The idea to write a book was a dream. I’m not unique. Over 80% of Americans say they want to write a book.

A year ago, I started writing for 30 minutes a morning. Within a month, I knew that I could get the book written. Within four months, I had a manuscript.

But how would I get it published?

I knew that the traditional route is a needle in a haystack proposition. I could try to find a literary agent who could pitch my book to a publisher. Or I could try the direct submission route. Either way, I would need persistence, as it would require persistence to keep going through multiple rejections.

J.K. Rowling was rejected 12 times before Harry Potter was published. Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind was rejected 38 times. Stephen King had to go through 30 rejections with Carrie to get it published.

I had no idea if my book was any good, let alone a bestseller. I didn’t mind getting rejected. But, I have a day job and the amount of time I would have to spend to get through dozens of rejections was overwhelming.

Enter Publishizer.

I ran across this crowd-publishing platform as I was researching how to get published. With Publishizer, you can get the attention of publishers by proving that your book can sell. It’s a radical concept that is getting attention because publishers can less afford to put books out that don’t sell. I read every blog on their website.

But I was scared.

But then I read this blog post by Seth Godin. There’s a difference between “feels risky” and “IS risky.” I realized that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I knew that even if I got my book published, I would have to do the selling. Unless you are a top-tier author, you can’t really count on your publisher to provide much marketing support.

If I couldn’t get enough pre-orders for my book, then maybe it wasn’t meant to be published. But if I was successful, then instead of spending my time getting rejected, I could let Publishizer pitch my book to any of the over 180 publishers they work with, based on their proprietary algorithm.

The bottom line was this: Publishizer gave me the opportunity to see if I could sell my book BEFORE it was published. If the idea was attractive enough to get hundreds of pre-orders, then it had a good chance of getting published.

So I signed up. Here’s why it was worth it:

• I got a step-by-step guide on what to do, including getting a book cover, producing a video, writing a book proposal and marketing through my own platform and network of contacts.
• Publishizer provided a platform that was set up to load all these materials, could email my contacts and accept book pre-orders. It took no time at all to set things up.
• I got personal support from Lee Constantine, Publishizer’s Director of Growth, throughout the process.

This meant I could focus my efforts on selling my book. I pretty much did exactly what the guide recommended. It’s not rocket science. In 30 days I sold 510 copies and raised $11,500.

I got inquiries from 12 publishers. I’ve ultimately decided to go the author-publisher route. But it wouldn’t have happened without Publishizer. I don’t think I am exceptional. Everything was laid out for me and all I had to do was put in the effort.

Are you one of the 80% who has a book in you? If so, email me. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you might have about how to make it a reality.

Anxious Church, Anxious People: How to Lead Change in an Age of Anxiety will be published in mid-2018.