Publishing A Book During a Pandemic

“Why Would You Publish a Book During a Pandemic?”

That’s what a client asked me after I told him that my new book is now available.

The response took me by surprise. I was expecting some sort of supportive, celebratory comment that would stroke my ego and show me how much more prestige I now commanded.

I didn’t know what to answer.

So, I said, “I’m a writer and the book was finished. So, I published it.”

“Too bad it happened during this COVID-19 mess, people probably don’t have the money to spend on nonessentials like books.”

That comment got to me, too. I have a problem with thinking of books as nonessentials.

But, I reminded myself, we are in a pandemic and I don’t want to jeopardize business from a client who is keeping the orders coming, so I steered the conversation with, “Well, you can brag to your buddies that the guy who writes your copy and content is the same guy who wrote the book about copywriting.”

We moved on to a discussion about targeting new keywords for content.

But it got me thinking.

Thinking about other things I might have said if I had either thought of them at the time or I wasn’t concerned about limiting my income.

Things like:

• Although the pandemic has screwed a lot of stuff up, businesses still need good content and strong copy … not all writers are starving.
  
  
• Because of the pandemic, many writers are no longer commuting and may have more time for a useful book.
  
  
• Copy and content writers are known for investing in their skills and knowledge of their craft. They are willing to invest in learning.
  
  
• Copy and content writers will buy my book because it has value beyond what it costs.
  
  
• A bunch of folks I highly respect like Bob Bly, David Garfinkel, Tom Albrighton, Steve Slaunwhite, and Drayton Bird said that it’s a worthwhile book.
  
  
• I’m not measuring success by numbers of sales, but by numbers of people who feel they got value from the book.

OK, I’m sort of lying. I do want people who buy the book to get value (and I firmly believe they will), but I really, really want to sell a bunch of books. There’s some ego gratification and desire for acceptance at play here.

So, instead of ending this post with a great insight such as: You can wait for the time to be perfect or just roll up your sleeves and make things happen, I’ll end it with a self-serving CTA: Buy my book. It’ll make you a better copywriter: https://amzn.to/2zCI5es