If you’ve always dreamed of writing a book and have been diligently writing blog posts, you’ll want to read what my friend and guest blogger Kristen Eckstein, has to say in today’s post! Kristen is . . .”The Ultimate Book Coach!”
If you have written steadily on a blog for a year or so, you probably have a ton of information that can be compiled into book format. Much like articles, blog posts can be placed into book form relatively easily. This method of compiled writing works for fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Here are some steps to compile your blog post information:
Step 1
Start reading. You may not want to publish your very early blog posts, but who knows? You could have some great material from way back then. Pull everything up and start reading.
Step 2
Copy/Paste. If you come across something that looks good, copy and paste it into a word processing program document. Remember to copy and paste the title there, too.
Step 3
Once you have copied and pasted everything you want in your book, check the length and begin organizing the content. If your book is a collection of poetry or short stories, you may not care about the order. If it is non-fiction, you may want to group it by topic.
Step 4
Hire a developmental editor. Unless your book is a collection of tips and strategies (like this book), you will want a developmental editor to help make the content fl ow. You originally wrote the book as individual blog posts that can stand alone. Now you need to link them all together. If you’re like me and want your book to be the best it can be, a developmental editor is a must even for this style of book. My personal recommendation for developmental editing is Erin Casey at www.erin-casey.com.
Blogging is a great way to build your author platform and create publicity; it also gets you in the habit of writing and helps you master your skills. If your goal is to write a book, blog with that purpose in mind. A clear focus from the beginning will cut down on the amount of editing required later. For a detailed step-by-step plan to write your book, check out FinishTheBook.com.
Bio: This guest post is an excerpt from 21 Ways to Write & Publish Your Non-Fiction Book by Kristen Eckstein. Kristen is the “Ultimate Book Coach” who will suck that book out of your head and get it into print. Learn more about how to write a book and get published at UltimateBookCoach.com
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MaryAnn D’Ambrosio’s passion is to work with individuals and groups who are ready to “leap” and experience a more vibrant on-purpose life. MaryAnn teaches heart-based entrepreneurs and professionals how to access the language of creation by tuning into inner wisdom and lining up the energy to create their heart’s desire. If you’ve been merely surviving instead of thriving be sure to pick-up your F*R*E*E Overcome Overwhelm Toolkit at: www.LeapWithoutLimits.com
On April 1st of 2010 (yes, April's Fools Day), I left corporate America (after 30 plus years in the electric utility industry) to venture out on my own. Initially, a very scary thought. Now that I've made the leap, all kinds of interesting things are happening . . . 
