How to Turn a Blog Into a Book in 8 Simple Steps

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If you’re the proud owner and writer of a successful blog, you may have wondered if you have what it takes to write a complete book. While blogs and books are two very different creative outlets, it’s highly possible that your blog could have the makings of a great book.

In fact, some of the best-selling nonfiction books of recent years started as blogs, including Julie and Julia, Furiously Happy, and dozens more.

Going from blog to book has several benefits, one being that you’ll have a built-in author platform and audience. Another plus is that you’ll have a place to test out your ideas, get feedback, and build the makings of a successful book before you set out to publish.

In this post, we’ll show you how to tap into your blog’s potential and turn it into a successful nonfiction book.

How to Turn a Blog Into a Book

Follow these 8 steps to turn your engaging blog into an eye-opening book.

1. Evaluate your content.

While there are some software out there that allow you to go from blog to book by simply uploading all of your posts, you’ll probably want to take a more curated approach for two reasons. First, most publishers won’t accept content that’s just been recycled from a blog and spit out into a book. Second, curating, updating, and improving content will add greater value for your readers, which is what leads to better reviews and sales.

If you already have an idea for your book’s overarching topic and continuous theme, then you’ll of course want to pull and analyze any blog posts that relate to that topic.

If you just know that there’s a book somewhere in all that content but aren’t sure yet what your main topic should be, then you can turn to your blog posts for inspiration.

Start with your most popular posts. They’re popular for a reason, and that reason is probably because readers found them helpful or interesting, and they can likely be expanded into even more helpful book chapters.

You can also look to some of your favorite posts, even if they didn’t perform as you’d hoped. What did you like about those posts? Where might you have failed to reach more readers? Take a look at what can be improved content-wise, because your book could be that post’s second chance.

2. Ask your readers.

If your blog has decent traffic, many of those blog readers could convert to book readers. Since you’ve already got an audience, ask them what they’d like to see in your book.

You can conduct a survey and ask your readers if and why they liked a certain post, what kind of content they’d love to see more of, or even ask them what they would change about your existing content.

However, you should take responses with a grain of salt, as they may not be representative of the majority of your readers, and not all suggestions will actually be the best fit for your book, so it’s up to you to use your own judgment make the final decision.

3. Create an outline.

Now that you have an idea of which topics and posts you’d like to use for your book, it’s time to create a book outline and give your book some structure.

You’ll want to make sure that your topics are placed in a sensible order and in a way that’s best for your readers. For example, don’t start with a more complex subject, then follow it up with the background info that would have been helpful to understand from the beginning.

Keep in mind that although many of your blog readers may end up reading your book, they (hopefully) won’t be your only readers, so don’t assume that everyone will already be familiar with your content.

4. Fill in the gaps.

Your outline should also help you to identify any content gaps and areas that need expansion when you turn your blog into a book. If something important wasn’t addressed in your blog posts, you’ll definitely want to address them in your book.

Don’t get stuck just focusing on your existing blog content. Most likely, there will be a few areas where you’ll need to expand or include more information to make sure you’ve adequately fleshed out your ideas.

5. Include updated and all-new content.

Even if you’re confident that you don’t have any gaps to fill in, you should definitely update your content and even include some all-new writing. There are several reasons why you’ll want to do this.

First, readers won’t be very happy to pay for content they’ve already read online for free. Second, publishers will definitely be more interested in a book that features brand new content and hasn’t just been recycled from the internet.

You should always update your content to make sure that the information is valid and that you’ve covered any new developments.

To add extra value to your existing content, you can include new interviews with experts, updated case studies, and any other special features that can help your readers.

6. Put it all together.

As you piece together your blog posts and new content into a book, you should not only revise your work, but keep in mind that writing a book is not quite the same as writing a blog post.

You may need to elongate your paragraphs, include more effective transitions, and of course remove things like hyperlinks or calls to action that reference other posts or pages on your blog.

Also make sure that you have the rights or permissions to any images you use, and give appropriate credit when needed.

Depending on the nature of your book, you may also want to add certain sections for your readers, like an appendix, index, or other supplementary information.

Learn more in our complete guide to writing a book.

7. Work with an editor.

To make sure that your book is in tip-top shape, it’s definitely worth it to work with a professional editor.

You may be an outstanding blog writer, but again, book writing is not the same as blog writing. A trained editor can help to improve the flow of your writing, make suggestions about placement, and even identify some gaps that you might have missed.

Check out our guide on how to hire a book editor and this list of qualified nonfiction book editors who can help you with your blog to book transition.

8. Publish your book.

And finally… it’s time to publish your book!

If your blog has a very large following, you may be able to secure a deal with a major, traditional publisher. Note that many large publishers do not accept unsolicited submissions, so you’ll first need to find a literary agent to represent you.

You can also consider smaller presses, many of which do not require agents (TCK Publishing is one of them!).

Another option is self-publishing, which many authors have found success with. Learn more about the difference between traditional and self-publishing and check out our Kindle self-publishing checklist that will walk you through the process step by step.

From Blog to Book

Your blog can offer great opportunities to repurpose your content, spark creativity, and inspire new angles from which you can help your readers in a value-packed book.

There are also benefits of doing the reverse, so if you’re interested in going from book to blog, check out bestselling author Nina Amir’s tips on how to blog your book.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

 

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