An Author’s Odds Of Success

 

 

Zohran Mamdani. The Denver Broncos. Donald Trump. The Louvre.

Each of these are examples of against-the-odds events. Authors can learn from them.

Mamdani, a defund-the-police, anti-Semitic, Communist, grabbed the Democratic nomination for mayor of the nation’s biggest city. He is on track to win the election in a few weeks. How is that possible?

The Denver Broncos football team was down by 18 points the other day, with less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter. They clawed back to win the game. In the century-long history of the NFL, no team that suffered such a deficit, that late in the game, ever won. It was the first time in 1, 603 such instances that a team came back to victory.

The Louvre, the premiere museum of not only France but of the world, was victimized in a brazen daylight robbery where likely over $100,000,000 of jewels were stolen. No weapons were used. No injuries were reported.

Donald Trump became the first person to be president without any prior elected office experience or military service. He also became the first president to be impeached twice — and then to get re-elected.

We can make a long list of firsts and rare feats. They may feel to be the exception to the rules of their worlds in politics, sports, and institutions, but they are collective examples that underdogs can win, that the unexpected can take place, and that anything, no matter how improbable, is not impossible.

Authors, when it comes to envisioning success for your book, you will likely see obstacles or odds stacked against you. But you must also see that anything is possible, that a book will break through the clutter. Why can’t it be yours?

We know there will be books that hit best-seller lists. It takes effort, skills, and luck, but your book could be a best-seller.

We know there are books that win book awards or place as finalists. It takes effort, timing, and luck, but your book can gain awards recognition.

Along the way of seeking to journey to the top, you fall short and still land somewhere high up. You don’t have to sell a million copies to be successful, but you can’t be content selling 230 copies in six months, either.

Sure, it won’t come easily nor will it come for everyone, but it will come for someone. Put yourself out there and give yourself even a narrow chance to let it be you.

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum 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 5,000,000 page views. 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