The blogosphere has reinvented how writers connect with their readers. Authors are now able to reach thousands of readers every day and generate content to grow and maintain their fanbase.
If you are reading this article, you might be thinking about converting your blog into a book.
So, we will look at a step-by-step guide on how you can turn your blog into a book your readers would love to get their hands on.
Turning Your Blog into a Book (Step-By-Step Guide)
Evaluate Your Blog Content
You need to look at your content in great depth so you can get some ideas about what to write.
The first thing you’ll need to do is gather together all your popular blog posts; we’re talking about material that was a hit with all your readers. This is so you can find content, writing styles, and angles that are most popular among your followers. Then, pick out your favorite content. This may be stuff that didn’t get much traffic, but it is your own.
Now that you’ve gathered all your content, find a common theme or angle from which you can approach your book’s content. Ask yourself questions like, “What do these posts have in common?” and “Do they teach any interesting lessons?” You will then be able to identify core themes in your book and what readers can get out of it.
A final step to evaluating your content is comparing your older posts to new ones. Figure out if you’ve changed former opinions and find out how you can harmonize different views. Most importantly, look for areas where you’ve improved, and apply those improvements to your older content.
Create an Outline for Your Book
Now that you have a strong foothold of what you’d like to pen down, you’re ready to create an outline for your book.
First, you’ll need to chronologically organize material around your main concept. Or you can even organize it based on different themes.
This is a great opportunity to brainstorm important themes missing from your blogs and add them to your outline.
Add new ideas and expand on old ones in ways your readers won’t feel like they’re re-reading what you’ve previously written.
Fill in the Gaps in Your Content
With your structure well in place, it’s time to fill up any gaps in your content.
Even though your individual blog posts had common themes when combined together, we’re sure that they don’t connect as well as they should. This is most probably because most blog posts aren’t written like chapters in a book. In other words, your ideas have gaps due to a lack of flow and continuity. But that’s alright because these gaps are easily mendable.
You can first start off by editing your blog posts. Your older posts will need to require adjustments based on your new ones. And your new posts will require book-like rearrangements like longer paragraphs and smoother transitions.
Next, you can add new ideas and perspectives to fill in missing ideas that will connect your posts.
Ask yourself these questions to help you with new material:
- Have I learned something new about this post?
- How can I answer important comment questions from my blog posts?
- Can I add a useful story or case study to back up my ideas?
You may need to create some new material. We know this sounds like reinventing the wheel but think of it this way: you’ve already done most of the work, and all you’re doing now is connecting old ideas with new ones.
Edit for Content and Quality
So your content is ready, organized, and written down. Now, you need to do a few rounds of heavy editing.
In addition to mechanical editing, ensure that your ideas are well connected and organized. To do this, you need to first read your book from start to finish. We recommend doing this at least a week after finishing your book. This helps with viewing your content with fresh eyes.
Next, fix any glaring structural issues. If the information seems unnecessary, cut it out because you’ll lose readers with fluff. It helps get a second set of eyes to look through your book—preferably someone who’s well-read on the subject matter—to avoid any biases.
After fixing any major structural issues, read through your book one more time and really hone in on style, grammar, punctuation, transitions, and any elements that make for a smooth read.
Lastly, proofread your book one or few more times. We really want to emphasize getting a second set of eyes here. Get a professional proofreader to look through every nook and cranny of your manuscript. You’ll be surprised what you missed out.
Publish and Market Your Book
Congratulations! You are a few steps away from publishing your blog-turned-book! Let’s take a look at what you need to do next.
Your book cover is crucial because that’s what usually attracts many readers. So commission a cover design and pen down a book description. If you have a blog designer, request them to create a branded design for you.
For more information on how to self-publish your book, check out our post on how to get your book self-published.
Once your book is out there, you have to begin marketing it to generate sales and make it a success. If you’re looking to sell many copies, you can find many creative ideas for marketing your book here.
Another great way to market your book—to show readers your expertise on a subject—is to post it on your social media. You can even make a Facebook post and pin it at the top of your page. The same goes for Twitter.
Book Your Blog
As an author with a blog, know that your online content gives you the greatest advantage in writing a book. You hold a powerful tool that allows you to give your readers more of what they want.
So, no matter what you write about, following these steps will give you a greater chance of succeeding with your blog-turned-book.
