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Health & Fitness

From Aspiring Writer to Published Author

If you are an aspiring writer who would like to become a published author, you can produce a successful book--one that sells to readers and to publishers--by blogging the first draft.

Did you know that 81 percent of the U.S. population—approximately 253 million people—think they want to add a book to the 130 million or so books already in print? Maybe you are one of them.

Most will never do so. In fact, only about two percent ever write that book.

Of those that actually compose a manuscript, most never find a traditional publisher to bring it to market, and those that self-publish will be lucky to sell even 250 copies per year. The average book sells about that many, maybe 3,000 in over the course of its lifetime.

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I was an aspiring author, too, as well as a published author. I could say the latter because I'd self-published some short books--booklets (all under 50 pages)--locally with a booklet printer right here in Los Gatos, I'd also published a few short books--under 100 pages--using some digital presses or Amazon's new printing services.

But in April I became a traditionally published author with a full-length nonfiction book. Not only that, for the first seven weeks after the book was released, it remained on the Amazon.com bestseller list in its categories. And I achieved this feat using a process that I think anyone can use and achieve the same degree of success--or more.

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Indeed, a way exists for aspiring writers to get their manuscripts written quickly and easily while building a fan base of readers ready to purchase a published book. Aspiring authors can blog their way to a successful book. 

That's right. You can use a blog to write your book post by post on the Internet. I did it, and you can, too. I did it on my blog, How to Blog a Book. And my book, How to Blog a Book: Write, Publish, and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time, is the result of five months of blogging--and some editing and revising and some extra writing once I was done with the first draft as well.

If you want to blog a book, here are some easy steps to create both a successful book, one that sells later to readers and to publishers (if you desire), and successful blog, one with a large or growing blog readership:

  1. Choose your book topic carefully.
  2. Evaluate your book’s success potential. 
  3. Angle your topic so it is unique in both the book store and the blogosphere.
  4. Create a content plan. 
  5. Write your book in post-sized bits. 
  6. Blog 2-7 times per week. 
  7. Share your posts on social networks. 
  8. Edit your manuscript. 

I'll be speaking about how to blog a book at the Los Gatos Public Library at 6:30 p.m, July 23. In the meantime, if you are interested in my book, pick up a copy How to Blog a Book at Amazon.com,Barnesandnoble.com or WritersDigestShop.com. I'm also available for blog-to-book coaching.

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