start a journalism career in a small town and then hope to build up a portfolio of work to impress a big city newspaper. I didn’t want to leave the only city that I knew, the one the world repeatedly says is the biggest and the best.

My first job was with a small book publisher. I was exposed to everything — acquisitions, editing, author relations, and of course, publicity. I fell in love with books and never looked back. I would go on to work with another small press and then for 21 years as the chief marketing officer at what then was the nation’s largest book publicity firm.

I was actually hired as a senior publicist at that firm, but my talents of persuasion and hustle proved to go beyond dealing with the media, and I rose up to create my own position as the head of marketing and developing new business.

I finally left behind working for The Man, and since 2020, I have run my own book marketing practice — and I love it. I should have made the leap as entrepreneur a decade ago. Family obligations, fears, and challenges got in the way. But every path we take, even the ones that appear to have led us to being lost, get us to the road needed. Sometimes, the scenic route serves a purpose.

My point in telling you all of this is that things don’t always go as planned — certainly not with a job or career, not with a relationship or marriage, not as an author, sometimes not even with your dog. But we live trial by error and hopefully move forward.

Well, I am here to tell you that the road of book marketing will have bumps, detours, and giant potholes — but eventually you can go where you hope to get to -- and even beyond.

 

Keep on driving. The journey is worthwhile.

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.