How to Actually Build Demand Before You Publish

​Most authors rush to finish their book, publish it as fast as they can, and then wait to see what happens.

And for a lot of them, not much happens.

If you think about it, that approach doesn’t really make much sense. If you were planning something important—like a wedding or any type of event—you wouldn’t just set a date and hope people show up. You would invite people, talk to them in advance, and get a sense of who will actually attend.

Books work the same way.

Demand isn’t something that magically appears out of nowhere. It’s something you build intentionally, even if it feels a little awkward at times.

What “Demand” Actually Means

Demand is not followers, likes, or general interest.

Demand is much more specific than that. It’s people who are willing to actually buy your book when it becomes available.

The strongest form of demand is:

• owned buyers (people who have bought from you before)

• or people who pre-order

The next closest thing is:

• people who give you their email

• people who clearly express intent to buy

That’s why building an email list matters.

You don’t need anything complicated. You can offer a short story, the first couple of chapters of your book, or something simple that gives people a reason to raise their hand and say, “Yes, I’m interested.”

The goal isn’t attention.

The goal is to identify people who actually care.

A Rule I Personally Follow

This is something I wish more authors would adopt, but for now, it’s my personal rule:

If I can’t get at least 30 people to commit to buying my book, it’s not ready to publish yet.

That number might seem small, but it changes everything.

Those 30 people:

• Create your initial momentum.

• leave your first reviews

• Give your book a real launch.

Without that, most authors experience silence.

I’ve been there myself. When I published How to Deal with Stupid, nothing really happened unless I actively put time or money into marketing it.

That wasn’t because the book couldn’t sell.

It was because sufficient demand wasn’t built in advance.

Start With Your Network (But Use It Correctly)

Your network is not your audience.

But it is what gives your book a chance to reach one.

If you think about it, it only takes one person to read your book—assuming the quality is good and it actually engages the reader.

When a book genuinely connects with someone, they don’t keep it to themselves. They talk about it. They recommend it. They share it.

That’s how books grow organically.

• One person tells two.

• Those two tell more

• and it compounds over time

But that chain reaction only happens if:

1. Someone reads your book.

2. And the book is strong enough to make them care.

And that means you need to get comfortable asking.

Not hinting. Not posting and hoping.

Actually asking:

• “Would you be willing to read my book and leave an honest review?”

• “Would you be willing to buy it when it launches?”

The same applies at book signings.

If you’re not willing to ask people to take action, don’t expect them to act.

Build a Simple Interest List

Instead of blasting your book everywhere, focus on collecting interest.

That might look like:

• conversations in DMs

• in-person discussions

• simple email sign-ups

• basic forms

You’re not trying to reach everyone.

You’re trying to identify and keep track of the people who already care.

Validate Your Idea Early

You don’t need to wait until your book is finished to find out if it works.

Talk about your idea while you’re writing.

Explain it to people. Watch how they react.

You don’t have to follow every piece of feedback, but if you notice consistent patterns—either strong interest or complete indifference—that’s valuable.

Publishing won’t fix a concept that people don’t care about.

Test Your Positioning

You can test your:

• title

• cover

• blurb

Ask simple questions like:

• “Would you read this?”

• “What do you think this book is about?”

You’re not looking for perfect answers.

You’re looking for patterns.

Find Real Readers (Not Just Nice Ones)

This is one of the harder parts and, honestly, one of the most important.

You’re not just looking for people—you’re looking for the right people.

There are diamonds in the rough out there. People who will actually read your book, give thoughtful feedback, and treat your work the way they would want theirs treated. But most of what you’ll run into at first are rocks.

When I was building out the beta-reader and editor bench for Seerendip, I received around 20 responses.

I kept one.

The rest had mismatched expectations, didn’t follow through, or just weren’t reliable.

That’s the reality.

It takes time to build a small group of people you can trust. But once you find them, they become one of your most valuable assets as an author—even if it’s only five or six people.

Build Your Early Review Team

Before your book launches, you should already have:

• a group of committed readers

• people who agreed to read within 30 days

• people who will leave honest reviews

Not people who said “maybe.”

People who committed.

Understand the Reality of Marketing Numbers

This is where expectations need to become grounded.

Marketing is not magic. It’s math.

For example, a typical Facebook campaign might cost around $10–$15 per 1,000 impressions.

So if you spend $1,000, you might get roughly:

• 70,000–100,000 impressions

• 300–1,000 clicks

• and somewhere between 5–30 actual purchases

(Source: WordStream — https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2016/02/29/facebook-advertising-benchmarks)

That’s normal.

Marketing doesn’t create demand—it reveals it.

And once you understand that, you can use your email list and marketing budget to set realistic expectations rather than guessing.

Time vs Money (You Need Both)

This is something I see all the time.

Authors will commit to one, but not the other.

They’ll either:

• spend time but no money

• or spend money but no time

But in reality:

Time is like oxygen.

Money is like jet fuel.

You need both to make the rocket take off.

If you want your book to succeed, you need to:

• spend time going to book signings

• talking to people

• building relationships

And also:

• be willing to put money toward getting your book in front of people

Even if you work with a publisher, I would argue you should still have your own budget—for your own efforts.

This isn’t necessarily money you provide to the publisher.

This is your personal investment in your book’s success.

You can often tell when an author doesn’t have a budget because they won’t spend money on simple things like flyers, bookmarks, or table displays that could help them sell their book at signings.

If you invest only time or only money, you’ll get only partial results.

I see it constantly:

• authors willing to attend signings but won’t spend a dollar

• authors willing to spend money but won’t show up anywhere

Both approaches fall short.

What Most Authors Do Instead

Most authors:

• rush to publish

• Set a release date before the book is ready.

• post everywhere

• and hope people buy

Then they get silence.

I also find it interesting how often authors try to set a release date before their book is even ready.

Don’t worry about the release date.

Once you can hold your finished book in your hand and confidently say it’s ready, then you can start thinking about when to release it.

And honestly, that date should be based on one thing:

How many people are ready to buy your book?

Your book can exist online, but you shouldn’t push it publicly until:

• It’s ready

• And you’ve built the level of demand you want

A Better Way to Approach It

For my next book, which I'm writing myself, I’m going to test this directly.

I’m going to track:

• How many people sign up

• How many people commit

• How many pre-orders can I generate?

And I’ll use that data to determine:

• my marketing strategy

• my budget

• and how aggressively I push the book

Because at the end of the day:

Your numbers should guide your decisions—not your assumptions.

Simple Action Plan

Before you publish, aim for something like:

• 30 committed buyers

• an email list of around 100 interested readers

• a review team of 5–10 reliable people

These aren’t fixed rules—they’re targets.

You may adjust them based on your goals, your audience, and your situation.

The key is that your goals are:

• measurable

• intentional

• and grounded in reality

In Conclusion

If no one is waiting for your book, publishing won’t change that.

But if even a small group of people is ready for it—

You’ve already solved the hardest part.