Hunting Down Book Readers From The Middle Of Nowhere

  

Marketing your book from anywhere in the world is something many authors can do, and do it well. Most don’t. I think it is easier to market a book from a big metropolis but even if you are in a tiny town, you can get thousands of readers. 

I grew up on the crowded, competitive, and diverse streets of Brooklyn, and my life’s outlook has no doubt been shaped by that colorful experience. Most people tend to see the world through their upbringing prism. Whatever environment you were raised in will mold you in untold ways. So, because of my exposure to mass culture, commercialization, and communication, I tend to see things through that lens when it comes to book marketing. 

For me, selling a book is a numbers game. Quite simply: To get more customers, you need to reach more people, especially those in your targeted readership circle.  I used to walk outside and literally see thousands of marketing opportunities unfold before me, but in the suburbs, less so, and throughout at least half of this country, not so much.  

When I moved to the suburbs over 20 years ago, I was not sure if I could adjust to the lifestyle, having come from being a city slicker. Then I went on a vacation to a small-town, mountain-surrounding lake area, wondering if I could bare the solitude. Beyond that would be a middle-of-nowhere, off-the-grid rural area, but I am not fully up to that challenge.  

Still, I realize that I have to readjust my marketing lens to make sure that what I encourage authors to do is in fact something that is possible for them, given their current location and the mindset they carry from their upbringing. 

The easiest way to combat where one lives — and where one’s customer base may be — is to heavily rely on the Internet. It is all there for you to pillage. Look on your phone, your desktop, your laptop, your ipad, or any connected device. You can reach billions of people on this planet through the Internet. What are you waiting for? 

The web offers: 

* Lists of potential customers. Their preferences and experiences are stated everywhere. So is their contact information.

* A myriad of mainly free ways to contact them. 

* Immediate, 24/7 methods of communication across states, nations, and geographic barriers.

 

Are you capable of: 

* Sending an Email?

* Texting?

* Zooming?

* Logging on to a webinar?

* Creating and posting a video?

* Blogging?

* Podcasting?

* Online messaging?

* Making a phone call on WhatsApp?

* Doing research on the web? 

Your readers exist and even if you can’t see them or touch them, they are there, all across the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and anywhere English is spoken. They are all online. You can find them in Facebook Groups, in online book clubs, and on social media sites. They are everywhere — even if nowhere near you. 

You should still try to make the most of your real-world, physical marketing opportunities, but when you live near no one be sure to go online and find everyone. 

 

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your 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

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.5 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 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.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity 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.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, 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. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

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.

 

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.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum

Could Our Treasured Books Just Disappear?

Is it possible that books, as they exist, now, could be lost to nature, violence, or an accident? 

In Hungary, 100,0000 centuries-old books are being pulled off the shelves of a thousand-year-old monastery library. They are being cleansed of the breadbeetle, which can destroy old books that have gelatin and starch-based adhesives.  About a quarter of the abbey’s 400,000 books are in danger. The beetles have infested the library and have begun eating through pages of history.

 

NBC News reported: “To kill the beetles, the crates of books are being placed into tall, hermetically sealed plastic sacks from which all oxygen is removed. After six weeks in the pure nitrogen environment, the abbey hopes all the beetles will be destroyed. Before being reshelved, each book will be individually inspected and vacuumed. Any book damaged by the pests will be set aside for later restoration work.”

 

This is not the first time that books have been threatened, lost, or destroyed.

 

History is filled with fires, both accidental and intentional, that have destroyed libraries, bookstores, museums, and private collections. Floods, storms, and poor storage conditions have seen millions of manuscripts and books lost forever. Wars have bombed away books of history, culture, and science. Dictators and churches have destroyed millions of books that it deemed as unfit. Physical books are subjected to physical challenges.

