See What Happens When You Turn Your Best Blog Posts into a Book, Part Three

Have you ever considered writing a book? Recently, I’ve been writing about how to get started turning your blog posts into a book. This is the third in the series.

Here are the previous parts:

• Part One
• Part Two

What do you do next?

If you get stuck at any point, realize that you’re going to need someone to edit your book and someone to create artwork for your book. You could ask among your friends or you could also check Fiverr. Fiverr is an awesome place, with lots of experts. I think Fiverr’s reputation has grown by leaps and bounds, so check it out! I’ve used Fiverr to help with formatting and to find someone to create infographics for my second book. You might find it helpful, too.

Get more than one edit

My recommendation for anyone writing anything is to have more than one edit. You may want to have two, or possibly three edits. That gives you time to let your writing stew a bit. Then you can incorporate your editor’s comments, and rewrite some more. That time on the back burner really helps–so long as you don’t completely forget that your draft exists, that is. You can use Fiverr to find editors, too, if you don’t know one personally.

Choose an artist, editor, formatter whose work speaks to you

When I was trying to find someone to create infographics for my book, I worked with three different artists. Eventually, I settled on one person to help. That person not only had an eye for infographics, he was someone I could easily communicate with. He got back to me quickly and understood what I said, although his first language wasn’t English.

Find someone generous and be generous in return

While searching for someone to format my drafts, I wanted someone who didn’t charge extra for little things. And I gave her a generous tip. I recommend doing the same. Not only does this create good will in the present moment, but when it comes time to use that person’s services again, they will remember you with fondness!

Keep writing

You may have several pages of writing at the point. Keep writing, even if some of it is garbage (and it will be!). You can rewrite, delete, and expand your writing. But if you don’t continue to write, you’ll never reach your end goal–a finished book! Another trick is to talk while you write. That is, read your words out loud. You’ll most likely find some things missing and your writing will be more conversational that way.

Enlist friends

You may know others in your community who are trying to write. It’s more fun when you’re writing with others! If there is no community, why not create your own? Meetup has many different groups, and you might find one that’s perfect for you. You might also host a virtual writing day or join NaNoWriMo and write 50,000 words in one month. Although that’s a lot of words, having others writing with you–even virtually–can help a lot.