I had the good fortune to interview Karen Salmansohn, author of the Bounce Back Book. We chatted specifically about how to be resilient in the pursuit of the trials and tribulations of do-it-yourself publicity. Check out her answers to some pressing questions that have no doubt crossed your mind since you started your own journey to DIY publicity success.

Question: Pitching stories to the media can be challenging to those who fear rejection and have trouble picking up the phone to ask for what they want. Based on what you’ve learned along your journey to write and earn an audience for the Bounce Back Book, what advice can you offer to visitors of this Do-it-Yourself Publicity Blog to guide their future actions to put their stories forward?

Karen’s response: In your question, you assume people know exactly what it is they want. That’s not only the case, and herein lies my advice — be honest and direct about your goals. Pinpoint exactly what you want from someone, and offer them ways to follow through with your demands.

For example, if you have a connection within a magazine and wish to promote your new book, don’t just ask that person what they can do for you. Instead, let the editor know you’re well read with the magazine and ask that he promote your new book in their monthly “Must Reads” section. Do your research. Find out what’s possible and what’s out of line. Always be well versed and don’t burn any bridges if you don’t get exactly what you’re looking for! According to tip #68 of my Bounce Back Book, I warn ‘When in a negatively charged state, be careful about the decisions you make.’ If you don’t get your desired publicity results, don’t lash out. Simply thank your magazine connection and keep them for further reference. You never know when they may come in handy again!

Question: In DIY Publicity, how important is it to keep a positive attitude?

Karen’s Answer: A good attitude is essential! Attitude is destiny. If you can master your thoughts you can master your destiny. But even with this mind –I want to add an important caveat! After a setback, you should not rush back to being ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine!’ too quickly! You might wind up bruising yourself further! The Dalai Lama said, ‘If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy,practice compassion.’ In other words, you shouldn’t be impatient about your progress — or impractical either. Trying to feel 100% better 100% of the time is unrealistic and will only lead to further disappointment. I encourage people to come up with an achievable goal for feeling better, and take baby steps toward reaching that goal. It helps if you keep track of your progress in a journal, by putting little + and - signs in it every time you feel positive or negative. Your goal is to eventually see a trend of more + signs! And I’m hoping the 75 psychological techniques which I offer in THE BOUNCE BACK BOOK will help create a nice paced upward trend of positive signs in people’s journals!

For more tips about bouncing back, check out Karen’s new book — The Bounce Back Book. Thanks Karen! And best wishes on the balance of your blog tour to bring your book to the attention of a much wider audience of potential readers who can benefit.