How Do Writers Break Through?

 

When I was younger, a teenager, I used to think I had to write something great — or it was not worth writing. But what I know now is that one does not have to set out with the pressure of being perfect. In fact, there should be no such expectation.

Greatness comes many drafts or years later. In fact, the good news here is the opposite: You don’t have to be great the first time out. You can fall short over and over again, failing hundreds or even thousands of times. No one has to know about that. You are doing whatever it takes to produce the masterpiece, and anything that happens before it means nothing.

No one will know how many times you drowned in ink, and even if they do, it does not matter. It is not the journey that you take in writing that people care about — it is the final product that people will remember and be gifted with.

Thomas Edison reportedly failed some 10,000 times before he landed on the right light bulb. He was not criticized for failing all those times, but is profusely praised 150 years later for succeeding once.

So, no matter how many times you pick up a pen and it feels like it is a 200-pound burden to move in the proper direction, know that the more times you try to write something and the more times that you fail, the closer you are to breaking through. 

The same is true for your attempts at marketing your book. You can’t give up if you fail to sell a book today or tomorrow or the next day. Every attempt to market your book teaches you what works or why it falls short. You make adjustments. You try harder, longer, smarter, better. You seek out help or advice. You do what you can and even stretch your reach. Sometimes, it just takes a lucky break or one clear-minded moment for you to feel you are heading in the right direction.

Many aspects of life are about having the time, patience, and practice in order to evolve or even break through whatever you are trying to achieve.

I don’t know how many times I got rejected when requesting someone date me. I don’t know how many dates failed to convert into another. I don’t know how many relationships I had that broke up. It does not matter. I am happily married now.

Many times in my life I struggled to lose some extra weight. There were times I just accepted it and gave up. But eventually I would try again. My weight now is the closest to being normal in many years. What happened before no longer matters. I am arriving at my hoped-for destination.

I did not grow up with much money, living a lower middle-class life in an apartment building. My parents did not drive, never flew anywhere, and didn’t even have a dog. In my early adult years, I struggled to make good money even though I felt the ability was within me. But as time went by, I found my groove, and now I own my own book marketing company that rewards me in many ways, including financially.

So, dear author, worry not about failure nor feel you need to seek perfection. Keep trying and success may come to you as soon as your next attempt. But even if it takes years, if you have it in you, a breakthrough will occur.

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 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