Author’s Mustn’t Get Paddle Envy

 

I am one of those nuts obsessed with pickleball, never wanting playtime to end, always looking to get people together to play. I have only been playing for just under a year, but it has reinvigorated me and made me feel young again.

With an addiction to a quirky sport that seemingly anyone can play — welcoming any size, shape, or age — comes the side effect of having paddle envy.

No one really knows what makes for a great paddle, but every player is convinced they need to shell out big bucks to get the paddle with just the right weight, grip, and paddle surface. Ads pop up constantly on my Instagram for paddles that promise to transform your game, as if the paddle plays for you.

Each promoted paddle will, according to every single claim, help you hit it hard, put a spin on the ball, place the ball where you want it… and solve world hunger and pay your taxes.

Bullshit, I thought.

But the ads wear you down, and if you have just played unevenly in some games, you become vulnerable to buying into it. Then you see other players touting their paddles and saying they love them.  Hey, it can’t be me that’s hitting the ball poorly; it must be the paddle!

$200 later you buy a new paddle.

You get excited at the possibilities of taking your game to another level, envisioning how you will keep up with better players, or even start to dominate them. You don’t factor in anything that has impacted your game thus far, and only tunnel your sights on the paddle. As if literally waving a magic wand, you believe you have this forceful power in your hand.

And then you start to play with it and reality settles in. The paddle doesn’t strategize for you. It can’t serve for you. It can’t make you taller or faster. In fact, it started to hurt my game.

I had to adjust my style of play to a heavier paddle that gave more oomph on a hit ball. At first it felt good to hear the popping sound as the plastic whiffle ball makes contact on the sweet spot of the paddle’s carbon surface. But then I noticed the paddle was not responding the way I thought it would. I just did not have the feel and touch with that paddle the way I did with my old one.

After a few days of playing with it, I benched it. Back to the old paddle. The reunion was fast and furious, like going back to an ex-girlfriend you dumped prematurely.  I didn’t realize how good I had it.

The paddle-envy lesson reminded me of this: The grass is not always greener on the other side. There are no magical pills or miracle cures. Make the most of the resources that you have. Learn to apply the tools can adapt to your style of performance.

All of this applies to authors as well. You may get book marketing envy of other authors, believing you are just one action-step away from getting the sales results that you demand or dream of.

There is no one event, media interview, social media post, or book review that will likely transform your writing career, but there are many things big and small that you can and should do in order to develop your winning edge.

So, look no further than yourself, and harness your abilities and resources to market your book, without envying what others are doing. Look not to a new paddle — or shiny advertising service or marketing product — but to your ability to speak, post, apply, network, and hustle. You have all that you will need.

 

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 5,000,000 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