Drivers Ed For Authors Marketing Books

 

I began giving driving lessons to my 16-year-old daughter recently. The first few times out I tried to conceal my fear but I also knew that once she clocked some time behind the wheel, she would get more comfortable and settle in. Ok, so she gently hit into a parking lot chain-link fence the first time out. No biggie.

The process has made me see a parallel to authors seeking to navigate the highways of book marketing. Neither the driver nor the author wants to crash — and my goal as an instructor is to help others avoid the hazards of the road and to find a way for one to complete their journey.

My daughter, like authors, needs to:

Go out there with confidence — you can’t get behind a wheel or even your book marketing computer without believing in yourself.

See the road conditions and react — it won’t always be sunny roads with little traffic to contend with; pay attention to outmaneuver the obstacles and challenges that come your way.

Obey the rules of the road — when it comes to driving, to minimize the chances of death, injury, car damage, tickets, or arrest, follow the law and all rules. Book marketing has best practices and “rules” to keep you safe as well.

Think ahead and anticipate — and map out a plan to get you where you want to be. Have a Plan B at the ready.

Have good timing — or you can get in trouble.

Take your cue from the signs and signals out there — warnings and directions are all over the place if you are looking for them.

Employ sound judgment when risk-taking — develop good habits and strive for the ideal.Weigh your choice of options and destinations.

The two areas book marketing and driving differ in — taking chances and being on the offensive. When driving, you need to default to being conservative. Better to be late than to speed past a red light. But with marketing, you can’t be reserved or calculate risks. You need to put yourself out there and risk money, time, ego, and anything else in order to try to make a name for yourself.

Otherwise, driving and book marketing are very similar, and both require a lot of practice. The pay-off will be worth it.

 

Need PR Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with 3.6 million page views, 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!

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2024. 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 3.9 million pageviews. With 4,900+ 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 director of publicity positions 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 hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, 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. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.