 

But digital books are in danger of loss as well. If technology fails us or becomes outdated, will we be able to retrieve our books? What if a hacker unleashes a book-killing virus or holds them ransom? What if mega data-storage stations are lost to terrorism, storms, meteorites, solar flares, or other unforeseen dangers? What if we lose the ability to power up whatever grid is being relied on to energize our technology? Or, maybe climate change, will wreak enough havoc on the planet that the challenge to produce, store, and share information will become problematic.

 

There are so many threats to our books. Treasure them, preserve them, share them.

 

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your 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

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.5 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 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.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity 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.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, 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. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

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.

 

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.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum

Do Authors Really Need To Network?

 

Some people are great at networking. They are outgoing, talkative, funny, interesting, energized, and always coming off as someone you could be friends with. But even quieter people can be good at networking, and as an author, having a good network can be the key to your success.  

You actually may need to build up several kinds of networks. For instance, one may simply be a network of those in book publishing, from editors and literary agents to authors and professional associations. These are the people through their positions, connections, ideas, or encouragement, who can help you get published.  

Another network that you might need is the one that relates to your subject matter. Let’s say you wrote a book about how to lose weight, and you are a nutritionist. You want to keep your professional profile high by being in touch with other individuals and organizations related to the health and fitness field, from doctors and gym trainers to hospitals and nutritionists. Eating disorder experts, and other related people, even former patients (if appropriate), will be in your network.  

Lastly, you want a network of potential readers -- these are people who fit your targeted profile of anyone who would need or want your book. So, who would buy your book?

• Anyone seeking to lose weight - the overweight, obese, and post-pregnant women, etc. 
• Anyone looking to maintain their weight loss - athletes, the formerly overweight, people recovering from an incident that caused temporary mobility issues, etc. 
• People who have diseases and conditions that require a special diet - diabetics, cancer patients, people with heart disease, IBS sufferers, those with food allergies, people with back or knee injuries, etc.  

You can establish and build your network in many ways, including: 

• Attend networking-specific events. 
• Meet people at gatherings of specific types of people.
• Get introduced to others by people you know. 
• Connect online through social media platforms. 
• Find directories or listings and cold-call them. 
• Meet people in one arena (like at a church) and then find out they or someone they know is actually the kind of person you want to be connected with. 

So, how do you build up a network?

 

1.      Don’t be shy. Talk. Introduce yourself. See an interaction as an opportunity, not as something you merely do or tolerate. 

 

2.      Ask questions, learn what they do, who they know, and what circles they travel in.

 

3.      Follow up. Do email people or connect on social media after you have met them. Stay in touch. 

 

4.      People network with you if they think you can help them, if it pleases them to help you, if you are interesting, if you make them think or laugh, and sometimes, just because you are attractive.

 

5.      Keep good notes and hold onto contact information. Jot down useful bits of information so that you can call upon it later. 

 

6.      Utilize people in different ways. Someone may be of use to you because they:

 

·         Know information that can help you 

·         Can introduce you to people who can help you 

·         Are in a position to directly help you

·         Can be emotionally supportive to you 

·         Offer really good advice or ideas 

Networking is a two-way street. Be willing to help others and give back/ pay-it-forward. Offer your brain, time, money, connections, resources, encouragement, and assistance to others and it will work its way back to you.

 

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your 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

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.5 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 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.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity 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.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, 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. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

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.

 

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.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum

Interview With Author Daniel C.A. Christianson

 

 

1. What inspired you to write this book? I wrote the first draft of my book in seven months during the global covid pandemic between April 2nd-October 31st 2020. I had only previously written short stories but I set myself a goal of completing a full manuscript within that year to see if I had what it took to be a real writer and creator.  

2. What exactly is it about- and who is it written for? It is about the journey I made crossing Russia along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok-Moscow in May-June 2019. The narration follows the protagonist D on his physical journey but then the psychological journey begins along with a spiritual transformation. It is dedicated to N, the great love of the Protagonist's life. She gave rise to the birth of those words.  

