Even before you self-publish, you can bring a version of your book to life. Think of this as building a three-dimensional vision "board" of your book idea.
I call this process Build-a-Book and use it to keep all my ideas, book notes, and more in one place.
What is a Build-a-Book?
It's all of the above, and as "they" say, more.
I use it to work on all the facets of my book project and keep it together in one, easily transportable, place. I utilize all of my creativity, organizational, and artistic skills when working on my Build-a-Book which reduces the likelihood of me being distracted along the way.
Why Build-a-Book?
Regardless of whether it's physical (analog pen & paper), digital, or combo of the two, a Build-a-Book is, at its core, storage for all things related to your book project. My Build-a-Books are typically in A-5-sized, dot-grid notebooks that I can easily carry around. That way I always have my project with me; I can jot down bits and pieces of the story as they come to me, I can quickly look up a resource or contact, and capture notes as needed.
Having all of these elements in one place makes the process flow smoothly from blank page to receiving the final printed books in hand. No combing through a bunch of files because the entirety of the project is in one location.
And lastly, my Build-a-Book is a great way to productively procrastinate when I need to. On those days when I just don't want to write or plan...I can turn to a page in my Build-a-Book and sketch a picture of what I want the cover to look like. I can download, print, and paste in pictures of actors I think physically represent my characters. I can listen to a bunch of songs as I develop the book's soundtrack. Even though I'm not writing per se or actively marketing, or whatever, I'm still "working" on the book.
Coming Next Week...
So now you know what and why, next week we get into the actual building of our Build-a-Books. I'm putting one together now for my next book release and I'd love for you to work alongside me on YOUR 2024 book project.
Oh, and before I forget...
Grab your free spot in the Sistahs in Self-Publishing presentation on the Top 5 Lessons Learned in Self-Publishing.
Join my Sistah in Self-Publishing partner, Willmetta Owens (owner of Fantabulous Words and self-published author extraordinaire) as we share some important lessons we've learned throughout our combined, 15-year, self-publishing journey.
The presentation is free; registration opens next Monday, February 12th.
I do hope you'll join us! And in the meantime, drop any questions or comments about your Build-a-Book in the comment section below. And I'll see you back here next Wednesday for more of the Build-a-Book story!
As always, sending light & inspiration!
Dana
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