Why Authors Need The Momentum Of A Win

 

 

Every day authors feel rejection. People say no to their requests to be interviewed by the media. Publishers turn them down. Literary agents reject them. Critics leave negative reviews. Consumers ignore them. Silence is their most common feedback. How can authors move past these obstacles and score a win?

Momentum.

That is what authors need to work in their favor.

Achieve some modicum of success and build on it. Lay a foundation to score a win and replicate the process for victories to come.

Right now, many writers experience negative momentum, a cascade of rejection, criticism, or at best, being ignored. But if they can get a yes or two, suddenly the tide shifts. The no’s and naysayers then take a backseat to your victory, however small or short-lived.

A yes gives you hope. A yes builds your confidence. A yes is a real positive sign.

Ironically, the best way to position yourself to get a yes is to risk getting more no’s. It is a numbers game. You will get rejected and refused far more often than you get positive feedback. That can still be a winning formula. The more often you try, and the bigger the ask, the more likely you will get a yes.

In most cases for authors to succeed, they have nothing to lose by trying. Worst thing that happens is you remain stuck or fail to grow. By not trying, you guarantee nothing will happen, so that is a loss, whether it came by an actual rejection or not. So, the lesson here: there is only upside in trying and only defeat in not trying.

Ok, so what are things authors could and should be doing? They must try to identify their targeted market, solicit it over and over, and live for the yesses.

Ask more people for more things more times. That is the formula. For instance, if you are handing out fliers about your book, hand them out on more than one occasion at more than one location. Hand out more fliers per each time that you hand them out. Don’t count the no’s or people who shun you. Count only the yesses.

Handing out fliers is one of several dozen things that you could easily do to market or sell your book. Make a list of other activities that you could be doing. Commit to doing more activities, more times, to more people each time. If something appears to be working, keep doing it. Double down on it.

As you move forward in your attempts to get more yesses, reflect back on the efficiency of your tactics and analyze what you can fine-tine and do better. Doing more of good practices and not just more of an inefficient same is the goal. Authors should look to:

* Understand the rejection rate and experiment on how to decrease it.
* Celebrate the wins, however few or many.
* Look to always increase the chances for a yes.
* Find their fans and unearth where they live and breathe.
* Never give up.
* Keep learning, changing, and growing.
* Model how others get a yes.
* Change the offer, the risk, the reward — whatever it is that will push people closer to a yes.

Have an opportunistic mindset, believe in your book and yourself, make the extra effort, risk rejection or pride for a win, and be willing to buy, trade, beg, discount, or give something away to get what you need and want. Know that you can do this. Now go ahead and do it.

Again and again.

And again. 

 

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 blog, with over 4,000 posts over the past decade, 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 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Susan RoAne, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, IBPA, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.