Why Do Authors Fear Marketing Their Books?

 

What if it fails -- then what?

What if it succeeds-- then what?

Are authors ready to market their books? 

Most are not equipped - mentally, skillfully, financially, or knowledgeably to do so - or at least that’s what they believe. The way to defeat fear is first to acknowledge it, to break it down from a general or broad feeling to specific things, and then to identify real solutions to real challenges.  

The best cure for fear is success. Even a small win. 

You just need to experience success and to enjoy a moment where you saw that if you act wisely, try your best, and dedicate time to something, that you will come out on top. Not all of the time. Maybe only some of the time. But that’s good enough when you battle on the competitive playground of marketing books.  

No is the second most common thing an author will hear; most often what they hear is silence. Rejection comes packaged up in many formats. Authors need to increase their odds of success by reducing the things that can go wrong. Put yourself in a position to win -- not lose.  

The more common fears authors have are:

 

• Asking someone to buy their book
• Talking to strangers
• Not feeling they are worthy of attention
• That they don't know what to do or how to do it 
• Discovering people really don’t like their book
• Running out of money to properly promote it
• Not having enough time to do what’s needed
• Lacking the basic technical skills to market a book

Some people have a lot of fears and hang-ups. That’s their nature. Maybe meds and therapy - or avoidance techniques helps quell their anxiety. But as soon as you are grounded and centered, but have legit concerns and fears, start to list and confront them. If that doesn’t work, I suggest this strategy:

• Outsource your publicity and marketing 
• Do what you can -- ignore the rest
• Try things that beat your fears, such as doing advertising if you don’t like speaking and lack time for social media or lack the ability for getting media coverage
• Work through your fears by trying to do what you fear -- and discover you won’t die doing it.

Dear authors, I have only one fear, that you’ll simply give up on your book. Never, ever capitulate.

You’ve got this.

Need Book Marketing 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. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on LinkedIn. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.4 million pageviews. With 4,600+ posts over the past dozen years, 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 www.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, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, 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: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum