Blog to Book
Friends,
Happy New Year!
I wanted to share a piece of news with you: On January 2nd, I signed a deal with Hachette India to publish my book, Entrepreneur Journeys (Volume One), in India. The book has already been out in the US since October.
It has been a fascinating experience building my blog, Sramana Mitra on Strategy, followed by syndication deals with various publishers. Then came a deal with Forbes for a weekly column, and later another with Amazon for a book.
This latest Hachette deal is yet another milestone in a three and a half year journey.
I believe some other Indian bloggers have also pursued a blog to book path, and based on my experience so far, I'd say, it is a path I would recommend to other serious bloggers.
Wishing you all a happy new year and much success!
Sincerely,
Sramana
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Hi Sramana,
Congratulations.
I too have my blogs metamorphose into print.
My delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a highly popular book “Appetite for a Stroll”.
All the Best
Regards
Vikram Karve
http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com
Folks,
The first thing is to get a really well regarded blog together. And then start writing your book on the blog. I have written a good 75-85% of my books on my blog, another 10-20% on my Forbes columns, over a period of time, so by the time I got to actually assembling the books, they were largely written, and I had to edit, package, etc.
I have done 3 books this way so far, and am working on 2 more. You can track the project here: http://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/09/09/entrepreneur-journeys-now-on-amazon/
Regards, Sramana
Could you people help aspiring authors with guidance and resources to publish their books?!?!?
If yes please reply here (I thought a seperate thread would benefit the topic and get it more response)
I am an apiring author myself.
Anyone and Everyone can contact me at arjblogger@yahoo.com
I am sorry I forgot to include the link to the thread I have made here it is,
http://www.indiblogger.in/forum/topic.php?id=2188
please enlighten us with any guidance, tips, information that you possess.
i agree with you arjuna... i think we need guidance frm authors and if indeed they can help us by sharing thr knowledge it will be wonderful!!
@ Preeti :- Of course its me! lol.. We will need only one book at the moment cause Renie cant read and of course we will collect it!
@ Pavan :- Whats the theme of your fantasy novel.. hope time travel is involved .. lol
@Preeti - good to see you on the forum! How is the book doing?
Blog-to-book? Nice to hear. I too consider myself to be a serious blogger. But I don't really know if it might lead me to the same path. Although me and my friend have started to write a fantsy novel.
Guys - go to the Amazon link given in Sramana Mitra's original article. You can read the first chapter for free. This information is just in case you have not check it out already.
As an aside, is blog to book a trend among only the ladies in India - Sramana, Preeti ... ?
One great example of Blog to Book is the book Long Tail. Chris Anderson (The editor in chief of Wired) blogged on the Long Tail and then developed the idea based on the inputs from his readers (he has 5000 of them!)
Check out http://churn-news.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-place-in-sun.html (sorry could not resist a bit of publicity) :-)) to know a bit more about long tail. Or your could direct to the source.
@ Anoop: Oh its you!! The Zombie threw me off track completely! Bad enough when people want one copy--and now you want three!!! :) Come and collect it :)
@Preeti.. My sincere apologies for bungling on your blog content! Great to know your book is doing well and nice to hear from you on the forum. Maybe a free copy of the book 34 Bubblegums and Candies, for the IndiBlogger.in team will do nicely :) so we dont get the content wrong next time lol.
@ Anoop Zombie : Thanks for the mention! Mine is NOT a parent blog--the name is a misnomer as the header clarifies. And the book (34 Bubblegums and Candies) can be ordered outside India too. It's available in all major bookstores all ovr India, and many sites have worldwide selling rights. The book has been very well received--and I thank all my blogger pals as well as Indiblogger for the support.
Cheers
Preeti Shenoy
@Sramana :- Also you are an entrepreneur.. maybe you can help out in my other discussion topic "How can IndiBlogger.in help start-ups?"
@Sramana.. This is so cool... this is the second case study of this sort I have heard on IndiBlogger.in .. the other one is a prominent "parent" blog ( http://justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com). She has also released the book in India. Maybe you can help her release it outside India(am not sure if its done yet).but i gather that its quite funny and down to earth.
Anywayz.. this is seriously a good case study for any commited blogger and thank you for sharing it.
I would appreciate comments, Amitabh, regardless of the deals. sm
Sramana,
Congratuations!
In recent years this has become a regular practice with many athors. Especially the first time ones. I wish you all the success.
I will check out the links you have suggested and get back to you with more comments. Though with so many deals in the bag you may not need one.
Cheers,
Amitabh
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