Today's Blog, Tomorrow's Book

Today, I'm pleased to introduce The Writing Well's first-ever guest blogger -- publishing entrepreneur, Bonnie Bajorek Daneker. As CEO of Write Advisors, Daneker oversees the strategic direction of the company to enable its clients to express themselves digitally and in print, using the most appropriate resources to reach their goals. Formerly, she was president of BD Donaldson Publishing, Inc., an Atlanta-based publishing company that created and distributed healthcare information. Author of The Compassionate Caregiver Series^®, Daneker released her seventh book, CLIMB, in November, 2010, with Sandy Hofmann, president of Women in Technology (WIT).  Here, she offers advice on how to turn your blog into a successful book.

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Blogging has carved out a significant place in the online community for idea exchange. Through it, we easily share knowledge and opinions. Professional blogging lead to engaging discussion and innovation. Blogging has also laid the foundation for longer, more substantive written work, including dissertations, screenplays, and books.

When carefully composed, blogs lend themselves to becoming sections or chapters on their own; and when organized, they can flow into a valuable addition to a genre – especially business books and memoirs.

Courtesy of Google images, zemalf.com

If you’re thinking about developing your blogs into a book, here are 10 things to consider:

1. Identify your passion. You’ve likely covered many topics in your blogs. Review them for threads or trends to identify the focus of your book.

2. Decide the structure and function of the book. What are your goals in publishing?

3. Know your genre. You don’t want your hard work sounding like something else already on the market.

4. Generate content. And more content. Many of my clients are actively gathering content through blogging, both self-generated and audience-generated. When you’re ready to publish a book, you’ll be able to separate the wheat from the chaff.

5. Don’t do it all yourself. Ask for guest bloggers. Interview others for quotes. Secure testimonials from other professionals. These will add texture to your overall products.

6. Follow your blog voice. You will want to reach your readers the same way in your book as your blog. Make sure the writing is consistent, and as formal as you need it to be in both places.

7. Keep your facts straight. Even if your writing is informal, treat it like a reporter treats a story. Diana Keough, CEO of ShareWIK Media, recently surfaced an old journalism school adage: “If your mother tells you she loves you, get two sources.” Look up facts and spelling. It’s an easy way to build your credibility and keep your readership.

8. Use the Rule of Threes. Another J-school rule, especially relevant in this stimulating world: Tell them what you are going to say, say it, and remind them what you said.

9. Know when to stop. Your book doesn’t have to be long. Don’t risk losing your readers’ attention.

10. Get an editor. A good one will catch your embarrassing mistakes and make you look like a star.

When you’re ready to take on a book-writing project, know that it can be a smoothly-vectored transition from blog to book. It can increase your platform as an expert, and give your blog followers a treat.