Turning One Kind of Content into Another
In July of 1995, I met with president and the major partner/owner of a company in trouble. The company had one product earning and was losing 10% a year. They laid out the problem and asked my solution. Thinking I had nothing to lose, I told them.
I’d get on a plane to the UK next week; find the best product they had to offer; repurpose it to perfectly meet this market; and get it out there earning as fast as I could.
My blood sugar dropped when the partner replied, “You’re going to London.”
We made new products by turning one kind of content into another.
Want to write a book? You probably have one almost done in your archives.
Repurposing, Versioning, Tailoring, Yes
Repurposing content isn’t a new thing. I versioned my first book in 1989 — shhh, I know — and it wasn’t new then. Educational and nonfiction publishers (and TV producers) have been doing for years. It began because it made sense and served readers. (It still does.)
Publishers in small countries needed to share print runs or they couldn’t afford to print enough books to offer beautiful, color books to their customers. They would make versions for other countries, in other languages. That’s repurposing. The American market has different sensitivies, so we’d make changes from the Australian or British version. Or maybe that page would just make a fabulous poster. You get the idea.
I’ve been doing that for almost 3 decades — looking at what is there to see how many different things it might be, and which of those things are worth making. That’s where your book comes in.
Write a Book? Assemble the One in Your Archives!
Have you looked at your archives lately? If you’ve got a blog with 200+ posts, I’m betting you have at least one book’s worth of content. Go look. Here are the basic of what to look for and what to do.
1. Find your most popular topic.
2. Print out a critical mass of posts around one set of ideas.
3. Organize the ideas in a fashion that would work for readers who don’t know you or the topic.
4. Ask a friend or a colleague if this rough order is complete and logical.
5. Look for places the key information is missing and might need to be filled in.
6. Write an introduction, table of contents page, and a conclusion.
7. Hire a professional editor to edit it.
8. Ask colleagues to read it and to write something about it. Include those testimonials, but not too many.
9. Hire a professional designer to design it.
10. Self-publish.
Why do it now? Because different audiences prefer different formats. That’s why I offer an email version of my blog as well as a variety of RSS feeds. Readers can’t carry computers everywhere and not every reader wants to read blogs.
If your information is solid, then you’re providing a service. If you’re a speaker, a book provides a platform to speak from. Whether you do it to sell the book or to give it a as a free prize on your blog. A book adds value and credibility to you and your brand.
Of course, there are details upon detail to talk about. I’ll go deeper in the next post, if you want to extend the discussion.
Thanks, Darren for another great Writing Project!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help with a problem you’re having with your writing or your business, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.
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katiebird says
September 20, 2006 at 10:46 AMGood Morning Liz,
And what a wonderful post you’ve given us today! It’s almost too much to think about.
Me, write a book? Would anyone really be interested in a book about weight loss and control and health and nutrition and how it all fits into our regular lives without making us crazy?
I hope you’re happy, you’ve really got me thinking now…. 🙂
Chris Cree says
September 20, 2006 at 11:00 AMLiz, Thanks for opening up this topic! I am very interested in learning more about the whole book writing/publishing thing. Publishing is one of my long term goals.
I even installed a word count plugin to get a feel for how much material is in my archives so that I can begin to lay out a rough time line for assembling my material. 😉
katiebird says
September 20, 2006 at 11:05 AMChris, that’s an interesting idea too. And it should be possible to do queries on the post to make extracting the text easier, shouldn’t it?
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 11:11 AMHi Katie!
Good morning! People are interesting in what they do and what they want to know more about. Why wouldn’t want to know more about what’s on your blog? 🙂
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 11:12 AMHi Chris,
It’s good to know. It was my work for almost three decades to cross purpose content for new uses. There’s a wrong that makes way more work and a right way that makes easier.
Let me know what you want to find out and I’ll plan my posts around it.
Whitney says
September 20, 2006 at 12:04 PMHey Katiebird — I would LOVE to see (own) a book that talks about how to incorporate better health and nutrition practices in my life without making me nuts. Most of what’s out there a) drains my wallet, b) makes me nuts, and c) takes too much time and attention away from things (like my writing, my business, my volunteer work, etc.). There has to be a way to do this without making a FULL-TIME JOB out of it!!!!
Is that an enthusiastic enough “yes” for you?
🙂
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 12:08 PMWhitney,
You are terrific! I think you’ve given Katie her first testimonial, so to speak!
katiebird says
September 20, 2006 at 12:08 PM{{Whitney}} wow! YES. (and in fact I got a little excited just writing my concept down)
I love the steps Liz gave us. She makes it seem possible. And I’ve got over 300 posts in the categories that fit. Some were more successful than others — but most have at least the seeds of a good idea.
