Why (and How) to convert Your Blog into a Book
The idea of writing a whole book can be pretty daunting. Even if you’re a fairly experienced writer, you might think it’s beyond you.
But if you’ve been blogging for a few months or years, you may have already written enough to fill a book. Turning your blog into a book is an increasingly popular option.
As more and more bloggers see their blogs as gold mines filled with nuggets of content waiting to be extracted, refined and cast into books (and, if they are doing it right, they’ve followed the rules on how to write a blog).
It may sound unconventional to some people, it can be quite lucrative.
If you have a blog, there’s a high likelihood there’s a book in there somewhere — or at least the beginning of one. Don’t let that book go to waste. Turn your blog into a book, or “book it,”.
Blogging is one of the greatest ways to connect with people. These days, many bloggers are showing interest in turning blog posts into a book to novel.
As an author, to expand your reach, having a blog works wonders. Furthermore, blogging your book acts as an extensive marketing package too. Many aspiring and published authors turn to blogging simply because this technology offers a highly effective way to promote their work. They maintain the attitude that their blogs pose a distraction from their real writing endeavors — those that produce actual book manuscripts. These writers don’t realize the valuable commodity they leave unmined.
Creating a book is straightforward and not especially expensive. With Digital Paper your book will be published in just a click of a button. Here are few reasons why bloggers should convert their blog into a book — and why you might want to give it a try.
1. Books help you to reach & understand a Different Audience’s pulse with Coffee Table Books.
Not everyone reads blogs. Maybe they’re not especially comfortable with technology, or they only have internet access while at work, or they simply prefer to read in other formats. And those who do read blogs might never have come across your personal corner of the busy blogosphere.
Compiling the blog posts that you wrote and publishing it as a book is quite beneficial.
Books can reach a different audience — potentially becoming a tool for promoting your blog, or even your writing services. If your target audience like your writing style narration, etc.
Furthermore, when you first blog your stories before publishing them as a book, you will get immediate feedback from your blog readers and fellow bloggers. This way you can modify and edit your work based on the readers’ comments before publishing it into a book.
In short, blogs are a way of knowing the commercial appeal of your writing.
As you might know, coffee table books have more selling price than conventional novels. If you are a well-renowned lifestyle, travel, or a fashion blogger, you can curate some of your best works and photographs into a coffee table book (with Digital Paper).
2. Books Have a Certain Credibility
While it’s true that, today, anyone can publish a book (just as anyone can start a blog), books have a certain credibility.
Being able to tell your audience that you’ve written a book, or including your book in your bio when you’re guest posting or speaking, can give you instant “expert” status in their eyes.
Of course, if you’re going to look credible, it’s important to have a well-edited and well-produced book … which we’ll be getting to in a moment.
3. Books Give Your Content a New Life
If your blog’s been running for a while, there’s a good chance that most of your current readers missed out on your early content.
While your archives, categories and search box can all help them find your earlier writing, you almost certainly have some brilliant posts going unread in your blog’s archives.
By pulling together your blog content into a book, you can give it new life. Instead of skimming through your latest post in their inbox, your readers can curl up with Library or a hardcopy of your book and dig in.
4. Makes you more Responsible and Disciplined
By establishing a blog schedule for posting your chapters online, you unintentionally get into a commitment. This method helps you achieve your daily target. You will also stop procrastinating. Finally, you will also have your blog readers and fellow bloggers checking up on you about your progress in your work.
Few bloggers get inspiration to convert their work into a book because of the good feedback they receive during their participation in these challenges.
Balance writing when you’re too busy. This blog will help you to manage your busy schedule for writing your novel.
5. Works as a great Marketing strategy
If you are a blogger-turned-author, the chances of your book reaching a broad audience are quite high. You are already connected to a good reader base, and it gives you an added advantage over others. You can start posting a couple of chapters on your blog and see how your audience receives them. If it goes well, you can complete and publish the book, and use these sample chapters to market your book.
By pulling together your blog content into a book, you can give it new life.
Is the blog-to-book journey starting to sound like one you want to take?
Here is how you can Convert your Blog into a Book.
Blog Book, as many netizens address it, an be of two types:
- Converting an existing blog into a book — this can be a fiction or nonfiction.
- Writing a new novel on the blog — this is mostly fictional.
If you feel ready to self-publish, here are the three major steps that we recommend you follow:
1. Pick a theme and then choose your best posts
While you might be tempted to select your favorite posts, it is advisable to choose your most read or shared posts. While you are picking posts, make sure they all fall in the same genres.
2. Compile, Edit and Modify Blog Posts
Before your blog can become a book, you need to get all your posts into one place — probably a document on your computer, whether you choose to use Microsoft Word, Google Docs or another tool.
