It’s easy to get in a rush when you have finished writing your book—you want the whole world to have it in their hands as quickly as possible.
This is understandable because you have spent months or years working with your “baby” and now it’s time to give birth.
I am a father. I have experienced pregnancy from a father’s perspective, but I’ll never know all of the process—emotional and physical stress, risks, mental preparation, pain, fear, and all the other things that are part of the process.
I do know what it feels like when you hold your baby in your arms the first time—from a father’s perspective—but, I could never feel what a mother feels when she holds her baby.
I do know that, after the baby is born, is not the time to start planning the nursery. The house has to be ready for the baby.
I also know that after your book is published is not the time to plan a marketing strategy. The marketing plan has to be ready for your book.
One of the enemies of authors is unrealistic expectations. Some of these expectations are:
- Publishers are waiting for your manuscript
- Publishers will do the marketing for you
- Publishers will split the profits equally with you
- Publishers will allow you to keep all the rights to your book
- Getting your book on Amazon will guarantee sales
- All book stores will stock your book
- You will sell tons of books at book signings
- All your family members and friends will buy your book
- Everyone who reads your book will give you a review
- Everyone who gives you a review will give you a good one
and there are more.
These unrealistic expectations cause:
- Stress
- Impatience
- Frustration
- Discouragement
- Depression
- Burnout
and they suck the joy of writing right out of your life.
The next several posts will present the marketing process—what it is, when to begin, and what to expect.
Change something today to make your tomorrow better.
Tom Blubaugh
Literary Strategist, LLC
TomBlubaugh.net
tom@tomblubaugh.net
417-812-6110
This is so true. In some ways, the promotion ca be just as big of a job as the writing, if not more challenging as in quickly learning. Thanks for an excellent reminder that this is normal 🙂
It’s very easy for us authors to get ‘tunnel vision’ and think we’re the only ones having selling problems. It’s an ongoing challenge that all business have to deal with–thus–Black Fridays, Cyber Mondays, etc.