Spreading Your Blog Around like Butter

If you've thought about publishing your blog, how would you go about that project? In this article, Linda talks about some possibilities for spreading your blog around like butter.

Before You Publish

The three examples shown above are just a few of many self-publishing houses that exist around the world. They also have great reputations for the most part, and the financial terms are up-front and self-explanatory. There are no hidden fees nor hidden agendas, from my experience, in all three examples.

But, before you publish a book based upon your blog, you might consider a few things:

• Editing: Unless you earned a major in the language you used in your blog, you might consider using an editor or a proofreader to examine your copy for errors before you publish. Many online self-publishing houses offer this service for a reasonable fee.
• Changes: No matter the publishing company you choose to print your book, make sure that you can make changes after you print the first run (which can range between one book to several books, depending upon the contract). If you purchase an ISBN for your book, you usually cannot make changes once the publishing process begins. If you do not purchase an ISBN, you should be able to make changes, even after a first or second or even a third run. By "run," I mean any given order to print, no matter how large that order.
• Read all contracts and agreements and directions carefully: The best way to tackle the publishing process is to realize, from the beginning, that what you create is the end product, period. With this thought in mind, you may be more careful with each step in the process so that your final product is one that can bring some satisfaction to your soul. Satisfaction is important, as – more often than not – you may not see a vast fortune from your efforts. In other words, self-publishing often is a labour of love, not money. That being the case, you want to make sure that you don't abuse your self-love by ignoring important information offered by any given self-publishing house.

The only reason you can change books or other print matter between runs these days is that the technology has changed so that a book or calendar or any other printed matter can be run off one-by-one rather than in runs that are so large that books often sit on shelves unsold. The advantage to this one-off printing process is that you can alter the book between orders if you haven't tagged that book with an ISBN.

I have learned that it is wise for me to order one copy of anything I publish, so I can see the final product before I make the decision to purchase an ISBN or even before I decide to market the book or calendar, or any other product.

Secondly...

If you're a designer or photographer, you may have – after thousands of images produced – enough to fill a book with professional-grade images. If you're a writer, and you focus on opinions, flash fiction or poetry, you may know that revision is a good thing...but you may not want to revise your blog. At that point, you may consider publishing a revision, not your blog. This revision could appeal to your regular blog readers, who may want to be privy to how you've revised your writing. If so, then you've sold a few books.

In other words, don't go out and publish your blog "as is" unless you have thousands of followers and readers who want your online blog in a print version. It's a risky proposition. At the same time, a book can push people to your Web site to learn more about your writing or images, and a book can preserve all the hard work you've committed to over the years for your own personal pleasure.

Another option is to remove the book's content from your blog, so the only way readers have access to your earlier posts is through your book. Once again, this is a risky proposition from a search engine optimization (SEO) standpoint, but you may be able to overcome any drop in the search engine standings with new visitors and with redirects from those old pages to a page that offers your book for sale. The less money you make from your blog, the easier it might be for you to bite the bullet and eliminate those older pages.

Finally...

Take a look around at the online book stores offered by Blurb and Lulu to get an idea about what's for sale. Check out the sale prices to learn more about what these authors make when you compare those sale prices to the price it might cost to produce each book. Think about your favourite Web sites...would you like to see them in book form? How receptive would you be to buying a calendar produced by your favourite blogger? Then, apply that knowledge and/or opinion to your own blog...hopefully you may see your work in a new light.

Other than your mother, can you think of anyone who might purchase a book based upon your blog? If you're not sure, why not ask your readers? On the other hand, are you ready to reach out to find new readers for your blog? Can you find new visitors without publishing? Or, is this the route you'd like to take, just to have a book with your name on it?

There is no judgement here...just a ton of questions. A book with your name on it as author is a wonderful rush, especially when you can have control over the cover and the contents. Even if you commit to this project just for yourself, it might prove to be a learning experience that you can use when you return to your blog to develop new content.