You gotta have a book blog to create buzz around your book. I knew that when I set up this blog. But it’s confirmed in yesterday’s New York Times in an article, Dear Blog: Today I Worked on My Book. The article quotes three nonfiction authors on their blogs and their books-in-progress: John Battelle ("The Search"), Chris Anderson ("The Long Tail") and David Weinberger ("Everything is Miscellaneous").
The article wisely points out: "Authors’ blogs also change the solitary mission of writing into something more closely resembling open-source software."
My favorite quote: Battelle "calculated that last year he wrote 74,000 words for his book, and 125,000 words on his blog." As he puts it: "It is very satisfying to write something and get an immediate response to it." Yeah, I know what he means. I’m awfully simple minded that way. A blog is so, well, satisfying: scribble your idea, read it over, edit quickly… and click Publish Now. Then hope you get some Comments. Positive or negative, doesn’t matter. It’s the feedback that writers crave.
So… why a book blog? It’s a way to draw on the
"collective intelligence" of your readers to get feedback, ideas, tips on who to
interview, pointers to articles to read, etc. It can build buzz for your book after it’s published. See Seth Godin’s All Marketers Are Liars and Susannah Gardner’s Buzz Marketing with Blogs.
However, a book blog may or may not mean that you are inviting readers into the writing process. Some authors are more willing than others to post drafts of chapters. Robert Scoble and co-author Shel Israel have been postings drafts for months to Naked Conversations (the blog for their book about business blogging). In contrast, David Weinberger, a co-author of the Cluetrain Manifesto and author of Small Pieces Loosely Joined, tells the NYTimes reporter that he’s not going to seek so much input from readers this time around. It made the rewriting process cumbersome and time-consuming.
Count me in the "a bit shy" category about this. I’ll see as I get further along…
If you know of other "book blogs" by all means add them in a Comment below.
Here’s one:
http://talesofdays.blogspot.com
Well, there’s overt book blogging and there are blogs that are, shall we say, harmonious in topic with upcoming books. While I am certainly quite interested in the evolution of book writing and production, I’m also of the belief that having everything available online and digital can have an adverse impact on the eventual sales of the book.
In particular, if I’ve already read just about all of your book in the last six months on your weblog, why would I be incentivized to spend $20-$40 to get the same thing perfect-bound so I can place it on my shelf?
On the other hand, blogging about your TOPIC is an excellent way to establish and cement your expert status in your market segment: I read your blog, debbie, because you ARE an expert on business blogging. In that sense, if you tell me ‘I’ve taken all my disparete thoughts and pulled them into a coherent 250 page treatise” then I would buy it, just to see what conclusions you’ve drawn.
I look at Scoble and Israel’s book project, for example, and am constantly reminded of why Victoria’s Secret is such a profitable business: sometimes seeing just a little bit is a lot more enticing than seeing everything at once. (and that should qualify me for the weird juxtaposition club of the month, eh?)
Have a look at my http://www.askdavetaylor.com/ site, as another example. Mixed in with all the different tech and business Q&A topics are entries that are either from one of my books, are going to move into a book, or are in direct response to a reader query about one of my books. Go to my main http://www.intuitive.com/blog/ Intuitive Life blog and you’ll see that I frequently write about business blogging and the future of corporate communications. Surprise, I’m working on a book that’ll address those topics, but I really can’t see blogging every chapter as I write it, nor would I encourage anyone else to do that either.
I read the NYT piece, and have of course spoken with many, many authors and publishers and I would say that my view is in the majority. Some material should be online, and with many books, supplemental information and additional information that doesn’t fit into the print edition should be online (it’s also a good teaser for the book), but the entire thing, word for word? Not for me.
Which isn’t to say that you can’t have significant chunks online, however! Have a quick peek at http://www.intuitive.com/wicked/ as an example of a (non-blog) site that exists purely to promote a book, includes sample materials, lists every single shell script shown in the book, but excludes the explanations of how they work. For that, you need to actually buy the book. And people do.
Perhaps this boils down to the pragmatic question of why you’re writing a book in the first place. If it’s to disseminate your views and opinion, then having a free version, whether a downloadable PDF or fragmented weblog, can work just fine. If, like me, you also hope to pay your mortgage so as not to end up on the street, then giving away some in order to sell the remainder is a much smarter strategy.
