20 Psychological Impediments To Marketing A Book

 

Authors, in order to market their books properly, need to be able to make sound decisions that are based on facts and logic – not fear or anecdotal or random stories. But, as humans, we sometimes get in the way of thinking clearly – without bias or duress. Here are 20 things to consider about the psychology that could be behind your decision-making process:

 

1.      Attentional Bias

For something that we think about often, we will start to notice it more in our day-to-day lives but it does not really mean it is any more prevalent than before you noticed it.

 

2.      Egocentric Bias

We may have a higher opinion of ourselves than we would otherwise have for others who are similar to us.

 

3.      Isolated Choice Affect

We make many decisions in isolation, failing to understand the larger context of our decisions and goals.

 

4.      Dunning-Kruger Effect

People with more knowledge and skills tend to under-estimate them; people who lack knowledge or skills tend to overestimate their abilities.

 

5.      Change Resilience Bias

We prefer the status quo, even if change would benefit us. We prefer what is familiar and available to us.

 

6.      Control Illusion

We think we have more control over events that we really do.

 

7.      Ambiguity Factor

Because we don’t like uncertainty, we choose options that seem more certain – even if they are not the best choice.

 

8.      Tribal Bias

We favor members of groups that we belong to over people not in those groups.

 

9.      Immediacy Discounting

We tend to value something with an immediate pay-off over things that pay off in the future.

 

10.  Sink-Cost Fallacy

The more money, effort, or time we invest in something the harder it is for us to walk away from it, even though it might be good money chasing bad money.

 

11.  Loss Aversion

We tend to choose avoiding a loss over acquiring an equivalent or greater gain. We tend to be protective and conservative and risk-averse.

 

12.  Illusory Truth Effect

When we see something repeated a few times, we start to believe it is true, even though we lack proof.

 

13.  Probability Over Possibility

There is a mistaken assumption, that if something is likely to happen that it is definitely going to happen.

 

14.  Bizarre Effect

We have a habit of remembering or clinging to the unusual, strange, or extreme things vs. the mundane, everyday norms.

 

15.  Disproportionate Focus

We might place too much attention on one aspect of an offer, or a choice, neglecting other critical factors to make a balanced decision.

 

16.  Confirmation Bias

We look for information that confirms our existing beliefs, but ignore all contrary information.

 

17.  Halo Effect

We might assume a person that we like or think is attractive is also a good or talented person.

 

18.  Peak Bias

We tend to recall how an experience felt at its peak or at its send and downplay or forget the entirety.

 

19.  Survivorship Bias

We often note where someone has success, like a best-selling author, but we tend to ignore, forget, or not be aware of all of those who failed and \who may have used the same approach as the one who broke through.

 

20.  Distributed Forecasting

When we predict how we will feel about something in the future, we often overestimate the duration and intensity of our emotional reactions.

 

The conclusion here is that authors need to be aware of the psychological factors that could be undermining or distorting their ability to make solid decisions on matters of marketing a book. Try to step back and see if you are employing any of the above biases and try harder to make your decisions based on facts and reason.

 

 

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 5,350,000 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