Do Authors Need A Book Marketing GPS?

 

 

I can't drive anywhere without a GPS. Perhaps I’m not wired for maps and directions. I have no sense of direction or location. I can get lost going home from five blocks away. It occurs to me that many authors can’t go forward on their promotional journey without using a book marketing GPS.  

Here are six ways to craft your customized book marketing GPS:

 

1. In order to go anywhere, you need a destination to be set. So, where do you want to go? Where will you journey to-- speaking, social media, book reviews, book awards, advertising, book clubs, traditional media? Decide on one or more paths and learn what’s needed to achieve success.  

2. Follow some directions (instructions, advice). If you, say, decide to try to sell your book to libraries, you will need some direction. Whichever entity, consultant, website, or source that you use to learn how to sell to libraries, please follow their advice if you trust them. If they know the way, let them lead you.  

3. Realize that just as the GPS shows you multiple ways to get to your destination, there is a best-practices recommendation. A car GPS shows you the fastest way to go; your book marketing GPS will tell you what has the best ROI on your efforts. Follow that.  

4. Further, realize that circumstances can change over time, and as a result, a recalibration of traffic takes place on a GPS, and sometimes a route is altered. So too with your book marketing. GPS, new information or changes in circumstances may dictate you to alter your path.  

5. Maybe you find a better way to go from point A to B. For instance, under optimal conditions I can make it from my house to Montreal in about five hours and 45 minutes. Yes, I might speed too. But what if I scrap the car for something else, like a plane, that gets me there much quicker? Same with your book marketing GPS. You might switch the means and methods you planned to use to achieve your success. Feel free to be flexible.  

6. Though a GPS tells you how to get to your destination, it does not take cost into account - tolls, gas, and wear-and-tear on the car. Same goes with your book marketing GPS. You need to explore if the costs involved - time, money, energy, mindset - are worth the journey.  

Set your book marketing GPS for new destinations. Pack up your resources and give it your all to make sure the journey is productive and efficient. 

 

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 4.25 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