(hmm… what will they say at home?)
katiebird says
September 20, 2006 at 12:12 PMWhitney, you’ve mentioned the telling fact, “There has to be a way to do this without making a FULL-TIME JOB out of it!!!!”
Because none of us has the time to make a fulltime job of it. There’s too many other (more fun, more exciting, more productive) things to do. So we don’t do it at all.
There just HAS to be a way to sneak it in. And when there HAS to be a solution, it usually turns out there is one lurking somewhere . . . . . .
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 12:20 PMThat’s it Katie, form your book around the need of you readers. Make a books thet provides a clear and clean solution to a problem they’ve been having — one you know well and intimately.
katiebird says
September 20, 2006 at 12:32 PMIt’s an exciting idea Liz.
Would you advise printing out the posts that seem applicable and shuffling them around sort of like a deck of cards to get related posts adjacant to each other?
Chris Cree says
September 20, 2006 at 12:36 PMWell, Liz. A look at my word count shows my personal blog CREEations, which has been running for about a year in its various forms has a little over 96,000 words. Unfortunately from a publishing perspective my posts there tend to be all over the map. I’ll have to dig a little deeper to see if there is enough continuity to wrap in a single cover.
My new venture, SuccessCREEations has been up and running for less than a month and already has 23,000+ words, all fairly focused topically. So perhaps in a few months I’ll have enough there to put something together (provided I keep the pace steady).
Of course it begs the question, how much material does it take to become publish-worthy? If you figure an average of about 250 words per page, then what about 60,000 words or so for an average book? Is that anywhere near right?
Carolyn Manning says
September 20, 2006 at 1:39 PMWell, I always thought the archives would come in handy for something good. Excellent idea, Liz.
Wonderful conversation going here.
Cree, I’ve just subscribed to your.
Tony D. Clark says
September 20, 2006 at 1:49 PMWow, what a cool idea! Of course being a newbie and all, my archives are a little slim. But I’ve often thought about after I’ve accumulated some good content, maybe it would be possible to repurpose it into a book.
Now I have some good tips. Thanks!
BTW ââ¬â I just posted my entry into the Group Writing Project, too. I’ve also found some great stuff over there.
Carolyn Manning says
September 20, 2006 at 2:05 PMTony, what group writing project?
Tony D. Clark says
September 20, 2006 at 2:20 PM@Carolyn ââ¬â Darren Rowse over at ProBlogger has a Group Writing Project going on. Liz linked to it above with this as her submission.
There’s some really cool stuff over there, and if you have an idea for a How-To you might consider participating.
Carolyn Manning says
September 20, 2006 at 2:52 PMOh, that Darren. Yeah, I need to get over there. Right now, though, I can’t get to it. Either he’s having problems with his site or my computer ate too much spinach.
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 3:01 PMHi Katie,
That’s exactly what I do, Whether they’re real pages or ideas, I put them on pages and move them around until the order makes sense. It’s the best way to talk through the big picture and know that it’s solid.
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 3:02 PMChris,
This is not a plug. That’s when you hire someone who knows how to do it to come in and see what you’ve got and how to bridge the gaps.
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 3:05 PMSorry, Chris to answer the rest of your question. A printable book needs 64 pages to have a spine and 96 pages to look like its something. There are lots of ways to put value on those pages. One of Hugh Prather, Jrs. bestsellers had 17,000 words
Word counts were made for fiction. They’re a nice benchmark, but when you start making books interactive with things to fill in and worksheets etc. The word count goes way down.
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 3:07 PMHi Carolyn!
Great to see you back! The link to the Group Writing Project is in the “Thanks Darren” Line at the end of my post. On case, you haven’t made it there yet.
Glad you like the post. 🙂
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 3:08 PMTony,
If you know that’s your plan you can write with that in mind. It will help you keep your focus as you write, That is in fact a good thing for your blog. It serves your readers by providing them copy that stays in your niche. 🙂
Carolyn Manning says
September 20, 2006 at 3:14 PMI just remember having a book written by Art Buchwald that was a compilation of his newspaper columns. Other columnists did it too. Liz, you’re right that repurposing isn’t a new idea and I’m sure glad you brought it back out for those of us who either didn’t know about it or didn’t realize what it was when we saw it.
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 3:18 PMHey Carolyn,
It’s what I do, I wanted to share it. 🙂 Besides it’s fun. Seth Godin’s books come from his blog, too.
Scorpia says
September 20, 2006 at 3:39 PMDon’t forget graphics. Some pretty pictures can help a lot, and not only just to fill out the book.
