Afraid to Talk About Your Book? Watch This Before You Self-Sabotage Your Success

Do you feel weird promoting yourself or do you feel salesy or pushy? I get it, but I heard a quote one time that said, do you want to worry about your ego or do you want impact? You wrote your book for a reason and so yeah, you don't want to come across as pushy or self centered. But if you're not talking about your book and what you've done, how are you going to get the book into the hands of the readers you wrote that book for? If you're looking to confidently share your book with the world without feeling salesy or gross, well, good news. This video is for you. Hey there. I'm Julie the Book Broad. I'm founder of Book Launchers and well, I have no problem sharing with you that we are your first choice for all things nonfiction book publishing so you can keep all your rights, control and royalties. Now, whether you're in the middle of writing your book or it's done and out there, you probably already know that that you're in charge of getting the word out about that book. And if the thought of shouting it from the rooftops has you thinking about cowering in a corner, let me help you first get yourself in a community of supportive and enthusiastic authors like our Author Business Accelerator Group. It's absolutely for you. My team and the other authors are cheering you on, shouting you from the rooftops and making every step easier and more fun. So check it out@authorbusinessaccelerator.com you can join for the first seven days for for free. Now once you've joined, well, even if you didn't join, here is number one to help you reframe self promotion to sharing value. You're not bragging, you're offering something useful. Instead of thinking I need to sell my book, think I need to help my ideal reader. Brene Brown, the best selling author of Daring Greatly, was initially hesitant about self promotion. Instead of selling herself, she decided to focus on the transformational impact of her message. In an interview she's quoted as saying, I don't try to promote myself, I just try to search serve my community. It's why I shoot these videos by the way. I'm here serving you and I do it at all kinds of levels. Free here on Book Launchers, tv, my books, our paid community and then our full service where we do it for you and so much more. Number two Identify and address the root fear. This is a mindset shift. Fear often stems from a fear of rejection or worrying about what others think. Addressing this does help you Move forward. I'll give you one of my own examples. In one of my very first talks I ever gave, it was in front of almost 600 people. I was absolutely terrified to the point where I only have a short memory from my entire 40 minute talk. I apparently did okay because they invited me back, but my intense fear of what the people in the audience would think of me made me so nervous I couldn't even think. A little while after that talk, I shared that story with someone I know and I received a really, really important piece of advice. And no, it wasn't next time, picture the audience naked. It was to focus on one person in the audience who really needed my message rather than thinking about me and whether what I was going to say was going to make sense and would people think I looked good or sounded smart. I just changed everything to focus on finding and thinking about am I going to be able to serve that one person who really needs to hear me and my message today? And when I did that, I found I still get nervous. But it takes the pressure down. Because being on stage, being in front of an audience is not about me. It is for that very single person who needs to hear me that day. Here's another way to put it. Ask yourself what's the worst thing that can happen if I promote my book today? Is somebody going to roll their eyes and tell their friend that you had the audacity to to talk about your book? Maybe. But likely that's not going to happen unless that's the only thing you're talking about. When somebody meets you or hears you, you're always talking about the same thing. But ultimately encourage yourself because when you're in front of new people, maybe you're in front of that person who desperately needs your insights and they're not going to find out about your book unless you share it. Number three, Start small. Practice in low stakes environments. In other words, don't make your first talk in front of 600 people. Not recommended, but confidence grows with practice. Begin promoting it in spaces where you already have support. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, in case you didn't know, didn't start by shouting about his book to the masses. He built trust by sharing valuable blog posts and answering questions in niche forums. In fact, I was told he delayed the launch of his book by more than a year because he was refining his book and building support. By the time his book launched, he had a built in audience that wanted to hear from him. So what does that mean for you? Well, share a book related insight in a private Facebook group or a LinkedIn discussion before posting to your main feed. If you have a mastermind group, or if you're in a group like EO Entrepreneurs Organization, share it amongst some peers. Or if you don't have those options, join our free community at school book launchers.com school and make supportive friends with other authors. Also consider how to share your book. You could say I wrote a book, but what about if you said, when I was writing my book on business owners, I learned some crazy things I didn't expect when I started doing the research. Now if nobody asks, follow ups, You've got problems. But by practicing your leads with small supportive circles, you'll naturally do it with strangers where the stakes are higher and you'll find what resonates with people. Number four Be a storyteller, not a bookseller. If you struggle with self promotion, don't sell. Tell a great story. Instead, frame your book as part of a larger story. Kind of like what I was just doing there. Whether it's part of your personal journey, a case study, or a lesson that changed everything for you. Bestselling author Donald Miller Building a Story Brand uses this technique constantly. Instead of selling his book, he shares mini stories, his own failures, clients, transformations and reader breakthroughs. The result? His book doesn't feel like a product, but rather an essential piece of wisdom people want to learn. Here's a few ways you can do this. Share that moment that sparked your book idea. I never planned to write this book, but then this happened. Tell a before and after transformation story related to your book's topic. Like before I discovered this process, I was drowning in stress. Now I can handle setbacks like a pro or use real reader feedback to tell a story. One of my early readers told me this book helped them finally start their dream business after 10 years of fear that makes all the late nights worth it. Stories are memorable and they make promotion feel natural instead of salesy. They create an emotional connection and people buy books that speak to them. So shift from promoting to sharing stories and watch how much easier it feels to talk about your book. Number five Promote like you'd recommend a great movie. Talk about your book with the same enthusiasm you'd use when recommending a great show you discovered a restaurant or product. Check out our client Imani Roberts on his social media. You can find him on Instagram or LinkedIn. He does a great job of sharing stories from his journey as an author. The hardest part about finishing a book is is finishing it three times. That's one inspiration but here's a few other ideas Instead of a typical buy my book post, maybe post I almost quit writing this book because I thought no one would care. But here's what changed my mind. And then share a story. Or you could say one idea in my book completely changed how I handle stress. Let me share it with you. When you show up with enthusiasm and realness, people naturally gravitate towards your book. Here's a final thought. The people who need your book won't find it unless you share it. Most successful authors are not born promoters. They just practice sharing their book in a way that feels right for them. And there are days where I shy away from promoting my books and then I meet another author who got scammed by a company before they found us. Or I meet another author who says I wish I knew about you before I did X and I'm reinvigorated that I need to promote what we do at Book Launchers and my two books right there with big enthusiasm. Because we help nonfiction authors of all kinds and at all phases to write, publish and promote a book to have more impact and income. Your book is valuable. Your insights matter. Don't let fear stop you from helping the people who need it the most. Which of these strategies are you going to try first? Let me know in the comments below. And when you comment the day a video is released, you get entered to win some of our hashtag NoBoringBook swag or our books. So say hi and get those notifications on after you've subscribed so you can say hi after our videos on Tuesdays and Fridays.