Saturday, October 29, 2011

Experts in the publishing industrydeals I know have been released have offered no new statistics on blog-to-book deals since about 2009. In that year alone, between 50 and 60 bloggers landed traditional publishing deals. Supposedly, that was the height of the blog-to-book trend. Yet, a consistent stream of blog-to-book deals has hit the market in subsequent years.

In fact, the number of blog-to-book deals I know were released as printed books in October causes me to believe that blog-to-book trend is not only continuing but possibly escalating. Five bloggers had their books released this month. If that's the average number of blogs turned into books each month all year, that means 60 books will also be released in 2011. Of course, I'm only counting the books I know about; there could be more.

The blog-to-book deals that hit the market in October include (with link to the blog and book title and publisher):

1. Martha Alderson's, The Plot Whisperer (The Plot Whisperer, Adams Media)
2. Dmitry Samarov's HACK: Stories from a Chicago Cab (Hack: Stories from a Chicago Cab, Univeristy of Chicago Press)
3. Sarah Wu's (aka "Mrs. Q) Fed Up with Lunch:The School Lunch Project (Fed Up with Lunch, Chronicle Books)
4. Jill Abramson's The Puppy Diaries (The Puppy Diaries, Times Books)
5. Kevin Cotter's My Ex-Wife's Wedding Dress (101 Uses for My Ex Wife's Wedding Dress, NAL Trade)

Here's the thing. These bloggers just blogged their way to a book deal. Aspiring authors—and bloggers—can do better than creating a blog, and later a book, with funny or stupid photos and a little bit of copy or simply blogging and then recycling their content into a book. They can blog a book with value or valuable information. They can actually blog an entire book—or most of it—publishing and promoting it one post at a time on the Internet. They can blog a book that touches someone deeply, solves a problem, changes a life.

If you are an aspiring author, you can do it, and now is the time. This is a superb time to be a writer. There are blog expos and digital and print book conferences everywhere you turn. Take advantage of the opportunities — and the technologies — at hand. Blog your book now. You never know…you might get noticed by an agent or publisher in the process, just like the bloggers I mentioned.

I blogged my way to a book deal, too. However, I didn't just blog. I blogged an actual book, and mine will be released by Writer's Digest Books in April 2012 along with at least two other blog-to-book deals I've already heard also will be released that month. (Be sure to buy your copy of How to Blog a Book, Write, Publish and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time in April so you can learn how to blog your book!)

Nina Amir

CopyWright Communications

Los Gatos, CA

408-353-1943