TURN YOUR BLOG INTO A BOOK – Summary of Power Point Presentation

BY ELAINE AMBROSE

Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop – March 30 -April 2, 2016

BAM – BLOGGERS AT MIDLIFE CONFERENCE – April 15-16, 2016 – Las Vegas, Nevada

Decide How to Publish

• Find a traditional agent and major publisher – no control, takes more time, no rights, few copies – Menopause Sucks
• Hire a book packaging company – expensive, negotiate rights, they distribute
• Self-Publish through your own company – total control, cost up front but keep all profits. Arrange professional design, cover, and format. Do sales and promotion. Midlife Cabernet

Create Publishing Company

• Name – Mill Park Publishing, not Momma’s Little Pub House
• Decide Your Name – Some of us have had more than one due to the fact that we write better than we marry.
• Find a Niche –Written by Women, a portion of proceeds goes to charities
• Complete paperwork and register in your state as a business
• Purchase ISBN in bulk, learn Bar Codes and Copyright
• Resources: research, workshops, marketing, promotion,
• Budget for your time, professional design and layout, editing, printing, distribution, materials such as bookmarks
• Study inside Publisher’s Page of other books
• Keep Records – taxes, profit and loss, track and measure success

^{What will it cost?}  

• Start with $3,000 – doesn’t include printing or distribution
• Your time?
• Professional cover: $500
• Professional editing – $500, at least once
• Marketing and Promotion – at least $1,000
• Professional layout – print and eBook – $500-$1,000
• Depends upon number of pages
• Depends upon difficulty – artwork, charts, interior graphics

Self-Publishing Research Tools

• Copyscape checks for plagiarism
• Writers&Artists – Resource for writing, facing rejection, helpful tips
• Grammar Girl – Non-threatening rules for punctuation and grammar
• Evernote – Syncs your devices and organizes your documents
• com and RhymeZone
• Poets&Writers – writing prompts, resources, submission details
• NaNoWriMo – write a 50,000-word novel in a month
• http://www.ingramspark.com/blog

Publisher’s Details can Separate Professionals from Amateurs

• Title Page –Title, subtitle, author, publisher’s name and logo, year, location
• Copyright Page –All rights reserved, etc., year published, ISBN, Library of Congress, if necessary – see samples
• Spine –What is seen on bookstore shelves – clean – title and author name
• Running Heads – Identify each page, except title page
• Page Numbers – Make sure pages match Table of Contents

Know how to Format Chapters

• A typical chapter is at least 2,000 words
• A book needs at least 40,000 words
• A typical blog is 500-800 words
• Read each blog and select the best
• Decide the chapters of your book
• Add selected blogs into specific chapters

 

• Midlife Cabernet: By the Numbers
• 50% blog posts from elaineambrose.com – and other sites including The Huffington Post

• 50% new material
• 57,714 words, 216 pages, 267 words per page

• Sold more than 6,000 books and eBooks
• Two National Humor Awards and Publishers Weekly endorsement

• Feisty after 45: By the Numbers
• 45 women writers from across the country and Canada
• Increased authors from 25 to 45 to fill enough pages for a book
• 40,144 words, 166 pages,
• 241 words a page
• #1 in Humor in Midlife on Amazon.com

PLOT YOUR BOOK THROUGH A BLOG

• Outline your book and plot content
• Start writing the book as separate blog posts
• Results in first draft of Manuscript
• Already promoted through your regular blogs
• Package, edit, and publish

BLOG PHARASES THAT DON’T WORK IN BOOKS

• OMG
• Excessive profanity
• Avoid time: Yesterday, I went to the wine bar Woe is me! (Be happy you wrote a book!)
• Ending with a question: What works for you?
• Impossible requests: Call me sometime

^{BOOK COVERS: Yes, You Can Judge}

• 
• 
• Visually attractive in color, design, short title
• Add blurb with credentials
• Back cover copy is life or death
• Visible in thumbnail copy on Amazon
• Eye-catching in a sea of contenders
• Provocative
• Hire professional designers, illustrators, or galleries for your covers

Prepare Promotional Materials and Establish Your Brand

 

 

Organize Premiere Parties and Community Events

 

 

Track Rankings: Feisty after 45 Hit #1 in Print and eBook

Track Success

 

PUBLICATION FORMATS

CreateSpace

• Amazon paperback and Kindle eBook – submit files – order proof

– proofread – proofread, again

• They show records and analytics, pay quarterly
• Print-on-Demand is easy to update, distribute – no storage
• Enroll eBook in other platforms: KOBO, iBooks, Google Play
• Print layout and format are different from eBook
• Start on next book
• Hire an assistant – Finger Puppet, if necessary – Have fun!