Build it and they will come – the power of seeing your book before it’s published

I subscribe to many writers’ newsletters. Sometimes I have the time to take a look at them, more often than not, I end up deleting them (and feeling a little guilty about it.) I just don’t have the time to read them all.

But it was the post title (and the recommendation from a friend who told me to “build it and they will come” ) from Writetodone.com that intrigued me enough to open a particular email during a lull one weekend.

The title was “How to Make your Ebook a Run-Away Success: An Interview with Jim Kukral.” I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the marketing of ebooks lately what with all the hype around 50 Shades of Grey – the Twilight fan fiction that went nuts based on word of mouth. When done effectively, there is some potent mo-jo around emarketing of ebooks.

In a nutshell, Kukral defines these steps for your ebook:

Step 1: The very day when you have the idea of the book in your head, sit down, give the book a title, and write down who the book is for.
Step 2: The next step is to create a book cover. You can get that done  on Fiverr.com for only $5.
Step 3: Place the image of your bookcover on your blog, on Facebook, or wherever you tend to hang out. You can say, ‘Hey, I’m writing this book,’ and build anticipation. It’s like the way big movies do it. You can see the trailer long before the film is ready for viewing.
Step 4: Create a short video or blog post about your book idea with an email signup form. Six months down the track when you’ve actually written the eBook, you’ll already have a group of customers waiting for it.

Here’s the funny thing. These are pretty much the same steps you would take if you were writing a hardcopy book.

I have a book in mind, I’m trying to pitch it. It exists. The only problem is that, right now, at least, it’s not real to others.

So I followed the article’s advice and I went over to fiverr.com to get a book cover for my idea. Why not right? It certainly couldn’t hurt. After signing up and doing a search on book covers, I found someone who would create a cover for me (along with a 3-D cover for, you guessed it 5 dollars total.)

I filled out the designer’s form and waited the 3 days. Sure enough, I got an email message telling me that my book cover was done. I opened the file and what I saw took my breath away.

Not because it was so magnificent, in fact we ended up making a few small changes to the design, but because it took the book from my mind and turned it into a reality.

I’ve printed out this cover and I have it on the wall in my office. The psychological difference in “I’m writing a book” and “this is the book I’m writing” is HUGE. I liken it to those vision boards where you paste pictures of the things you want to happen in your life.

So here’s my advice to you. Even if the thought of a book is just a gleam in your eye, figure out a title, go over to fiverr.com, and spend 5 dollars turning that gleam into something that is concrete. Print out that cover and post it on your office wall, as well as by your bed, so that it’s the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see each morning.

And then go out and tell all your friends that you are writing a book.

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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens).

Look at me, I’m building.