The first decision an author needs to make is about how involved they will be in their book marketing. Notice, I did not say if they will, but how much. Even if you are a best-selling author with a major traditional publishing house, you are responsible for doing some book marketing independent of the publisher's efforts.
So, why do so many authors fail to market their books successfully?
In many cases, it is not because the book is bad, though there are many ordinary, mediocre books with covers and titles that don't exactly stir excitement. Poor marketing results come from, well, poor marketing.
The right effort, money, and time were not invested, perhaps. Or, you just executed poorly, got a bad break, or ran into a lot of competition. But all of that aside, the number one reason why book marketing efforts fail is poor decision-making on the part of the author.
Here is why authors make bad book marketing decisions:
* Authors get bad advice and listen to
the wrong people
* They act out of insecurity and fear
* Authors fail to do some research and
get informed
* They don’t understand they need to balance
doing things with outsourcing them
* They let their ego color things
* Authors act on incorrect assumptions
and a misreading of the marketplace
* They often react, rather than initiate
* They simply act on incorrect or incomplete
information
* They act in a way that they think they are expected to — a way that may not be right for their book or genre
Authors can make better decisions — and it
will be the most important aspect of their book marketing.
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
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