3. What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book? I hope readers of my book when reading my words will feel they are travelling along that journey across Russia with the Protagonist and will be immersed into such tranquil and raw landscapes. I hope they will connect with the lone traveller who sets out without any goal other than just living in the moment and experiencing the wild and rugged nature of our planet. I hope they might feel the pain of the Protagonist in pining for his lost love as love is a universal theme of human connectivity.   

4. How did you decide on your book's title and cover design? The very first Trans-Siberian Railway journey began from Vladivostok Station in the Far East and so I decided to begin my journey there and called it East to West. For the book's cover I wanted a silhouette of the protagonist situated outside of the train but immersed into the natural landscapes of Siberia. If the readers will gaze their eyes to the top of the billowing smoke they will catch the faint image of a human face. This image is the protagonist's lost love and he is looking over and across the landscape for her.  

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers- other than run? I encourage writers if they truly believe that they wish to dedicate their lives to being a writer then they must put their art at the core of their lives and every other facet of their lives must form around their life as a writer. They must read and write every day without fail. It must be a true and honest undertaking of a life that is solitary, introspective, challenging but filled with desire and passion. 

6. What trends in the book world do you see- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I see more and more people listening to audiobooks with a very busy work and social life. I also see a return to the Short Story as a reader can get through multiple stories in one sitting even with such a busy life. 

7. Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy when writing this book? Yes, because I went on that journey across Russia I knew what it felt like to gaze upon the largest, oldest and deepest lake in the world at Lake Baikal. I got to experience the magnificence of Siberia and was able to tap into such memories and feelings when writing my narrative. I understand what it feels like to lose the Great Love of one's life and so I used such suffering to weave my narrative into such a universal theme of broken love. 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Which writers or books is your writing similar to? I do not think that I have a particular style of writing as yet because this was just my first completed book. I am beginning my apprenticeship as a writer and I feel that it will take about ten completed books before I will know what my particular style is. My first book is based on a Non-Fictional journey but with fictional narratives interspersed throughout as my goal was to write a piece of art through literature. The writers that I am most enamoured with are the Russian Writers of the 19th century and specifically those of Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Lev Tolstoy. I also feel deeply connected to the writings of Franz Kafka, Gustave Flaubert, Marcel Proust, Simone De Beauvoir, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jack London, Kahlil Gibran, Rene Rilke, Ernest Hemingway, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, John McGahern, F.Scott Fitzgerald, John Steinbeck, Nikolai Gogol. I am enjoying this early stage of experimenting with characters and narratives. I will try different styles and then hopefully I will find the one style that encapsulates my persona.  

9. What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book? I wrote my entire manuscript in longhand and when it came to typing it onto my computer I did lose a significant portion of my writing and so I had to write a few scenes from scratch that tested my resolve and patience. Following the completion of my book Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th 2022 and I deliberately delayed sending my manuscript to publishers as I thought that readers would not be interested in a title set fully in Russia.   

10. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? My book is in paper, e-book and audiobook format so it gives readers a wide choice if they decide to choose my book. My book, although bleak and pessimistic at some moments, is also a book with a very positive and universal appeal. It challenges the reader to focus on their own lives by delving inwards and finding the core of who they are and what they should be doing to live a more authentic life.  I plan on writing four books in a series that will tell the backstory to East to West so if the readers were to choose my book then they will in the future have four further books to choose to read as a backstory to the train journey across Russia. 

About The Author: He is a man of solitude. His world is that of the quiet and distilled. Each night, he sits at his desk as the clock strikes midnight. He journeys inward to that bottomless pit of conflict, prompted by memory, in search of an image fused by the imagination in order to reveal truth through character and the creative narrative process. The words become sentences and they are formed. And so it all begins. This was his first attempt and successful completion of a full-length book. His name is Daniel C.A. Christianson. For more info, please see: www.danielcachristianson.ampbk.com 

 

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your 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

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.5 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 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.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity 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.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, 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. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

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.

 

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.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum