Strategy Beats Winging It Everytime

Two weeks ago, I was on a call with a mentee who said something I hear far too often:

“I think I can just wing the marketing after I publish it.”

There was a pause on my end because everyone believes that too. That if the book was good enough, it would simply find its way. Like love in a romantic comedy. Unplanned. Undeniable. Inevitable.

But publishing doesn’t work like that anymore.

A book without a marketing strategy is like sending a letter without an address. Beautiful intention… no destination. And I told her plainly:

You don’t “wing” visibility.

You architect it.

Because books don’t fail in bookstores.

They fail in strategy. The authors who move units, the ones who actually create momentum, are not just writers.

They are surrounded by structure:

someone mapping audience entry points

someone building pre-launch anticipation

someone designing visibility beyond the algorithm

a team (or strategist) who understands that attention is engineered, not accidental

Then we talked about book tours.

And she said, “Are those even still a thing?”

I smiled, because yes now more than ever. But they’ve evolved. A book tour today isn’t just cities and bookstore readings.

It’s:

virtual interviews that live forever online

podcast circuits that compound authority

curated in-person experiences where readers feel the author

digital appearances that introduce you to audiences you’ve never physically met

And here’s what people underestimate:

Books don’t go viral because they exist.

They move because people experience them through you. There is still something irreplaceable about presence.

Seeing the author.

Hearing the voice behind the words.

Feeling the conviction behind the story.

That’s what sells books. Not hope. Not luck. Not “posting more.” Strategy.

And I told her what I’ll tell you:

If you are treating your book like a product you can casually release into the world… you will be disappointed.

But if you treat it like intellectual property (something that requires positioning, planning, and a real marketing ecosystem) it becomes something else entirely.

A career.

A platform.

A legacy.

And that is not something you wing.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building a real strategy behind your book, I'm taking two new clients this month.

Shoot me a message if you're serious.