When Book \Marketing Is Taxing

 

Having recently filed my taxes, like millions of Americans, I feel dread weeks and months leading up to it — and then relief afterwards. I realize a lot of authors must feel the same way about marketing themselves and promoting their books.

Here is what helped me get through the tax process — and what could be done to assist you in surviving, maybe even thriving in the book publicity arena:

1. Outsource — Just as you hire a CPA to do your taxes, utilize a professional book marketer with a sound reputation. Both may have good advice on how to plan for the future.

2. Research — It is good to learn about tax breaks and laws so that you know what to do or ask for. Same with book marketing. Read up on what you can. Knowledge is power.

3. Advice — Ask your friends about who they use for their taxes or about any unique strategies and approaches taken. Similarly, ask other writers what they are doing to publish and promote their books.

4. Gather Documents — One way to feel empowered when doing your taxes is to make a checklist of the documents and information that are needed to get the job done. Same for your book marketing. Get your press kit, website, and social media links in order. Gather your lists of people that you plan to approach, such as bookstores, news media outlets, influencers, and libraries.

5. Set Goals — Remind yourself of what you are trying to accomplish — overall and each day. Stay focused on them. Identify hard deadlines and mini-deadlines leading up to them.

6. Demystify — No need to feel overwhelmed. Plenty of idiots market books and get their taxes done. You’ve got this. Don’t stress over the unknown or unfamiliar. Ask questions and get help.

7. Avoidance  — We all run to distractions and addictions, from food, booze and vaping to social media, gambling, or shopping, to help us forget or ignore what really needs to be done. Recognize what you are doing and simply stop undermining yourself. Do one thing that will help you. Then another. And another.

8. Sleep — You need to sleep well. The key is to not worry and focus on fears of what needs to get done but rather to just spend your energy, time, and mindshare on actually doing things.

Though death and taxes are inevitable, for writers, so is book marketing. Do your best to overcome the things that beat us up but don’t have to.

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.