When I started this company in 2006, part of my hope would be that I would have an avenue to publish my own works. However, one thing I did not take into consideration was the amount of time it would take to write a book along with travel and speak, and now pastor a church. In a famous article by Seth Godin, he argues that in order to properly market your book, you need to begin three years before you want to release. I’m only six months out, but fortunately, I’ve been blogging, sporadically at times, since 2006, have over 4,000 friends on Facebook, over 1,200 ‘Fans’ on my Facebook page, and over 1800 followers on Twitter. I have also created a new Facebook page recently just for this book project and am working hard getting people to ‘Like’ it.
The first project I am going to release in February 2013 is entitled Tragedy to Truth and is based on my testimony on how I came to know Jesus and the transformation that has occurred following that time. One might think that since this first work is based upon something so close to my heart, something that I have spoken so often about to thousands of people over the years, that it would be easy to write. Unfortunately, I am finding out that when I am writing, I lose 2/3’s of my arsenal from when I speak. When I speak I can use facial expressions, gestures, vocal inflections, etc. When I am writing, I have to be far more descriptive and use words in the right way in order for me to make any sense and to properly convey what I am trying to communicate.
A few months ago I created a rough outline for the book, but was then advised from a friend who is an editor that I needed to create a list of ‘Buckets’ and then spend my time writing to fill those buckets. It would be better than just creating a straight outline. After all, we all have different writing styles, and since I am naturally all over the place, it is best for me to have isolated subjects first to write about, and then later work with editors, and friends to put it in order.
I am going to begin posting weekly (or at least as often as I can) about my writing experience and hopefully offering some insight on how you can build your base audience and begin working today for the book you hope to publish tomorrow.
Leave a comment if you have any questions and I hope to connect with you soon!
– Casey Cease, Owner, Lucid books
