The Unexpected Joy Of Marketing Your Book

 

Have you ever noticed how different life is when you compare the before and after of an experience? Many things in life fall under this — including book marketing for authors.

For instance, friends and family encourage you to watch a television show or movie. They say you will love it and gush how they liked it a lot. Then, you go watch it, all hyped up for something amazing. Perhaps you find it good but not great. Maybe you dislike or hate it. Why? Heightened expectations and distorted perceptions.

This happens all of the time. We get restaurant recommendations and wonder why. You get set up on a date and question the matchmaking process afterwards. You read reviews of a vacation spot and then wonder why you blew your budget on it. Why? Heightened expectations and distorted perceptions.

The same is true in reverse. What you feared turns out to be not so bad, maybe even great. What you thought you didn’t need turns out to be a huge boost. What you thought would be a challenging experience turned out to be easy breezy. Why? Heightened expectations and distorted perceptions.

Well, folks, book marketing fits right in there. It doesn’t have to be as ugly as you fear it to be — and it isn’t aways as good as you hope it to be.

When you fear something, when you repeatedly say you hate something, when you constantly think how you are not good at something. Don’t. Don’t do that. Stop the negative thoughts.

Take a deep breath. Relax. Focus. Give yourself a chance to try — and succeed — at marketing your book. It is not as hard, frustrating, fruitless, or boring as you think it will be.

When you put unfair expectations aside, decouple from your emotions, and release yourself from anxiety and pressures, you can finally give yourself a chance to thrive.

Try it.

* You can always quit.
* You can always pay for help.
* You can always get lucky.

But first, try it.

Sure, all things that are new, unknown, or a little techy can intimidate and put people off. But you can’t run or hide.  Give it a chance.

Perhaps you will be really good at it. Maybe you will do well in some areas of marketing, but outsource other parts. One way or another, you need to get your book marketed. You can be the solution to your marketing problem.

It is also true that you should not suffer any savior delusions. Book marketing is needed to give you a shot at success, but it is not a guaranteed result.

* You can advertise, and no one buys.
* You can speak, and no one shows up to listen.
* You can post on social media, and no one orders your book.
* You can be on national TV, and no one runs to purchase your book.

The quantity and quality of consistent, focused, and strategic efforts should dictate your success. But it is also true, that no matter how much time or money that you throw at marketing your book, you may still fall on the short end of the stick.

Neither assume doom nor expect golden rewards. But assume you must try to market your book and hope for good results.

 

Please Contact Me For 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 over 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 award-winning blog has generated over 3.2 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past decade, it 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 years 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.