6 Reasons to Blog Your Book- Edwin Crozier

**NOTE** Edwin follows up with this post on one entitled, 7 Keys For Blogging Your Book.

This week's guest blogger is Edwin Cozier, author of 5 books, owner of his own publishing company- Sreamside Supplies, and the author of a DVD. Edwin has three books in the works and is a full time minister where he developed public speaking skills that he currently uses to help train others on public speaking. In today's post, Edwin pushes the boundaries of author comfort by suggesting a novel approach to marketing your book, an approach he is putting into practice at this very moment. I'm honored to introduce you to this prolific and entertaining writer.

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First, thanks, Tony, for providing such great help for those of us who love to write but stink at marketing. We need you and what you provide. Second, thanks, Tony, for letting me be part of this. Our friendship has meant more to me than you can know and this just adds more on the pile.

And now on to the point.

Here we sit reading a blog because we're writers wanting to become authors. Oh yes, you know the difference. Writers write. Authors get read. We want to be read. We have already read and will read many other posts on this and other sites about how we ought to be blogging. We should. If you are only reading blogs and not participating in the great conversation with your own, you are missing out. And so are we. However, I want to go beyond just blogging as a means to let folks know who you are and as a means to provide free content that you hope will push folks to your for-sale content. I want to share with you something I've recently learned that is a counter-intuitive gold mine.

Blog your book.

That's right, blog your book.

I'm doing this very thing right now. One is already written. On Thursdays, at edwincrozier.com you can read the story of Sam as he learns to be successful in my soon to be published book Getting to Did.

You're thinking exactly what I was when I first heard this. "What? Give away my book for free? Who'll buy it? And besides, who wants to read a book piecemeal?" Before you click away, let me give you some reasons for blogging your book.

1. Nobody's reading your book right now anyway
   
   Let's face it. If you already had a huge readership you likely wouldn't be trying to figure out how to market your book on a shoestring budget. John Grisham, Stephen King, John Maxwell, and Rick Warren probably don't need to blog any of their books. You are not blogging your book to make lots of money. You're blogging your book to get readers. If you want to get that book published by the big boys, you need a platform. Don't just show them a platform for you as an author, give them a platform for your book. Let them know how many people have gotten on board already through your blog. Even if you are self-publishing, you need the platform.
   
   
2. It's a proven method
   
   This is not new. Certainly, doing this through blogging is relatively new. But putting a book out piecemeal is as old as Charles Dickens. Ever heard of him? His Sketches by Boz and Pickwick Papers were both serialized before they were published in bound volumes. Dickens was the first great novelist. He was the first author to be truly popular while he was still alive. Before there was Robert Ludlum, James Michener, or Isaac Asimov, there was Dickens. Speaking of Asimov, his book I, Robot was actually a collection of short stories he had previously published in other magazines that he retrofitted together into one novel. Not only was the book a success, a movie was based on it. You can't go wrong with that, can you?
   
   Here's the cool thing for us. Dickens and Asimov had to get approval from a magazine to print their serializations first. We don't even have to go through that process. We have immediate approval because we are publishing our own online magazine with our blog.
   
   
3. Nobody wants to read a book piecemeal
   
   "Okay, now you've gone too far, Edwin. We already told you nobody wants to read a book piecemeal." Ah yes, you may see this as an obstacle. I see it as the trick that makes this work. Nobody wants to read a good book piecemeal. They want to sit down and read it as quickly as they can.
   
   Think this through. What happens then when a reader stumbles upon, is sent to, or searches out your blog and starts reading an immensely entertaining or overwhelmingly helpful or powerfully moving book but it stops and ends with a link to the next segment? They click to the next segment, then the next, then the next. With each segment they increase their desire to keep reading. Then they hit a wall that says "…to be continued, but not until next week." Just below that statement is a "Buy Now" button. Watch the mouse hover over the button. The debate is on. "Can I wait until next week? I don't want to spend the money and I can read this book for free. Oh, but I need to know what's next. But if I'm patient I'll find out next week. Yeah but then I'll have to wait another week for the section after that." CLICK. Someone just bought your book.
   
   
4. Blogging your book will help the sales on the next book you blog
   
   "Point 3 sounds good, Edwin, but my book is already on the market." My first response is, good books are meant to be read by the fire, not on a computer. Most readers feel that way. If they uncover a great book online, they won't want to read the whole thing off the computer. They'll want to curl up with it, holding it in their hands, smelling the paper, turning the pages. They can't do that with your blog. With each post, the "Buy Now" button will look more inviting.
   
   However, let's just say you're dealing with someone who is happy to keep reading a book on the computer; they read your whole book and don't buy a copy. Sure, I know that stinks. You just gave away your soul to them. But, what happens when you start blogging book number 2? Now, even those computer geeks that don't mind burning their eyes out on a computer screen and have no sentimentality connected with a real book want to click the "Buy Now" button because they don't want to wait a week to find out what is next.
   
   
5. Blogging your book will help you improve your craft
   
   I've already said, "Nobody wants to read a good book piecemeal." The truth is nobody wants to read a bad book piecemeal either. Fact is, nobody wants to read a bad book at all. Therefore, for any kind of marketing to work really, really well, you have to offer a good book. The problem is, we may not have a good book yet. Never fear. Go ahead and blog your bad book. Why? Because you will only improve your writing by writing.
   
   Additionally, by putting your book out there on the web, you are opening yourself up to get the criticism you desperately need but will likely not receive from the big publishing house who simply sends back your proposal or manuscript with a "Rejected" stamp. I know it is tough to receive criticism. However, it's the only thing that will make us grow. Even if the criticism isn't offered very nicely. If you can control your self-defense and just listen for the help offered behind the words, your next book will be better.
   
   You may even want to ask for feedback about the book and the writing. Then put on your alligator hide coat and listen for the good help behind the comments.
   
   
6. Blog your book because it is about writing, not about making money
   
   I know, I know. We want to be great authors because we want great paychecks. The problem is, if we are chasing dollars with our writing, we probably won't get many of them. We'll simply develop reputations as hacks. I hate to break it to you, but even if we write just for the sake of writing, we may not make much money. But when we write because we love writing and we love what we are writing about, we will find satisfaction and fulfillment. When we do that, it will come through in our writing and maybe, just maybe that will connect with others and the dollars will start flowing.
   
   Don't sell out to the masses. Don't chase the dollars. Chase the writing. Make your writing about writing and the love of the craft. Blogging your book is like the minor leagues of writing. Nobody sticks with minor league ball for the money. They stick with it for the love of the game. A few of those who do stick with it make it in to the big leagues. But everyone who sticks with it for love of the game is just happy they're getting to play. Be happy you're getting to write.
   

I wanted to give some suggestions about how to blog your book. But this post is long enough. Perhaps Tony will let me come back on and write another guest post. Maybe somebody else can give some insight. Either way, I'd like to invite you to stop by edwincrozier.com and check out the books I'm blogging. And thanks again, Tony, for letting me be part of this site.