Authors Ask: Why Them & Not Me?

 

Why does one book hit a best-seller list while similar, if not better books, lay in obscurity?

Why do only a handful of books win book awards, while superior or equally-deserving books come away empty?

Why do some authors get millions of clicks on their quirky social media posts, while others with substantive content struggle to get more than 500 views?

The grand answer is this: It is not your book. It is your level of book marketing.

Your book marketing consists of a combination of some measure of these factors:

* Effort — Dedicated hard work and going the extra mile will greatly improve your results.

* Money — Investing in things like hiring a marketer, buying ads, and paying book award entrance fees are musts.

* Time — Put in the time that is necessary to learn, research, analyze, create, and execute.

* Trends — Follow what is popular and how a chain of events is creating trends that you can capitalize on.

* News Cycle —Pay attention to the calendar, current events, what is in the news, and of any upcoming relevant holidays, anniversaries, or honorary days that you can tie into.

* Skill — If you don’t know how to do something, learn; if you know how, but lack the time, make some; and if you know and have the time, but can’t seem to execute the skill, ask for help.

* Opportunism — Don’t just wait for an opportunity to present itself; create one.

* Strategy — Planning, thinking ahead, and employing a strategy as to how and when you will market is key.

* Network — Who you know helps you to get what you want. Know more of the right people and work them for favors.

* Experiences — The more experiences — personal and professional — that you have, the better your perspective on what it takes to succeed. Further, some of those experiences could be story hooks in your marketing messaging.

* Imagination — You need to visualize, ideate, or dream of what could be; then make it so.

* Mentor — Having someone advise you on how to market a book can help you avoid many costly or time-wasting mistakes.

* Help —  No matter how ambitious, talented, or smart, everyone benefits from getting help. Outsourcing some of your marketing, if to qualified professionals — and to friends/family volunteering — will position your book for success and free your time up to do more marketing.

* Hail Mary Effort — Sometimes you need to take risks and make desperate swing-for-the-fences attempts to make a big play happen.

* Attitude — Having courage, conviction, gumption, optimism, and fortitude will always be life assets that help your book marketing.

Further, in your approach, you must be:

* Organized/Scheduled

* Disciplined/Resilient

* Focused

* Prepared

* Goal-Oriented

Before I get deeper into this, let’s acknowledge the obvious: luck. The biggest success stories may just be flukes. Some bizarre, random events and luck just happened to turn the ordinary into something wild and amazing. Just as stupid crap goes viral, pedestrian books can suddenly take us by storm.

We can’t control, predict, or negotiate luck, but I will say that luck often happens when you initiate the first step: showing up. By participating in the marketing of your book, you have contracted with the gods to be in it to win it. Underdogs win in sports and life. They may get a lucky break but they earned it by doing something to have a shot. You can, too. 

So, why do other authors succeed and their books break through while your book gets ignored and shafted? It is not a mystery for you any longer. Start taking ownership of your book marketing and make shit happen!

 

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 4.7 million pageviews. With 5,400+ 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 was recently interviewed by the IBPA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0BhO9m8jbs

 

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