I have written before about blogs being turned into books. At that time it was a bit of a novelty, but no longer. A very random check of the library catalogue comes up with 44 blog titles bought for this year, so far! These titles range from self-help books to craft and travel. Some are only available as eBooks and are quite possibly self-published. Others have been picked up by very mainstream publishers. It makes sense then that when a blog has thousands of followers it will create quite a buzz for the book, creating an easy marketing exercise for publishers perhaps?
Cooking, crafting, travelling or dealing with addiction and health issues etc., lend themselves well to a blog format. Alongside the ideas and information around their chosen topic the blogger often includes plenty of human interest; small titbits about their life making the blog all the more enjoyable as you feel part of the their daily existence. The joy of the blog is therefore the interaction between the reader and the blogger, the up-to-the-minute experiences that you can click into on a daily basis, the highs and the lows shared, not to mention plenty of photos and tutorials.
Does this translate well into a book? I’m not sure. The book enables the author to present the parts of their blog, for example the recipes, crafts or experiences that have had the most online success, and this sounds like a good process. Not so good if you have been an avid follower of the blog as no doubt there will be plenty of repetition. The missing ingredient for me would be what makes the blog unique, and that is the human interaction, the comments from readers and the community that develops around the blog. That said, the book will reach a different audience perhaps and will of course bring more readers to the blog. A Win-Win as they say.
So if you are interested in giving blogging a go, and are perhaps thinking that you might get picked up by some huge publisher and make your millions, here are some titles to get you started.
Mollie Makes: Blogging: The guide to Creative Content.* This is a special edition of the Mollie Makes magazine and has some great ideas for those of you interested in the creative crafty side of things.
Picture Perfect Social Media. Great advice for the all important visual impact of your blog.
Blog Wonderful. The author spent a year growing her following and documenting what worked, and what didn’t.
Blogging and Tweeting Without Getting Sued. Sounds like a sensible book to read before you get started!
Every time you post a blog or tweet you may be subject to the laws of more than 200 jurisdictions throughout cyberspace. As more than a few bloggers or tweeters have discovered, you can be sued in your own country, or arrested at the airport heading off to a holiday in another country.
WordPress, the platform we use for this blog also has some handy hints on how to turn a blog into a book.
*To find Mollie Makes: Blogging: The guide to Creative Content in the catalogue, click on View subscription and availability details and look for call number 745.5 MOL BLOGGING 2014.
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