I’ve kicked around the idea of writing a free ebook for quite some time.
My thought is to put some of my previous blog posts into book form for those who prefer not to dig through my archives. I’d like for the comments to be included since that is where most of the value lies and I’d also like to include links to the comment author’s sites.
I know I’ll turn some of my blog posts into a book sooner rather than later, however I’ve convinced myself there must be an easier way to do it rather than cutting, pasting, and re-editing before publishing.
My search to do so has taken me on an interesting journey.
Today’s Lesson
I first tried two different plugins for turning a blog into book form.
For reasons I can’t figure out, both plugins failed to work for me so my search continued.
Thanks to Rick of What’s On My PC? my first stop was
- BlogBooker
I used my green blog, input the URL and a link to the XML file into their form. The process was quick and when complete, the ebook included photos, some of the links and comments. Unfortunately, only the CommentLuv links showed up. The blog which only has a handful of posts ended up being an ebook containing 23 pages including the cover and an index. Additional formatting would be required, however with this being a free service, I thought the results were quite impressive.
My search for more information lead me down an unexpected path. What I found were sites which let us self-publish, as well as sell our end product.
The links in Matt Cutt’s “Blog to Book” post led me to these sites.
- Fast Pencil
- Lulu.com
- Blurb.com
On Fast Pencil I decided to turn my Observation Mountain blog into an ebook. Before “publishing” to draft, I deleted all spam comments, edited out approximately 30 of the 165 posts and ended up with a book which was 180 pages long. The draft which was created was perfectly formatted with each post having it’s own page(s), however no comments nor links were included.
Lulu’s site includes a short video of the services they provide for self publishers, and although I’ve watched the video, I’m not sure this is the route I want to take.
Blurb.com provides a free download of their “Blurb BookSmart” software. The software lets you create a book which can be sold on their site. After downloading and reviewing the software, it appears to be very comprehensive and helpful.
I also remembered George Angus of Tumblemoose used Smashwords to publish five ebooks.
Smashwords offers numerous possibilities and from reading the review of Smashwords on his blog, George is quite pleased with their service.
Knowing things aren’t always as they seem and wanting to be cautious, I also checked the website of watchdog Clark Howard. There I found these links:
- Absolute Write, a forum for writers and,
- Preditors & Editors
To repeat what is written in Clark Howard’s post:
Up until about 1998, the “vanity press” industry would charge people outrageous sums to publish a book. It wasn’t unusual for someone to pay $8,000 – $12,000 to these phony publishing houses.
The best advice Clark can offer is be skeptical. Use the collective wisdom of the Internet to help you steer clear of rip-off artists.
Although I haven’t found the perfect way to turn parts of my blog into an ebook, I feel I’m a few steps closer.
Today’s Assignment
Have you written a book or ebook? Or are you thinking of turning your blog into a book?
What platform did you use? Or will you use?
Care to share?
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P.S. For those of you who plan to either turn your blog into a book or write a book, having it proofread prior to publishing is essential. Davina is one of the best proofreaders in the field and can be found at Shades of Crimson.







Hi. I'm Barbara Swafford & I'd like to welcome you to Blogging Without A Blog. Grab a seat, share your thoughts and join in the conversation. 


We can spend hours and hours searching for tools which will make blogging easier for us, or we can ask other bloggers what they use and like.
Today I’m sharing five of my favorite blogging tools.
Today’s Lesson
Although I continue to compare statistical programs, my favorite stats tracker is Woopra.
I’ve been using Woopra for over two years now and thoroughly enjoy all it offers. As the photos show, it’s colorful and has loads of options.
For blogs and websites
with under 30,000 pages views per month, it’s free. After that, an upgrade is required (rates start at $4.95 per month).
Some of Woopra’s features are:
Woopra also offers a plugin so you can easily review your Woopra stats from your dashboard, plus they also provide a desktop application for Windows, Mac & Linux, which I highly recommend.
A good spam blocker is essential to blogging.
I use Akismet which is preloaded in WordPress, in conjunction with Bad Behavior. If you look at the footer of this blog, you’ll see how Bad Behavior stopped over three thousand spam comments in the last week before they reached my spam filter. How cool is that?
CommentLuv is my all time favorite plugin.
I like how it rewards those who comment by adding a link to their latest post. With a catchy sounding title, chances are others will click through and this added exposure can possibly increase your readership, as well.
Gravatars, or avatars are another blogging favorite of mine. I like how just by using a small photo helps to brand us in blogosphere as well as on social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook. The power of avatars was proven when we played a guessing game in the “Who’s Who In Blogosphere” post.
LinkWithin is a new favorite of mine. The thumbnails it produces and displays at the end of each post adds a little bit of pizazz, plus may inspire our readers to dig deeper into our blogs. Since adding it to this site and The Blog Boutique, I’ve seen an increase in my page views.
So there you have it. My fave five.
How about you?
Today’s Assignment
What blogging tools, plugins, or widgets can’t you live without?
Care to Share?