Are You A House Painter -- Or An Artist?

 

 

What are you?

Don’t tell me a human or an animal or a woman. Or a lawyer or dad or Catholic. Or pretty, smart, wealthy, middle-aged, or white.

You may be any one or more of these things — at least two of them — but none of them truly define who you are.

If you are reading this, it is because you participate in the act of writing. So, you are either a writer by craft or by obligation. Is it a passion and pleasure for you, or a chore, job, and a burden?

Are you an artist or a house painter? Do you create vs paint by the numbers? Is writing a skilled craft or just an assignment for you? Do you enjoy the writing journey or only the result?

There is a phrase that some male escorts and porn actors use: Gay for pay. This means they may have sex with a guy for money but it means nothing to them and it is not who they are or what makes them happy.

They use their natural gifts and trained skills — tight butt, big penis, muscle tone — to merely do a job. They don’t get the joy or feeling of love that they would get if they slept with a woman they desired. They may be talented or desired by other men, but for them ,they are just painting your room, not creating the Sistine Chapel.

Similarly, I pose the question to you: What — or who — are you!

How serious are you about your writing? Is it your passion and purpose? Do you define yourself by your writings?

If you are a house painter, stop reading.

You are merely earning a living and not living up to your full creative potential. I don’t have anything you offer you other than wishing you well on your journey to financially prosper. But to those who identify as authors and writers, continue.

Now that it is clear to you who and what you are, the next question is: How do you become that which you believe yourself to be?

In other words, it is not enough to just declare who you think you are. I want to know what exact steps you will follow to live out that designated title, to in fact truly become the person you aspire to be.

Let me cut to the chase, so there is no mystery or confusion here. People can make everything so very complicated but this is embarrassingly simple and blindingly clear.

You are a writer. Writers write.

So, step one: write. Do it often and do it well.

Next, writers re-write or get editing help. Do it.

Third, writers publish their works, otherwise it is merely an act of mental masturbation, a private act that only you can experience.

Fourth, if you go through the effort of writing, editing, and publishing, which also involved reading, researching, analyzing, daydreaming, and learning about the art of writing, why would you go through all of that and not seek to find readers for your book? Folks, I am talking about the M word.

Marketing.

Get off your couch, step out of your comfort zone, and make a true commitment of resources in time, money, and mindshare to make your dream come true and to actually live out who you are becoming: A Writer.

A writer does not just think about writing. He or she practices the very beautiful act of writing with plenty of regularity.

And a successful writer does not publish his or her work with the intention of having a book go unread. No, you go out there and market that book with the same drive and gusto that fueled its very creation.

I don’t want to hear your reasons, obstacles, excuses, or challenges. No whining. Take ownership of your self-defined life and become who you say you are. To be a writer means you are also a marketer.

Otherwise, you are merely a house painter.

 

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 5,400,000 page views. With 5,500+ 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 2026.

 

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