Curing Your Book Marketing Ills

  

 

I have not been myself the last few weeks. Spending 11 out of 12 days in a hospital can do that to you.  

Pain related to kidney stones over five days drew me to the hospital, leading to a procedure to remove them. A few days later, a botched laproscopic-turned-seven-hour full gall bladder surgery put me feeling a level of pain and discomfort that I was unfamiliar with. Taking a full breath was challenging.  I had no food or just a liquid diet for a week or more. Bowel movements were hard to come by. 

I lost 14 pounds in 12 days. 

Now I am home, eating real food, though I am on an altered diet of low-fat, low-fiber for now. Night sweats, lack of energy, lack of focus are still some of my symptoms.  

Yes, yes, too much information here, but I feel that sharing honestly helps you understand where I have been the last few weeks — and maybe makes me feel a little better. Writers don’t talk their lives away; we write about our experiences, feelings, thoughts, and views as a therapeutic measure. We have hopes of somehow helping others from whatever we went through.  

Many of the writers I work with publish a memoir. Others insert high amounts of autobiography into their fiction. We write what we know.  So, what book marketing lessons or writing advice can I share with you from my hellish health journey? 

1. Take control of what you can. I would advocate for my needs in the hospital and tried to navigate my way to better health. I asked questions, told anyone how I was feeling, made sure I was getting whatever. I needed. As an author, don’t expect anyone to look out for your needs — you must initiate things and take ownership of your campaign.  

2. Follow what the experts encourage you to do. In my case, it is doctors and nurses barking orders on what not to eat, encouraging me to walk, and telling me what to pay attention to. For you, have a book marketing coach guide you — take their advice and run with it. Everyone benefits from a coach. 

3. Don’t give up hope. One can never give up on reaching their goals. For me, it was about patiently waiting to take baby steps for different things to start feeling better. But it did reach a point where, even though conceptually I believed there was a light on the other side of the tunnel, I could not see it, and I started to doubt its existence. Still, I had to trust in the healing process and to remain hopeful. Authors, too, will get frustrated when they don’t see any signs of life — fee book sales, web site clicks, or customer reviews — but they must realize that where they are is not where they will end up. Just because today seems like a fail, tomorrow does not have to be a repeat.  

4. Be thankful. I received many well wishes and lots of support from my family, friends, colleagues, and clients. Knowing that you are loved and that someone cares means a lot. The same is true with your book marketing journey. Lean on your support network to remain grounded but optimistic about what you can do to move your book forward. Others really do want you to succeed and be happy.  

Let me leave you by saying that I felt a rush of all of life’s lessons coming at me in the hospital. Things people told me even 40 years ago now started to make sense. When you feel down, reach deeper into your reservoir of support, wisdom, and knowledge and lean on who or whatever can help you laugh, improve, or succeed.

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 6,650,000 page views. With 5,600+ posts over the past 15 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 2026, 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) and (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/10-things-my-dog-taught-me-about-marketing-books). 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, three times at BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, five times at Morgan James Publishing Red Carpet, 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