The good news is you almost certainly don’t have to copy and paste your blog posts one by one.
You’ll need to go through and format your post titles in Heading 2, so that when you convert your document to an ebook, these can become chapter headings.
You’ll almost certainly also want to do some editing: perhaps updating out-of-date references, fixing typos, or even adding or removing whole paragraphs.
Even if you have enough old material, it’d be good if you could write some new content for your book. The new content can be a substantial introduction and conclusion or just a few snippets here and there.
3. Blog your missing content.
If you find you must fill in large gaps in your manuscript, work smarter rather than harder. Blog those sections. By so doing, you continue to promote your book and build author platform — a fan base of loyal blog readers — as you are revising your manuscript.
4. Line Up Beta Readers and Reviewers
Structuring your novel or book’s flow of content is crucial. In a blog, each post is an individual article. However, in your book, there needs to be continuity in the flow of reading.
However you’ll want to have some extra eyes on your finished book. It is better if you hiring a paid editor — but if that’s not affordable, ask friends, family or colleagues to help out. When you post things on your blog, you would have done a rough proofreading, but when it comes to book publishing, your work should be flawless.
These beta readers could read just part of your book and let you know about any problems they spot — from typos and missing words to structural issues. Do try to give them as much advance notice as possible, and at least a couple of weeks to get feedback to you.
Beta readers may well also be willing to review your book (though you’ll probably want to approach other individuals for reviews too). Reviews or testimonials are a hugely important selling tool, especially as you’re publishing your book yourself rather than with a major publisher.
Again, give reviewers plenty of time, and stay in touch as your launch date approaches. Once your book is online and ready for reviews, send them the link (and brief instructions) so they can easily leave a review.
5. Get a Professional Cover Design
If you’re going to invest in just one thing for your book, go for a great cover design. Like it or not, we all judge books by their covers — your book is unlikely to get a second glance.
We went with Cover Designing Services to get a range of different options at a great price. Read the blog to know more about Cover Page to Satisfy Reader.
If you really have no option but to create the cover yourself, keep it simple and classy: think “minimalist.” Use large fonts that can be easily read at thumbnail size, and stick with just one key image.
6. Contact Digital Paper (Self-Publishing)
Post editing and structuring. Now it’s time to publish your book. Get your book published for free at Digital Paper in just 5 minutes.
7. Move the Blog posts to Drafts
Once your book moves to publishing stage, do not delete your blog posts; you can always store them in the drafts.
8. Blog your next book.
While booking a blog offers a superb way to repurpose your great blog content, the more efficient way to produce a book on a blog involves blogging a book — writing one from scratch. Searching out content for a book and then making it fit into your content plan can prove a long and tedious task.
A booked blog manuscript can need a lot of revising and editing because you blogged content wasn’t originally written with a full-length book format in mind. So, next time you want to write a book, map out your content in post-sized bits in advance. Then write your book on your blog.
You’ll produce a manuscript quickly and easily and promote it in the process. Plus, you’ll end up with a first draft of your book that needs much less editing and revising because you set out to write a book rather than a blog.
Some of the other interesting ways to convert blog posts into a book. Where three or more bloggers collaborate to write one blog post each on the same theme.
So … how about it? Have you ever read a book that started life as a blog, and would you turn your blog into a book? Are you inspired to convert your blog into a book? You write the blog posts; we will take care of the rest.
While you are making your book/novel out of blogs. Keep these tips in mind:
1. Decide on the genre and storyline
Similar to how you write a novel, you need to select a genre, storyline, characterization, etc., for your blog novel too. Let your readers know the genre and the novel summary in prior. Even if you haven’t decided on the ending of the book, it is okay. However, your blog novel shouldn’t become one among the zillion blogs on the internet. Therefore, keep it as elucidated and as unique as possible.
2. Take feedbacks seriously, but do not stress about it
As we said earlier, blog novels get instant feedback from readers and fellow bloggers. While you must take these feedbacks seriously and incorporate relevant changes in your book, there is no need to stress yourself about it. Especially, if you receive contradictory or cruel comments, it is better to ignore it than stress yourself much about it.
3. Do not publish all the chapters
New chapters or any particular features that weren’t published on your blog will always drive your book sales. Your loyal blog readers will endorse your book. Furthermore, if your blog novel has more to offer in its eBook version, then it will interest your reader to purchase your book.
4. Edit your manuscript professionally
One of the biggest mistakes a blogger can make while converting blogs novel into a book is using quick and easy editing services. While these services will allow you to speed up the whole process, they may affect the quality of your blog. As mentioned earlier, hire a professional editor who will edit, proofread, and revise your complete manuscript. For best results, edit it by yourself first, and then have it professionally edited as well.
