Have you ever been writing a book and felt like something was missing, but you couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was? You set the manuscript aside and then came back to it with fresh eyes. You added a few things, but still, it felt like something wasn’t quite right?
This happens to me frequently. In fact, it happened to me with my latest book. In getting this book ready for print, I remembered an important writing strategy. Create your cover – front and back cover copy. Even if it’s a mock-up, create the cover before you finish the manuscript. Typically, I’ll create a cover about three-quarters of the way through writing the book. I hadn’t done that with this book.
My husband had already given the manuscript one heavy edit. He’d given me lots of ideas to add and sections to change. I’d made those edits. I put the book into my Kindle to proofread another time on a recent plane flight. I made those changes to the manuscript.
After doing this, I had a strong urge to create the cover for the book: “Trust Your Heart: Spirit-Led Authoring: Memoir of a Christian Mom of Six and Her 30-Year In-Home Business.” I wrote the back cover copy and tweaked the subtitle of the book. Then I headed over to my favorite stock-photo site. I found a piece of artwork that is perfect. It captures the feel I want for this book.
The interesting thing is, after I had the book cover created, I realized the book itself did NOT include enough of what the cover portrayed. The cover captured the spirituality of the book, whereas the book itself felt very cerebral. It was good information, it shared lessons I’d learned in 30 years of business. I did share examples of how the Spirit guided me in my business, but it lacked something important.
I had not spent enough time in the book teaching people how to hear the Spirit, how to know if it’s the Spirit speaking to you, what to do when you receive inspiration, or how to position yourself to receive more. All the juicy “how-to” stuff about being Spirit-Led hadn’t been clearly articulated. I needed a whole chapter on this – sharing different ways the Spirit communicates with us and giving real life examples.
After I created the cover, the need for this chapter became glaringly evident. Knowing what was missing, the chapter flowed easily from me. After completing it, I sent the book off to another proofreader for a fresh perspective. You should see the book available on Amazon sometime in January of 2020. If you’d like to read a sample chapter, I include one in my free course: How to Easily Implement Your Ideas by Harmonizing with Your Natural Rhythm.
So, if you’re at that point where your manuscript is close to being done, but it’s still missing something, create your cover! Your cover is the aerial view you need when you’ve been lost in the weeds of writing. The cover and writing your back-cover copy will show you where your holes are.
If you need help with writing, publishing, or marketing your book, stop by www.CreateAWOW.com . I have some free lessons linked on the right-hand side of that page.
Cover Image Copyright: Mo_Ali / BigStockPhoto.com
About Marnie Pehrson Kuhns
Marnie Pehrson Kuhns is a Certified SimplyAlign Practitioner™ who uses music and creativity to mentor you past barriers, fears and doubts to discover, create, align with, and deliver your soul’s song (the mission, message or purpose you are on this earth to live). Marnie is a best-selling author with 31 fiction and nonfiction titles. If you'd like Marnie and her husband Dave to work with you personally on Your Great Reinvention, get a FREE 20-minute strategy session with Marnie here.
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