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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » The Writing Life » Page 72

The Writing Life

Should I Blog My Book?

By Bob Hostetleron February 28, 2018
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Everyone has heard of bloggers who made it big with a book deal, right? Why shouldn’t the next one be you?

I can think of a few reasons.

  1. A blog is not a book

I know, it seems obvious (but I miss the Obvious Station often enough that I try to at least check there before boarding the Train of Thought). To choose just one example of the difference: blog posts are written for online reading, and tend to be shorter, less formal, and more self-referential than a book chapter, because blog readers and book readers typically want a different experience. A writer who doesn’t grasp the unique opportunities and demands of each is unlikely to succeed in either medium (and while I’m at it, may I pet a peeve for a moment? Don’t say “blog” when you mean “blog post.” The word blog can be both a verb and a noun but a blog is the place where blog posts appear. We now return you to our previously scheduled programming).

  1. Once you blog something, it is “published”

This may not be a deal-killer for a book, but it may enter into the consideration. In a long-ago post (here) on this blog, the venerable Steve Laube pointed out:

In a book contract there is a Warranty clause that reads in part “the Work is original, has not been published before.” And if a chapter had once been an article or a blog post (yes, a blog post is “published” in that it is freely available on the Internet) your contract would have to then be adapted to read “Portions of the Work have been previously published in periodicals. The Work, in whole, has not been previously published and is not in the public domain.” This fact is then revealed on the copyright page of the final edition of the book. Many professional columnists do this when converting their work into book form.

  1. Why should readers pay for a book when they can read the same content for free on your blog?

Maybe you’ve seen the comments I and others have in online book reviews, saying, “You could just read this author’s blog and get the same information.” Comments like that may prompt me to search, find, and perhaps even subscribe to the author’s blog, but they won’t induce me to buy the book.

  1. A blog’s traffic can grow slowly, year by year; a book needs readers right out of the gate

A blog can be a great place to hone your message, build your brand, and develop a following. But if you’re blogging up a storm and only a hundred subscribers are enthusiastic about your content, well, pardner, a big fancy editor isn’t likely to be impressed. On the other hand, if you craft a sharp, unique book proposal that draws on the message you’ve honed and the knowledge and response you’ve garnered over the years as a blogger/speaker/worldwide YouTube celebrity, then you might just have something.

 In this as in many other things, there are exceptions to the rule. But the exceptions prove the rule. And there are, of course, some people who disagree (and have even written books on the subject—though I doubt that they blogged the books first).

So blog away. A blog (even a single blog post) may someday lead to a book. Your blog content may be valuable for use as the foundation for longer-form projects. A blog post may be expanded and re-written for use in a book. An anecdote that got a positive response on your blog could be re-used. But trying to convert a blog to a book is like turning speeches, sermons, or emails into a book. It is more likely a route to disaster than it is a train to glory.

 

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Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Blog, blog posts, Get Published, publishing

A Writer’s Water Bill: A Hidden Cost of Doing Business

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 22, 2018
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If you’re dreaming of being a successful writer, you may not be aware of some hidden costs of doing business, such as buying your marvelous editor dinner every week,  subscribing to writing magazines and buying books on the writing craft, sending your fabulous agent gourmet coffee every month, increased coffee consumption for creativity and energy, a whopping Internet bill to help you do the …

Read moreA Writer’s Water Bill: A Hidden Cost of Doing Business
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Creativity, Money, The Writing Life

7 Good Reasons to Self-Publish

By Bob Hostetleron February 21, 2018
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I have mentioned before on this site (here and, most recently, here) that aspiring writers often shoot their publishing futures in the foot, so to speak, by self-publishing a book (or books). I won’t repeat myself again (see what I did there?). Instead, I will talk briefly about the good reasons to self-publish. There are many bad reasons to do so, of course (because no agents or editors seem to …

Read more7 Good Reasons to Self-Publish
Category: Indie, Self-Publishing, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Indie, Self-Publishing, The Publishing Life

Losing Track of Time

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 15, 2018
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When I first started sending books and articles to editors in hopes of being selected for publication, the passage of time possessed few markers. For example, the mail arrived once a day. There was no trail like this on the touchtone wall phone: Wednesday, 10 AM: Your Amazon order was received. Wednesday, 8 PM: Your Amazon order was shipped. Thursday, 11 AM: Your Amazon package is scheduled for …

Read moreLosing Track of Time
Category: The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Trends

Markets are Different Than You Think

By Dan Balowon February 13, 2018
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Last week I addressed the issue of trying to be too specific or too general in identifying a reader-market and the need to continually address new generations. Today, let’s discuss the culture in the United States and the Christian writer. Here are some unavoidable things to keep in mind as you write: Ours is an “entertainment culture” where all forms of diversion are more important than just …

Read moreMarkets are Different Than You Think
Category: Communication, Marketing, The Writing LifeTag: Audience, Communication, readers, The Writing Life

Can Death Cleaning Spark Joy?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 8, 2018
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One of the most challenging aspects of being successful in nonfiction is choosing a topic general enough to interest a broad swath of readers, but unique enough to make them think of the question in a new way so they’ll want to buy your book. Take decluttering. I follow at least three decluttering blogs. My daughter says, “How about just cleaning instead of reading about it? Then you’d get it …

Read moreCan Death Cleaning Spark Joy?
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, Marketing, Pitching, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Nonfiction

The Writer’s Attitude

By Bob Hostetleron February 7, 2018
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Winston Churchill has been credited with the saying, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” That may be nowhere truer than in publishing, and certainly in Christian publishing. The right attitude can make or break a writer. And the right attitude can take a fair writer to places that a gifted writer with a bad attitude can never go. What kinds of attitudes should a writer have? …

Read moreThe Writer’s Attitude
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Attitude, The Writing Life

Marketing to Younger Readers

By Dan Balowon February 6, 2018
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A challenge for book promoters is trying to market to a narrow group of people and discovering they are not easily distinguished one from another.  People are born every day and there is no definable space between demographic markets. Generational identifiers are not scientific, but arbitrary for marketing convenience sake. In case you don’t know all the terms: Traditionalists – Born up to 1945 …

Read moreMarketing to Younger Readers
Category: Marketing, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, TrendsTag: Marketing, readers, The Publishing Life

Once in a Blue Moon Publishing

By Steve Laubeon February 5, 2018
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Someone called the other day and asked, “If I’ve self-published my book and want you to consider it for representation, should I even bother sending it? Or am I toast?” I answered, “It depends.” [For you regular readers, do you think that should become the motto of the Agency?] The question suggests it is an either/or proposition…determined by a set of rules that cannot be broken. The reality is …

Read moreOnce in a Blue Moon Publishing
Category: Book Proposals, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Independent Publishing, Movie rights, Traditional Publishing

Timing Myths Dispelled

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 1, 2018
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Sometimes I receive submissions with the note, “I want to get this to the editor before fill in the name of the big conference, or before the holiday, or whatever! Does this make sense? I can answer this question right now. The perfect time to submit a manuscript is… Thursday, 4:45 AM local time, in Guam. Seriously, I understand the desire to enhance a submission’s chances by timing it when the …

Read moreTiming Myths Dispelled
Category: Book Proposals, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, Submissions
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