Yesterday we discussed some of the attitudes authors have and excuses they make that holds them back from succeeding with their books. Here are four more actual excuses I\u2019ve heard from authors.<\/p>\n
4: \u201cI have publishers interested in my book so I don\u2019t want to promote it.\u201d I got this response after asking an author if she\u2019d like to participate in a book festival. I think I convinced her that she could be selling some of the copies she has in her garage and making some money while continuing to wait for a publisher to commit to publishing her book. As a matter of fact, impressive sales might just tip the scale in her favor<\/p>\n
5: \u201cI don\u2019t feel like being around that many strangers.\u201d An author told me this when I suggested a bookselling opportunity to him. It\u2019s hard to sell books when there aren\u2019t very many people around<\/p>\n
6: \u201cYou can\u2019t sell books at book signings.\u201d Of course, I\u2019ve also heard, \u201cPublishers don\u2019t buy books from first time authors,\u201d \u201cYou have to have an agent in order to get a publishing contract,\u201d and other fallacies. The truth is, you definitely can\u2019t sell books at a signing if you don\u2019t show up.<\/p>\n
7: \u201cI don\u2019t like getting up in front of a group.\u201d I also hear, \u201cI don\u2019t want to mess with building a website,\u201d \u201cI hate approaching people to review my book, give me testimonials, publish my article, etc.\u201d I tell these authors that personality sells books. In fact, personality is probably the most important factor in selling some books. An author who wants to sell books, is going to have to become more proactive and more people-oriented.<\/p>\n
Authors who make these excuses\u2014who prefer to stay within their comfort zone and out of the limelight\u2014can probably expect to be one the over 78 percent of authors who fail every year.<\/p>\n
Instead, I urge you to stop making excuses that interfere with your publishing and bookselling goals. Educate yourself about the publishing industry and become proactive and assertive on behalf of your project.<\/p>\n
One way to educate yourself is to study books like those I produce for authors. I recommend “Publish Your Book,” “Promote Your Book” and “Talk Up Your Book.” They\u2019re all available at Amazon in print, audio and for Kindle. You\u2019ll find them at most other online and downtown bookstores. Or order your copy here: http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a><\/p>\n Now that the days are shorter and you\u2019re staying in more, consider reading my two Klepto Cat Mysteries: Catnapped and Cat-Eye Witness. Both are at Amazon.com for Kindle. Learn more about them here: http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/Klepto-Cat-Mysteries\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday we discussed some of the attitudes authors have and excuses they make that holds them back from succeeding with their books. Here are four more actual excuses I\u2019ve heard from authors. 4: \u201cI have publishers interested in my book so I don\u2019t want to promote it.\u201d I got this response after asking an author […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t