Can I Turn My Blog Into A Book?

Guest Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

I've written many times about how to get started in blogging, editorial calendars, how to write, etc. but what about you bloggers that have been blogging for years and wonder… what's next? I'm always wondering what next so, here goes. 

If you've got a wealth of blog posts, then by all means you should look to turn it into a book. If you have posts that are all geared toward one objective such as, blogging about Poodles, or how to travel with your furry friend then viola you've got all the material you need at hand. If you have a more generalized blog, one on which you write about social media for pet lovers today, pet friendly hotels tomorrow, and how to choose the best veterinarian the next day, you can divide your book into sections that make sense and again viola — a book. 

Here are a few items to consider and get you on the way toward turning your blog into a book:

1. Gather your best material. You don't need (or want) to put every post into your book. Put your best, only. 
2. Take time to consider a concept or theme for your book. If it is going to be a compendium of all of your posts and you're a generalized (rather than a specialized) blogger determine how many sections you will want in your book and try to put your posts into three or four sections that make sense. 
3. Re-edit your blog posts before you put them into a book. Blogging language and style are different than book language and style in some cases, so make certain you are gearing your posts toward the specific medium. 
4. Take a step back and consider why you're putting your blog posts into a book? Fun? Profit? Just because you want to say you've written a book? Giveaways at a conference? There are no bad reasons, it just good to have one and from that you can…
5. Build a marketing plan. There's no sense in taking the time to gather your blog posts and your thoughts and put them into book form if that book is just going to sit in your closet. Consider whether you could use a portion of your book as a giveaway enticement to get people to sign up on your website for your newsletter. Talk about it on social media. 

You may be wondering why you should publish a book and try to sell it when people can simply come to your blog and read it for free, right? Consider the people who are never without their ereaders and appeal to that audience, they are more likely to buy your book than to skim through your entire blog. Have you ever considered turning your blog into a book?