A book doesn’t have to be all-text.
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 3:42 PMGreat point, Scorpia,
I had kind of bundled that in with the designer. I should have unbundled that when I was talking to Chris about word count.
White space is important too, especially when used with care and consciousness. 🙂
Whitney says
September 20, 2006 at 3:42 PMIn a recent writer’s conference I attended, one of the editors on a panel discussion said that the average length for a business book these days is 160 pages. 160 pages seems, apparently, to be that “invisible fine line” in front of “not enough content”. Of course, that comment was for business books and may not apply to think like health & nutrition, motivation, etc.
Writer’s Market, available on the reference shelves of most public libraries, also can offer some insight into book length for non-fiction books (e.g., number of words to published page, number of pages in Word to the average published chapter, etc.).
Although they’re a fact of life in book publishing, I hate word counts. If you can cover a topic really well in 108 pages, fine. If you need 308 pages to do it, and your book isn’t weighted down with unnecessary bulk, then fine. But word count shouldn’t affect the perception of credibility (though, sadly, sometimes it does).
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 3:47 PMHi Whitney,
The rule of the word count was never as stringent as editors tried to make it out to be . . . it was just one way to give folks a benchmark that would keep them from sending unprintable manuscripts.
Now that we’re in a world where a significant percent of the books on Amazon are self-published word counts mean even less than they did. The value is in depth and usefulness of content as you described.
So you’re winning!!! 🙂
Darren says
September 20, 2006 at 5:55 PMgreat post Liz – it’s something I know a number of bloggers are currently working on in their niches. Nice to see your thoughts on how to do it.
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 5:57 PMThanks, Darren, for noticing.
Gosh I hope folks know that if they have questions I have answers. I’ve done enough of this stuff. I can do most of it sleeping. I’d hate to know someone was struggling.
Tony D. Clark says
September 20, 2006 at 6:24 PM@Liz – That’s true about writing with that in mind. For me, it seems to make me more focused on clear topics. At least it’s starting to.
@Scorpia – I agree about the pretty pictures. But then again, I’m a little biased. 😉
ME Strauss says
September 20, 2006 at 6:26 PMTony,
Think of your categories as your table of contents. . . . 🙂
Mike Miller says
September 21, 2006 at 8:38 AMFunny. One of the first comments my mother in law left on my blog was something to the effect of “I like it. And it looks like you are on your way to writing your first book.”
She doesn’t blog and really doesn’t read any outside of mine.
I might have to start listening to her more often 🙂
ME Strauss says
September 21, 2006 at 8:41 AMHi Mike,
Welcome!
Your mother-in-law sounds like a big picture thinker who’s quite perceptive. I think I like her, and you too, already. 🙂
Jersey Girl says
September 21, 2006 at 11:06 AMGreat post, I really enjoyed reading this..it’s a great idea, I’m sure there are many out there that have heaps and volumes of great information right under their fingertips.
ME Strauss says
September 21, 2006 at 11:08 AMThanks, Jersey Girl!
It’s fun to start writing about things that I know how to do. 🙂 I appreciate your comment. I’m smiling over here. 🙂
MamaDuck says
September 21, 2006 at 2:19 PMAh, Liz, wonderful as always. I’ve seen a lot of people do this or attempt to do this ;). Our how-to is up as well if you’d like to check it out!!
ME Strauss says
September 21, 2006 at 2:25 PMThanks,Mama.
Yeah, it can work well or be a total disaster, depending on whether folks know what they’re doing.
Anne Wayman says
September 21, 2006 at 3:14 PMoh this is excellent, really excellent – which is why I added you to the collection of writing tips from the problogger contest at http://www.thegoldenpencil.com
going to add you to my blog roll thingie too.
Thanks… I’ve got 500+ posts… now you’ve got me thinking 😉
ME Strauss says
September 21, 2006 at 3:19 PMHi Anne!
Welcome. Great to see you!
What wonderful news! You’re a writer you should be doing this if anyone should. Good on you. Thanks for the kind works and for the blogroll too. 🙂
Matt says
September 21, 2006 at 5:00 PMNice blog entry! I enjoyed the read! Thanks for participating in the Group Writing Project. My How To is up also.
Lori says
September 22, 2006 at 2:11 PMWhat a nice, simple and do-able idea! Thanks for a great post and entry.
