With the face of publishing changing, many authors are forced to scramble to get their own promotions for their books in circulation.

One of the main complaints is exhaustion. Lots of work to do, but only a few (sometimes just the author) to do it.

WHAT DRIVES IT

The main way to burnout and fast is – WITHOUT PLANNING.

When an author doesn’t plan how they’re going to promote their books, they go crazy and crazy to get the word out. Things that can turn readers off and waste time and money.

No pacing or task scheduling.

When creating a marketing plan for a book, scheduling in-person events, blog tours, announcements, and exposure is an important factor in making sure promotions are fun instead of a grueling exercise.

Pointing out valuable exposure over useless exposure.

Some authors in their quest for exposure step on many fingers along the way. They spam other blogs, they spam emails, and they make inappropriate promotional sales of their books in the strangest places. All these things can be counterproductive, but above all they increase exhaustion.

HOW TO PREVENT IT

Burnout can be prevented with proper planning and scheduling. This is something I personally learned over time. Also, if the shelf life of your book is forever (which is because when you, the author, receive the rights, you can republish it if you want), then you have plenty of time to promote it.

Create a book marketing plan

Research what others with books in your genre, your demographic, and authors like you are doing to sell your book. Break down the cost/investment you are willing to spend in time and money to promote.

Go at your own pace.

Take the time before the book comes out to give it the right touch (about 6 months), then schedule the days, the times of the week you’re willing to spend on practical promotions (in-person tours, blog tours, promotion of Twitter, FB promotion, etc)

Take time off.

Don’t let exhaustion get the best of you. Schedule vacations and use automated tools to help you maintain your social media presence and make announcements online during this time to keep your name circulating.

Invite others to help.

Rome was not built in a day, nor by one person. Getting a little help from your friends is always a great way to blow off some steam.