Turn your blog into a book

Writers often dream of authoring a book. Unfortunately, many become paralyzed by what they perceive as an enormous task. How to start? What to write about? Do I outline? Should I research first? Maybe I need to sharpen pencils?

Blogging has become a great outlet for writers. Blog entries are not intimidating. They can be just a few lines, or several pages. Writers receive instant gratification, as their entries can be immediately published, and indexed within minutes. A dedicated blogger can create a substantial number of pages in a manner of months.

A blogger can also easily convert their blog entries into a book. And while it may not be a best seller (that will depend on the quality of your writing and your marketing skills), it could make a wonderful gift for family and friends. Or perhaps, as a gift to yourself.

You will begin by creating a word processing document, which will be uploaded at Lulu.com. At Lulu it is easy to self publish your own book. After you upload your file, the book can be delivered to you within a week or so. It is also fairly inexpensive. I've published paperback books for under $10.

To create your document, cut and paste your blog entries (beginning with the first) into your document. After all your entries are included, you can then begin the task of formatting your document, by adding page numbers, and pages such as a title page, dedication page, or copyright page. You can even include photographs and go full color or create a hardback book.

When formatting your document, you will want to set page size, margins and gutters. While those measurements are listed in the Lulu.com website, you will first want to decide what size book you plan to create. They offer various size, such as 6 x 9" or 8 ½ x 11". The various choices are listed on the website.

Depending on the quantity of blog entries, you may decide to self-publish a book every year, giving you a hard copy of your writing. This might be a wonderful gift to hand down to your children or grandchildren.

You may discover your first book has already been written. All you need to do is retrieve your blog entries, and format your document for upload.

For detailed information on self-publishing, check out our Self-Publishing Handbook, available on eBook!