We have all failed in the past. What defines us is how we handle that failure, and how quickly we recover from the disappointment to try again, with new determination to succeed. Don’t be afraid to fail in book marketing!
Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Success is about trial and error. One thing I know for sure is that you will always start out failing more than you succeed. When you see that failure as a stepping stone to success… you’ll understand that it’s a necessary part of your journey.
Here is my story
I always wanted to be an author. For years I’ve been writing! Life gets in the way of your dreams, you have to make money to survive right? What if you could make money from living your dream? I’ve discovered now that this is possible through sheer hard work. It took years of determination and sacrifice. I almost lost everything several times.
When I fell pregnant with twins, my husband and I decided to start our own business. We thought having the flexibility would be a good move as parents. We thought we had months to build the business before the babies came, but no. They were born at 24 weeks, just 2 weeks after we started, so a new plan had to be formed.
Hard Work Defined
There’s hard work, then there’s ‘HARK WORK’. What’s the difference you ask? Well, hard work is defined as a great deal of effort or endurance, but that’s just words and easy to define. ‘HARD WORK’ to me is endless, life changing, soul destroying, days, weeks and years of pain and suffering. But this is in order to get where you want to be. Big difference in my opinion.
While building the business from scratch, I also visited the hospital twice a day. I was dealing with the loss of one of the twins, the relationship breakdown with my mother, battling depression and sleeping around 3 hours a day. I did this for 133 days! Until my little boy was healthy enough to come home.
Adrenaline Wears Off
After so many months constantly high on adrenaline, I crashed, very hard. Through the help of my Dr, a good mental health plan, and my amazing friends and husband, I was able to function, and continue to build the dream of becoming a successful business owner and parent. I had no other choice, this was the only way to provide for my family.
I Failed Often
We were always making mistakes in the business. It was inevitable. We had never done anything like this before, and although we did our best, the failures piled up.
The business was losing money, our savings were nearly gone. We were about to lose everything. The only way forward was to change everything. There was no room for failure, our livelihood depended on us learning from every failure we had ever made… AND SUCCEEDING! And we did.
The Steps To Business Success
- Learn from your mistakes – do not make the same mistakes over and over, expecting different results.
- Learn from experts – keep your mind open, follow in the footsteps of people who are successful.
- Do not do something if you’re not an expert – it’s a waste of your very valuable time. HAVE A GOOD ACCOUNTANT! they are worth their weight in gold.
- Apply yourself – hard work equals success.
- Think outside the box – if something doesn’t work, trying something else, get your ‘cutting edge’.
- Have the resources – there are high and low seasons in business, have funds to get you through the low periods.
- Be humble, be grateful, be kind.
The Steps to Book Marketing Success
It’s pretty much all of the above. Your authorship is a business. Follow the path set before you. Listen, learn, get a mentor, connect with others, ask questions, work hard, and be yourself! Be kind to yourself, look after yourself, encourage yourself, believe in yourself. And please don’t be afraid to fail in book marketing success. It will make you stronger, and teach you very important lessons of resilience, integrity and reward for your initiatives. Failure is one of the most important things in the path to success.
Now my business pays for my dream to be an author. But it took years to get to this position. I used to fail more than I succeeded, now I succeed more than I fail. I still fail, it’s inevitable. Failure now excites and drives me. I look forward to the challenge!
Let’s Hear Some Other Failure to Success Stories from ORP Authors
Pip Coleman – pipcoleman.com
I moved to Phillip Island in 2013. I didn’t want to do the corporate sales job thing anymore. I wanted to share my passion for wellness and live near the ocean. It’s been 8 years and I’ve had loads of failures: working for people with no integrity, seasonal clientele, spent money on marketing that didn’t work, weird and creepy clients. I even stopped writing my book because I was scared of people judging me… but to me success is learning from the failed attempts and trusting the voice deep inside you that says ‘the unique light you give to the world is worthwhile’. So, I published the book. I still run my business. I still keep trying new things. When people say ‘you should get a job, running a business is hard’, I say ‘being my true self in business is not as hard as sacrificing myself for someone else’s goals’.
Jenny Old – jennyold.com
I attended a 7 day art course for ‘beginners’ with my sister. I soon realised I was the only beginner. It was intensive and I was overwhelmed and failed at all the exercises, compared to the other students. I felt such a failure and very despondent. For our final assignment, I gave up, sat in the garden and sobbed. A man appeared who was reading my book ‘Back of Beyond’ and told me I could do anything after my experiences in the outback. I returned to class and completed my work and felt very proud, even though it was abstract!!
It made me understand that failure can be a form of mindset. Better to have a go and fail than never have a go!
Vashty Wilson – vashtywilson.com
I was a great student in Primary school and the beginning of high school. Around grade nine I decided to throw it all in for fun, and had little interest in academic learning. I picked up the pace again in grade twelve, but by this time, it was too late. My results in grade twelve weren’t great!
What did I learn? Well initially I was disappointed and angry at myself. I soon realised I had to start putting in some hard work. I had always wanted to be a teacher and with university out of the question, I investigated other pathways to succeed. I completed a certificate then a diploma in childcare. I had missed the mark with grade 12, but there were still options out there for me. I eventually completed a university degree and worked for some fabulous organisations, moving into working with children and teaching personal safety. From failure to success.
Jacqui Preugschat – www.tessas.com.au
“Personally, the pain of never trying, never stepping out of my comfort zone is worse than living in my comfort zone and never risking failure. When you fail you can adjust, change, reflect, have that experience and keep going. When you never step out of your comfort zone, it could be an opportunity lost. So many fears hold people back from giving things a go. What’s the worst that can happen?
I remember losing the Miss Australia Awards, and now I know why, but then I was devastated, as I had linked losing to my self-worth as a person. Later I realised that I put all my efforts into fundraising activities, and the right outfit, but no effort into public speaking. When it came to the interviews and being on stage – I failed miserably. So, I set about learning how to speak in public and present well in interviews. I became a short course writer/teacher for TAFE, university lecturer, directed and acted in musicals and directed a choir.
Recently I contacted a major bookstore chain to ask if they would stock my books. They said my books were not suited to their style of books usually stocked. I accepted that and moved on. Six months later, a different door opened for the same bookstore chain and my books were accepted! The time spent dwelling on failure is wasted time you could have spent moving onto the next opportunity. The fear of failure grips so many people and stops them from pursuing their dreams. We need a different mindset on failure, teaching our children and ourselves to use failure as a tool for learning, not an embarrassment or an excuse to quit.”
Check out the other steps to book marketing success here and here
Recent Comments