Why Do Authors Choose Optimism Or Pessimism?

  

It would be foolish to live life always being optimistic without making an effort to take ownership of one’s reality. Otherwise, all that you have is wishful thinking, but no muscle behind it. You are just hoping to buck the odds, praying for luck to come your way. You are at the mercy of the world.

It would be equally detrimental to live a life filled with pessimism, where you assume the negative and see everything as a cause for impending failure and doom. Why try, you ask yourself, if you feel doomed before undertaking a challenge. That is a poor attitude that only buys you the misery you are opening yourself to.

In either case, you may not have assessed reality and your prospects properly, nor would you do anything to seize the moment to make something favorable happen. You rendered yourself a hopeless victim, as if you had no say or active role in your life’s journey. You do not have to remain a standby passenger or a voyeur watching your life get defined by others.

I believe in having enough optimism to ignite you to act in an empowering and assertive way. Initiate, not just react. Do, instead of complain. Move in any direction over inertia. Position yourself for success and create your own opportunities. Change your circumstances. No sitting on the sidelines, counting up the excuses as to why you have failed or will fail.

I can’t tell you where my views come from, but I suspect a few factors have played a role in my thinking:

Childhood — I would combat my dad’s pessimism and unfounded fears with optimism and hope, but always tempered by taking action steps to avert doom and to pursue success.

Sports — When I was competing in sports or games, I am reminded there is luck involved but it is one’s skills and motivation that drive the outcomes.

Books — Reading many self-help and inspirational books make it clear that some blend of attitude and action lead to one’s victories or losses.

Results — Once you experience firsthand a favorable result from optimism-fueled action, you can’t but help believe more in your abilities to think, will, and act your way to greater heights.

I know I can’t will you to neither be overly optimistic or pessimistic. You are who you are, and perhaps the older you get, the more entrenched you have become in who you are. But I also know that deep down, something that I say resonates within you, that some part of you yearns for change or better results. You just need encouragement, direction, and perhaps for one thing to change for the better, to act as proof that you can do better, achieve more, and enjoy life. Embrace optimism blended with strategic action. You need both to balance your ability to act and your mindset to be open to opportunity.

Now look at how you view your book marketing. Are you a pessimist or an optimist? What changes can you make in your attitude and actions? 

The answer can be the difference between your book’s success and failure.

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 8,200,000 page views. With nearly 5,700+ 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