In today’s world, we a course in miracles author sites, why not a book? Once upon a time, publishers were reluctant to give contracts to authors who had uploaded their work onto a blog as it was seen as previously published material. However, many publishers have begun to take advantage of this method of communication. They see blogs as a successful way to test market book ideas. More than ever before, publishers are offering blog-to-book contracts. After all, if Justin Bieber can get a recording contract from the number of hits for his YouTube video, why can’t you get a book deal from your blog?
Many people believe that blogging a book is:
– The easiest way to write a book;
– The easiest way to build a platform while you write your book;
– The easiest way to attract a publishers’ attention.
Blogs are a great way to test the content of your book, getting feedback from your readers. You can then polish the content to make it attractive to publishers. Authors need a fan base, buyers for their book. A blog can help build this platform. It is important to not only post regularly, but to attract readers to your blog using social networking sites and commenting on other blogs and podcasts. By driving up your blog in search engine results and attracting more readers you and your book will become even more desirable to a publisher.
How to blog your book:
1. SITE: If you haven’t created your own blog site yet, the first step is to set one up. There are lots of sites out there that can help you do this. You need to consider the design, layout and colour of your site. First impressions count. You want your readers to keep coming back.
2. CONTENT PLAN: Once you have set up your website, you need to create a content plan for your blog. You need to organise your site so that it is easy to follow.
– Create a set of core pages that provide the most fundamental information about the blog and its author/s.
– Every blog should be consistent. Categorise the topics you have chosen to cover in your blog.
– Create a list of the different types of blog content you want to use. For example, standard posts, advice posts, tutorials, discussion posts.
3. CHAPTERS: Break your content plan into chapters. These chapters should be blog-post sized pieces of writing, from 250-500 words each.
4. REGULAR POSTS: Post on your blog regularly.
– Create a publishing schedule. Anything from 2-7 posts a week.
– Regular posts will continue to update your website and keep your readers interested.
– It will also mean that you develop your manuscript as you publish your posts.
5. EDIT: You may not use every post in your finished book. You can edit your blog later, when turning it into a book.
Blogging your book can be very straightforward, however, there are a number of things to consider when doing so:
– Publishers will be interested, so long as your posts are not already part of a book.
– Publishers will also want to know if the rights to your blog are not encumbered.
– Blogging a book is not the same as taking the content off a blog and turning it into a book. Editing is still required.
– Not all categories of book lend themselves to the blog format. Usually, non-fiction is the easiest to blog, as chapters are likely to naturally break into smaller posts. Nevertheless, that isn’t to say a novel cannot be blogged, you just need to consider where to put logical breaks in the chapters to create your posts.