The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil (Penguin Portfolio); available on Amazon

I’ve been obsessing over the provisonal title for this book. Topic: corporate blogging. Audience: savvy but non-techie managers of big companies corporate managers, senior executives and solopreneurs who want to know what blogging is and how they can use it.

Why am I obsessing? As a way to procrastinate, of course. But also… I’ve been walking through a lot of airports lately and studying the wall of business books.  Visually, your cover has gotta have a one-word or two-word title. Though long sub-titles after a colon are OK. So… Blink. Freakonomics. Winning. God (is my) CEO. (Good to) GREAT.

And my, er, brilliant choice, B L O G (colon). Sub-title: How Smart Companies Are Talking To Their Customers and Employees.

Then of course, you need a corresponding URL for your book. That’s why I’ve registered www.BlogSmartCompanies.com. Seth Godin ignores the short title thing, BTW. His new book, "All Marketers Are Liars," can be found at his book blog www.AllMarketersAreLiars.com. But he’s got Purple Cow, Permission Marketing, Free Prize Inside, etc.

Of course, my title may change in the end. That’s
how it works in publishing. In which case I’ll need to snag a new
domain for the book and accompanying blog. What you see above is a good placeholder, says my whip-smart editor at Penguin, Megan Casey.

Oh, and meet Megan. She’ll be the hovering presence behind this blog for the next three to four months while I crank out the book. Eegads… not much time. If you want to give her a piece of your mind via email, click her name and fire away. Megan says it’s OK.

BlogSmart.com, which has a nice clean ring to it, was already taken by the clever Dave Taylor.

Have another idea for a one or two-word title? Click the Comments link below and suggest it!

You knew I’d ask… so tell me. Click Comments below and let ‘er rip. Do you like the draft sub title: "How Smart Companies Are Talking to Their Customers and Employees"? Other suggestions??

I’m looking for off-the-beaten-track anecdotes about effective - or ineffective (i.e. big blooper) - corporate blogs. Got one? Submit it below. Be sure to tell me why you think it’s significant and should be included in the book. Here are a couple I’ve collected recently: SparkleLikeTheStars (about celebrity jewelry and how to buy knockoffs) and JustAskLeslie (jewelry tips). These are clever "related topic" blogs. Both sell jewelry for Ice.com.

Seems like it took forever to close the deal with Penguin Portfolio to write a book about corporate blogging. Although my wonderful agent, Elizabeth Wales, tells me that two months from start to finish is fast. So… sigh of relief.

Now comes the hard part: writing the book! I’ve been conferring with colleagues, friends and recently-published authors. And I’ve come up with a few tips to get organized and get the ball rolling. Here they are:

1. Speak the book into a tape recorder for 30 minutes every day for two weeks. Then get it transcribed and you’ll have the beginnings of a manuscript (courtesy of Seth Godin).

2. Create a hanging folder for every chapter. Dump into each folder scribbled notes, previously published articles, clippings of articles from newspapers and magazines; print-outs of blog posts, etc.

3. Set up my first draft in Word so that it mimics a printed page in a book: 1.8" margin at the top; 2.3" at the bottom; 2.5" on the left; 1.9" on the right. Single-space in a font like Book Antigua or New Century Schoolbook. Don’t use Courier.

Note: I hate single spacing when I write so I probably won’t do that.

(Thanks to Jill Konrath of SellingToBigCompanies for the last two tips. She got them from publishing guru Dan Poynter. Jill has just finished writing an eponymous book to be published by Dearborn in December 2005. Go Jill!)

I’m sure there are a dozen other tips I can employ as a first-time book author. I’m kinda messy when it comes to organizing information so I could really  use some help. Click that Comments link below and tell me what you know. I’d love to hear your ideas.

Oh… and the topic of the book? Basically, it’s a
beginner’s guide for the non-techie corporate manager or entrepreneur.
I’m writing for those not in the know who want to learn how and why blogging can be a business tool. There are a lot of smart folks in this category. If you recall your blog stats, only 7% of Americans were reading blogs as of March 2005 (according to a CNN, USA Today and Gallup study).

Closed a deal today to write a book about corporate blogging for Penguin Portfolio. Pub date is 2006. Exciting!