I started writing a blog about a year and a half ago with a twofold purpose: I wanted to write about healthy relationships, a topic close to my heart, and I wanted to increase awareness and traffic to my website to grow my business. I didn’t realize I wanted to become an author or blog a book.
I have been a counselor for over 28 years, but my blog provided my first internet presence for a new practice in a new town. Blogging seemed like a good way to introduce my practice and allow potential clients to see what I had to offer. I am passionate about helping people create more fulfilling relationships, and writing a blog seemed like the perfect way to get my message out.
As I found a blogging rhythm, writing a book never seriously crossed my mind. Friends and colleagues had mentioned the idea in passing over the years, but I did not see myself as a published author.
In fact, I found blogging on a regular basis scary enough. I knew I had good information from which people could benefit, but I wasn’t sure I could write in a way they would enjoy. At first, each blog felt like a great accomplishment, and I quickly realized that I actually enjoyed writing my weekly post. Soon after, ideas for posts started coming faster—so fast I couldn’t keep up with them.
The Book Idea Appears
At the same time, I became a regular guest on a radio show. My blog posts and the radio show’s topics fed each other, primarily those on the concept of creating healthy, lasting relationships. This synergy sparked the idea for a possible book, and that idea intrigued me.
I took a look at my blog posts and realized I had a lot of information—definitely enough to start a book. The concept took root, and I began to write more blog posts specifically focusing on my secrets as I thought about how they would fit into a book. About six months later, I took the plunge and announced I was writing a book.
My Blog-a-Book Process
At that point, I made a list of all of the posts I had published and divided them into what I called “the four secrets to an unstoppable relationship.” This helped me create my original book outline and determine how many of my blog posts became chapter titles.
As I started organizing the book, I could see missing areas, so those became new blog-post ideas. Before long, I had the beginning of a book. I was amazed at how easy the process was and how quickly it came together using my posts to organize the book and my book to write new posts. The blog-book process made a perfect marriage. A year and a half later, I became the author of Unmasking Secrets to Unstoppable Relationships: How to Find, Keep and Renew Love and Passion in Your Life.
My Tips
If I can write a book from my blog posts, so can you. Here are a few tips I would like to share that might help you on your journey to becoming a blog-to-book author:
- Use your posts to gain confidence in your writing ability. Your blog posts can provide a step-by-step approach to writing book chapters. Breaking chapters down into small posts takes away some of the fear of writing a book. It does not seem as overwhelming. You only have to have one small idea to work on at a time.
- Use your blog to acquire feedback on the topics you write about. Which posts attract the most attention, which titles do readers gravitate toward, and what kind of feedback do you get? Your readers’ comments and blog statistics help you know what to write more about and which titles to use as book chapters.
- Write a series of posts on one topic. This helps to fill out your chapters once you start to put your book together.
- Don’t just dump the content from your blog into your book; rather, use the blog posts as an outline for your book. You will need to edit the information and add content to make the book flow. Once you get started, it will be much easier to see what information you need to add. Once I outlined the whole book and started putting it together, new ideas came to me. I realized I needed more information in certain areas, and I created new posts as well as new book chapters.
- Set a deadline for yourself to publish the book. You will always find new information to add or more editing you want to do. This can stop you from ever finishing your book. Give yourself a deadline and try to stick to it. The world needs your information, so write your book and publish it. You will feel a great sense of accomplishment once you see the finished product.
Read the How to Blog a Book Revised and Expanded Edition to learn a proven strategy for blogging your book and booking your blog! This #1 Amazon bestseller provides information on how to create an outline for a blogged book or a booked blog (created from repurposed posts) and how to blog your book in post-sized bits successfully. Learn how to create a book from your blog that will sell!
About the Author
Lori Ann Davis, MA, CRS, Certified Relationship Specialist, has a unique and passionate approach to love and relationships and believes that all people deserve and can have the relationship of their dreams. She has over twenty-eight years of experience empowering individuals and couples to live richer, happier lives. She provides relationship coaching to people throughout the United States. Her practice spans the spectrum from dating and singles to working through divorce to renewing long-term marriages.
Born and raised in New Orleans, she has a master’s degree from the University of West Florida and is a Certified Relationship Specialist. She is the mother of three daughters and is proud to homeschool her two youngest.
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