The other night I came home and slumped in my kitchen chair, to recuperate from an intense 90-minute pickleball workout. I didn’t move much for a while, until I could muster the energy to go upstairs to take a shower. An hour later I was about to go out for dinner and could not find my rental car key (my car was in the shop). After a brief search, I gave in to my wife pleading to take her car so that we could head out.
Later that night, when we returned, the search
resumed. I retraced my steps of everything that I did and started to thoroughly
examine things. I recall I threw out some mail, so I went into the recycle bin
looking for Buick’s logo to magically appear. Nothing.
I looked in the hamper where I had deposited my
clothes, taking out every smelly thing we had worn over the last four days.
Still nothing. I felt like a kid unwrapping Christmas presents and getting
clothes instead of a cool toy.
My wife went outside with a lantern-shaped
flashlight and could not see the keys to an Encore in the grass, where we hoped
they had silently dropped. She entered the unlocked car and tried to start the
car. If the keys fell on the car floor or seat, it would have started. Nothing.
We repeated the entire walk-through reenactment
and again looked high and low everywhere. Nada.
We went to watch TV and vowed to try again in
the morning with a fresh pair of eyes in the daylight.
I arose out of bed with a feeling of dread to
repeat this useless search and also with cautious optimism that we simply had
to find a key that could not just vanish. The thing is, we know it has to be
somewhere in or around the house. That is for certain. And that certainty
willed me to keep looking.
I started looking everywhere. Back outside.
Nothing. In the car. Nothing. In my jacket. Nothing. In my clothes from
yesterday. Nothing. Laundry spilled on the floor and combed through like a
crime scene. Nothing. Recycle bin. Nothing. Every inch of the kitchen was
touched and viewed. Thoroughly. Bu both of us. Nothing.
WTF? Am I getting a glimpse of Alzheimer’s?
Back upstairs. I looked on our bed, under the
covers, and on side tables. I even checked the dogs’ toy box, thinking maybe
they uncharacteristically grabbed the key and put it with their torn lamb doll
and gnawed bones. Nothing.
I was down to my last chance. I got on the floor
to search under my bed.
Holy shit. There it is! I felt like I won the
lottery or found a cool prize in a treasure hunt.
By finding this key not only did I get to stop
playing detective while wondering how much a lost key costs, I got to reaffirm
my sanity and reminded myself of a powerful book marketing lesson: Never give
up!
Ok, that was a long story for a mantra you have
heard your whole life. But it is true.
Book marketing is like a magic trick. Just
because you don’t fully understand it, you still know it is not real and that
the illusion is achievable. Marketing is also like doing a thousand-piece
puzzle — you know all of the pieces are there and that they have to fit
together. You just need the patience and fortitude to move forward in the face
of frustration, confusion, or obstacles.
This key search drove me nuts but I could not
conclude that I was not capable of finding it because it had to be there. I was
methodical, thorough, logical, and unwavering in my pursuit. I sought help as
well. You must do the same with your book marketing.
There are no-talent morons with mediocre books
out there that find book marketing success. Why not you?
Whatever you think you lack, think again. Try
harder, for longer, and better. Do not give up. Get help. Try new things or new
approaches to old things. Just don’t tell me you can’t. You can. Will you?
Do You Need Book Marketing
& PR 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 four million pageviews. With 5,000+ 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.” 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
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.