How Do You Solve Your Book Marketing Puzzle?

 

Every day, for the past six months or so, I have played The New York Times’ online game, Letter Boxed. I find it does not involve luck, like when I previously played Wordle. Letter Boxed symbolizes what book marketing can be for authors.

So, for the uninitiated, Letter Boxed is game where 12 letters are provided — three on each side of a square wall — and you need to use all of the letters by making the fewest amount of words. You can use the same letter multiple times but not consecutively within a word. You can use letters consecutively that are on the same wall. Ok, the details don’t matter.

I always shoot for totaling two words but sometimes I have to work hard to do it in three words. I have never done it in one word nor do I even know if that is possible. Each day the Times will suggest how many words, max, you should solve it in. That limit ranges from four to six words.

So what is the book marketing connection?

The puzzle, like your book marketing, needs to be solved. We know from being told by the puzzle-maker that there are definitely ways to “win” or at least to meet a minimum standard of success. Well, your book also has a multitude of ways of being promoted so that it can earn some sales and maybe even break through.

Because I know that there has to be some combination of spelled words to yield the desired effect, I do not give in easily, even when I have tried for over an hour and feel like I submitted every possible combination. When you know there has to be a way, you try harder, focus better, and feel confident that it is just a matter of time before you get it. 

And that should be your attitude towards your book marketing: You must know that some combination of steps taken will lead to book sales success for you. All that you need to do is identify and execute such steps. 

When you solve a puzzle you start to see all of the world’s problems as solvable, of every situation as being possible, and of every challenge as being a tentative one. Puzzles encourage us to believe in ourselves. Believe in your ability to find the right book marketing combination.

 

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