The book marketer’s “bucket list”
“Write down 10 things you would do in
your life if you had absolutely no fear.
Then pick one of them and do it.”
— Steve Chandler
OK – challenge time. We’ve been at this blog a year now. Whether you’ve been reading for 11 months or 11 days, it’s time to get out from behind your computer and put some of these ideas we’ve been discussing into action.
I hereby alter Steve Chandler’s quote thusly:
Write down 10 things you would do
to market your book if you had absolutely
no fear. Then pick one of them and do it!
Let’s get a list going, right here and right now:
- Make a book trailer even though I don’t know much about video editing.
- Start speaking to civic and community groups that include members of my audience, even if I’m terrified of public speaking.
- Do a radio or TV interview, even if I’ve never done one before.
- Create a mischief marketing campaign like blanketing the parking lots at an MLB game with postcards to promote my new baseball book, even if I’m worried I’ll get “in trouble.”
- Interview someone famous in my market or industry, even if I’m worried they won’t want to talk with me.
- Wear a costume related to one of the characters in my novel to a crowded shopping center and hand out bookmarks, even if I’ll feel silly.
- Ask someone I admire to write a guest post for my blog, even if I’m incredibly shy.
- Fork over the $200 to host a book signing at my local indie bookstore, even if that’s a lot of money and I don’t have a guarantee it will go well.
- Ask someone famous for a blurb for my book, even if I don’t yet know how to contact them.
- Spray paint my book marketing message where it counts, even if it’s…
I’ll admit some of these ideas are scarier or bigger envelope-pushers than others; it really all depends on your comfort level. I personally have no problems speaking in public, but it’s said that for some people, the fear of public speaker is greater than their fear of dying!
The point is to choose one idea from YOUR list of fears and overcome it by TAKING ACTION!
I recently signed up to be an organizer for a political campaign. That means asking a whole lot of people who don’t necessarily want to talk with me if they’re registered voters. Tap the vocal ones from the opposing party and … oops … I could set off a mini-incident without even trying. The other thing is that I get a lot more rejections than I do signer-uppers because that’s just the nature of the work. Let me tell you – this is pushing me outside my comfort zone in a BIG way.
One of my new voter-reg buddies is fearless – she tells anyone who’s not registered and doesn’t want to register that they’re giving away their power if they don’t vote. I agree – and used that line a couple times myself this weekend … to no avail. I will persist, though, because this is a skill I really want to improve. How can I be a successful team leader if I can’t walk my talk?
Another thing I want to do to push past my current comfort level is take an improv class and/or a class in comedy. I can stand up and give you a compelling, from-the-heart speech – but I’m no Kristin Wiig and get pretty tense at the idea of being silly onstage. SNL just lost one of its greatest performers ever as Kristin left the show to pursue other opportunities. She’s my hero, though – as she exemplifies fearlessness to me.
Who’s your role model? What did they do to overcome their fear and do it anyway? Ready, fire, aim – as my friend and mentor David Hepburn used to say. Otherwise, there’s an awfully strong chance you’ll stand around all day aiming and never quite get around to the firing part.
Happy fear-conquering!
Laura
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Wow…this is a timely and challenging post. I am in the process of beginning to promote an e-book I wrote and I find it very intimidating! Thanks for sharing this post today!
Hi, Kate –
You just made my day! Your response is precisely the reason I’m writing this blog and that I posted today’s post. Fear is understandable when we’re doing something new or uncomfortable. The only way to get over it is to do that thing anyway. You may have heard the phrase, “Leap and the net will appear.” You’re obviously a woman of strong faith – let that help you as you jump into each new challenge that book marketing brings!
Come back and tell us how you do.
Best –
Laura (aka Marcie Brock)
I wrote a book about mental illness. This subject has long been surrounded by societal stigma. Even though I have been advocating for mental health for 26 years, writing my personal story of raising a chld with a mental illness has caused me to feel vulnerable. Now that the whole world has access to the book, it’s a little more frightening. While I am driven to educate others to break the stigma, I still fight the giant of fear that people will not want to hear about it. If courage is doing something inspite of the risks involved then I must keep moving forward with marketing the book. Yesterday I sent out press releases to local newspapers about my upcoming book signing event and, it has brought up some emotional trauma for me. I can only go forward now – it’s too late to stop the presses.
Thanks for sharing that, Dorothy. I can relate on many, many levels.
For one thing, my sister works for a company that provides housing and other services to mentally ill people – and through her stories and the people I’ve met, I’ve come to understand the challenges of both the clients and the caregivers. You’re right – there is still a HUGE stigma around this illness. That’s why your book is so important. And here’s what I learned as a birthmother in an open adoption (a position that still carries some societal stigma of its own): as long as I am true to myself, people receive me well. I was unashamed about being a birthmom, so no one could put that on me. In more than 17 years of telling my story, I’ve only had TWO people say anything rude or ugly to me, and one was a good friend who just didn’t understand my decision. The other was a self-absorbed prima dona who wouldn’t understand a compassionate decision if it bit her on the ass.
I can’t tell you what to do – but I strongly suggest you worry less about what other people think and more about being a strong advocate for your son and others in his situation. I’m willing to bet your vulnerability is less about the story itself than it is about sharing your work and life with the world. I had a mentor who always used to remind me, “What others think of me is none of my business.” That might be paraphrasing a Napoleon Hill or Jim Rohn quote. If you expect pushback and resistance to your book, you’ll likely experience more of that than if you expect people to be receptive and open to your personal story.
I also suggest that you go back and read some of the earlier posts on this blog. We did a LOT about mindset in the first few weeks. Here’s one, in particular, that you might find helpful: Give yourself permission to market your books.
Just keep coming back for support. Here – and in the Author Blog Challenge community. Congrats on writing the book. Here’s to your success with all your marketing endeavors!
Laura
I plan to share these ideas with a few people!!
That’s great news, Barb. Glad you found them useful. Send your friends to the blog so they can become subscribers, too!