We know people scan online so it’s tempting to always stick to just the facts. And a lot of times it really is best to just get to the point and get out of the way. But a hook is a hook. The idea of starting with specs like page count and publication date seems like a pale alternative compared to an evocative introduction like this one.

#4: Overcome writer’s block by starting with small bits.

Carroll’s method of writing the actual RRRB book also offers some writing guidance.

Their nudge was followed by another nudge, from Joanne Gordon, the writer and editor of the book that came out of the Roadtrip Nation adventures. When she spoke with Kevin in 2003, she says, “he knew he had a book inside him.” So she gave him an assignment. She told him to write for 30 minutes for 30 days about his life from his earliest memories.

This sort of Getting Real approach to writing is a great way to overcome blank-page-induced paralysis. What works for software design also works for writing: Break your big assignment down into chunks. Start a book with blog posts. Write something — anything — every day for a month. Brain dump. Build now and edit later. Then you’ll know if you’ve actually got something worth following through on.

#5: PR starts with you.

The success of RRRB shows you don’t have to go through The Man to get a book into the hands of the public.

It took only nine months from the time the book was printed in May 2004 for Kevin to sell out the entire 11,000 copy print run. He did no marketing. He did not even sell the book at conferences. His sole means of selling the book was mentioning it at his public speaking events and telling people the Web site from where they could order it. Kevin would also give books away to hundreds of young people he spoke to in his travels.

If your message is tight, you don’t need to sit around and wait for the machine to make you a star. Get your voice heard. Give stuff away. Promote through education. Speak wherever you can.

Speaking of speaking: Start on a small scale. At first, you may be talking to a small classroom or at some podunk conference. Ya gotta start somewhere. Fwiw, 37signals didn’t start out giving keynote speeches at SxSW. There were years of smaller speaking gigs at schools, companies, little-known conferences, etc. The plus side of starting small as a speaker: It lets you hone your message and delivery so you’re ready for the big time when the time comes.

#6: Sticky points are sometimes tiny/hidden.

The design of RRRB is cool. There’s a circle of red rubber on the cover, school ledger journal pages within, and playful illustrations that work with the theme of the book. The RRRB site highlights the design process, turning it into a selling point that backs up the theme of the book.

When Kevin was done with his manuscript he flew to Kansas City to meet with Ann about the book’s design. She introduced him to her whole team of designers so they could get a sense of Kevin’s personality. Then Ann assigned the book to one of her junior designers who had never designed a book before.

“You both have no rules,” Ann said about her hunch.

Even the printing path of the book is used to capture the inspirational tone.

Next, the book was sent to Metropolitan Fine Printers in Vancouver BC, the only printer that was willing to take on the complicated job. The many colors, textures and papers of the book are what make it unique - and also difficult to produce.

“We never throw away a challenge,” says Metropolitan Account Executive Scott Gray. Kevin flew to Vancouver to meet Scott and share the story behind the book with three shifts of print technicians, sales staff and management.

They became some of his biggest fans.

Your sticky points, the ones that get people to pay attention aren’t always obvious. Sometimes it’s the little stuff — the things that you overlook. An example from our world is the attention we received from Basecamp’s iCal integration. We got tons of links and visits from Mac sites because of something we didn’t realize people felt strongly about…a very pleasant surprise.

Phew. All that from just a few pages of text at a mini-site. Not too shabby. Any sites out there that have provided you with unexpected lessons?