Deb,
First off. Good luck with yor book. I’m sure it will be a winner. Robert and I are getting close to completing the book project and I’m already in seriosly planning stages for my next book, which will also be blogged. What Robert and I did is post early chapters–not completed ones. By so doing, we received enormous imput from a great number of people, some of whom were constrtuctive and knowledgeable and some who were not. By posting the chapters we gathered new leads, got facts checked, saved our editor the trouble of finding typos and developed a global community of supporters and advisors. There is no doubt in our minds that the blog helped us write a better book.
There really is little danger that your stuff will be plagiarized, because there are thousands of witnesses of what we wrote first. All that being said, the blog increased the quantity of labor involved in the project. David Weinberger is right in that light. Much of the input did was not constructive and at times, Robert and I suffered some fairly insulting commentary. There is also a real question as to whether the readers of our blog will turn out to be either purchasers of our book or champions of it. There is also the fact that the book writing will end about Aug. 15, and the book won’t be available until Jan. 6, so the buzz we did create may be long forgotten.
So, it is a complicated matter. I’d be happy to talk more with you or anyone else considering blogging their books. Just email me.
Debbie, it’s so cool what you’re doing! I’m so incredibly intrigued by this concept of authors using blogging either to get feedback on their book in progress and/or to help build a platform.
Having already finished my book, I don’t know that I would have had time to blog during the incredibly labor-intensive researching and writing process. (I was too busy interviewing more than 250 experts and reviewing medical studies.)
However, having said that, I did chat online all the while with members of my target audience. (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/kicksugar/) Their questions and concerns showed me EXACTLY what topics I needed to cover in my book.
Now, however, I have time to blog, and I’m loving it as a way to get the word out, etc. This is truly an amazing phenomenon!
All the best on your book, Debbie!
Connie
Author, SUGAR SHOCK! (Upcoming)
http://www.SugarShockBlog.com
hz hz hz hz blog
Our company, Sogistics, just recently published a book, and we decided to publish a blog along with it. The blog is intended as a thought-driver, not a book-driver, but then again it could lead to interesting possibilities! (www.sellingisdead.com) I have to say I’m a bit hesitant about “inviting readers to the writing process”, it reminds me of those choose-your-own-ending books where the author’s ideas are secondary to what the readers want. There’s probably a lot more to it than I’m giving it credit for!
First, I love how you said that both positive and negative comments were welcome.
The blogosphere is rapidly becoming very timid, sheepish, wimpy, and lemming-like.
Insecure, unstable people shun criticism, while the wise seek it.
Shel has brought up some great points, as usual, about blogging a book.
I think he and Robert should continue the Red Couch blog even after the book is done…to keep the buzz going until January’s on sale date.
Their editor, who I have much disagreement with, will probably shoot down this idea, but he’s no marketer, is he? He’s an editor.
Well, good luck on all your many projects and I look forward to your book.
I’m stalling on my Secrets of the Blogging Pros book, which you and Shel are both in, as you know.
I’m going to wait until everybody’s blogging…then I’ll unleash a book on what the pros, like you, say is the Right or Best way to do it.
Plus a few more unexpected twists.
Here is a test of whether you are right:
http://www.lookingfordarwin.com
Hi Debbie…
Enjoyed your comments and ideas, as well as the comments of your other readers. Book blogging is certainly interesting and very open to a yet unknown full potential and possibilites.
In two weeks, we’ll be launching the blog site addition to Bookpitch.com. It will have its own URL….www.blogitorium.com.
One of the things we are going to do is to run blog-a-book endeavors. Our focus will be on “pitching” manuscripts and nonfiction book proposals to agents and pubs.
So, although some may post complete chapters, in most cases, it will be chapter synopses, character discussions, book background development and other interest creating snippets. I’m actually going to lead it with my own nonfiction book proposal, as a guide of sorts.
It’s wide open now, but we’re looking forward to the possibilities for our writers, authors and readers. And we’re hoping to encourage our member agents and pubs to keep an eye on the blogs!
Best of luck with your book!
patricia