WBTB is recommended for a good reason. You need to wake up your conscious mind, otherwise you will just likely fall asleep in non-lucid sleep.

WBTB doesn't need to be long. Just long enough until you think clearly but still sleepy enough to fall asleep quickly. Get out of bed, put the lights on, visit the restroom, do some math problems in your head while you at it, some mantras and go WILD.

But even if everything is done right, you may not get a LD every time. Happy dreams