ME Strauss says
September 22, 2006 at 4:15 PMHi Lori
Not as simple as it looks. It’ll fool ya! But thanks for noticing. I appreciate your comment. 🙂
Starbucker says
September 22, 2006 at 5:20 PMHello Liz, Starbucker here. Just catching up on your posts as I’m STILL in Wyoming (I’m finally going home tomorrow). Funny you would post about this, because I’m now north of 200 posts and I’ve recently asked myself – what should I do with all this? I think I need more writing practice, but writing a book has become more and more of a target for me. Funny thing is, as recently as 10 months ago (in the “pre-blogging era”) it never crossed my mind. So to get this far is really an interesting turn of events. I never thought I’d type these words – “I like to write!”. I’ll file your post away for future reference, and you just know who I’m thinking of as my editor, right? 🙂 Have a great weekend.
ME Strauss says
September 22, 2006 at 5:41 PMHey Starbucker!
While you’re outside in Wyoming, give my big brothers a shout. They’ll hear ya!
Of course, you like writing. You’re darn good at it. Can’t wait to get a look at where you decide to take that book of yours. 🙂
Starbucker says
September 22, 2006 at 6:27 PMI’ll give them a big yell Liz! Thanks for the kind words.
ME Strauss says
September 22, 2006 at 6:30 PMCool, Starbucker. Saw your pictures with Phil. Looks like you guys had a fine time! You have a fine time tonight as well!
Graham English says
September 23, 2006 at 9:46 AMI’m so gonna do this! My how to is up.
ME Strauss says
September 23, 2006 at 4:28 PMHey Graham,
Welcome!
I can hear your enthusiasm. You go for it! I’m with you! Yeah! 100%
Martin says
September 26, 2006 at 11:12 PMWay to go, Liz … you’ve seemed to have hit a nerve with many.
But knowing your background in publishing (folks: Liz is the real deal here) why’d it take you so long to start writing about this? And now that you have, don’t stop and don’t look back…
Gee, I might even get into this self-publishing game myself one day. 😉
ME Strauss says
September 26, 2006 at 11:16 PMMartin,
You’re the ebook guy. Good at it too!
I’m into repurposing content. That’s my most favorite thing to do. 🙂 I like the puzzle of figuring out how to turn one thing into another.
Martin says
September 26, 2006 at 11:32 PMGee, thanks Liz. I’m just plugging away at this self-publishing game and am loving every minute of it.
Liz … I may not comment as much these days but rest assured I read (nearly) everything you write.
Without you knowing it (and I’m sure many others as well would agree) you’re my mentor.
Now hands up all you Liz fans out there that demands an (e)book from the one and only … Liz.
ME Strauss says
September 26, 2006 at 11:39 PMOh Martin,
Now it’s your turn . . . *she said with a grin* . . . I’ve got to get that ebook that you made for me up around here soon, don’t I? I wish I could say I was playing with it, but I’m just working . . . 🙂
As far as Bookcraft goes, it finally dawned on me that I should be talking about what I know best. Sometimes I’m a little slow on the uptake. 🙂
Martin says
September 26, 2006 at 11:46 PMAwh shucks, isn’t this one giant love fest. (as everyone in the room pukes…) 🙂
Doesn’t matter how slow you are just that you enjoyed the journey and have found what you’re looking for – and will now reap the rewards.
ME Strauss says
September 26, 2006 at 11:48 PMWell, I’m not sure that the journey’s been all that much fun all of the time, but It’s been nice to have friends who like nachos around for part of it. 🙂
Marti says
September 29, 2006 at 6:28 AM{{Voice of Experience booms from the heavens:}}
“It CAN be done!”
LOL
Great post, as always, darlin’!
ME Strauss says
September 29, 2006 at 6:30 AMThanks Marti!
You are indeed the voice of experience!
And what a greatbook you have!
Thanks for checking in on this piece. Your comment is appreciated.
Mike says
September 29, 2006 at 8:41 AMThis is a great idea – but is anyone aware of some software that will easily convert blog entries to a book? I have heard there are some utilities to convert to PDF and others that help create a more “book-like” format.
Post here if you know – thanks.
ME Strauss says
September 29, 2006 at 9:22 AMHi Mike,
I don’t know what will put your blog entries together into one piece, if that’s what you’re looking for. Though it’s not that hard to do a copy and past into a new document.
If you’re looking for pdf makers, Martin has plenty of eBook resources over at ePublishing Daily You can check them out here;
http://www.epublishingdaily.com/the-ultimate-resource-page/
Marti says
September 29, 2006 at 9:39 AMIf you are planning on publish on demand (like Lulu) you need PDF format anyway (Lulu does conversions for free).
There is a program I remember reading about…I thought it was called “Blookmaker” but I just Googled that and got nuttin LOL
ME Strauss says
September 29, 2006 at 10:23 AMHey Marti!
You’re getting another career out this. . . . Good on you!!! 🙂
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