Hello everyone!
I was honored to be chosen as a guest blogger by the A to Z challenge committee. I’d like to talk a little about my experience with the A to Z challenge.
Two years ago, I signed up for the 26 day blogging challenge for the first time. It sounded like fun! I decided that I wanted to write about how to survive disasters in Mexico to go along with my overall blog topic of Surviving Mexico--Adventures and Disasters.
It was extremely labor intensive as you all probably know. I started about 6 months before the challenge, researching and writing posts ranging from the apocalypse to zombies. (A to Z challenge remember?) I took the precaution of pre-writing my blog posts and just editing and checking links when the letter of the day came up. Although it was overwhelming at times, I really felt like I had a segment of good quality blog posts.
After the contest, I compiled the posts into a book. In honor of my honor as a guest blogger, you can download A to Z Reasons Why La Yacata is the Place to be in Any Disaster FREE for the next few days from Amazon.
The second year I participated in the A to Z challenge, my blogging group and I decided to write about our favorite places in Mexico. We split up the task so that it wasn’t as overwhelming. I know, it’s a little bit different having the entire group work on the challenge. It required even more organization than completing the challenge as a solo blogger. But we did it! And now we’ve compiled a book entitled Playing Tourist in Mexico highlighting 45 interesting attractions throughout Mexico which will hopefully be ready for release in March.
The book bug bit me as a direct result of the A to Z challenge and I published 5 books last year, all non-fiction, most based on blog posts. One is a blogging planner so that this year I can publish even more posts and later more books.
So how can you convert your blog posts into books even if you don’t write fiction? Glad you asked. Here’s my A to Z list tip list:
A- Appendix. All your sources and funny video links will go here.
B-Book--you are aiming for a printed book not just an ebook. Yes, you are. Trust me on this. Consider how everything will look in print.
C- Citations. Make sure to properly cite all your sources. Best to use APA or MLA format and include this information in the appendix.
D-Don’t forget an About the Author page with links to your other books.
E-Edit your work. Then ask someone else to edit your work. Then edit your work again.
F- Format your posts as if they were chapters of a book.
G-Glossary. If there are words that the average person won’t understand, include a glossary.
H-Hyperlinks now will be found in the appendix not throughout the text. Have you ever accidentally hit a link while reading on your kindle then had backtrack? Annoying isn’t it?
I-Interesting title. Something better than My Book of Blog Posts.
J-Judge your book by its cover. Does it hold your interest? Would you buy it based on just the cover?
K-Kindle books are great and easy to create!
L-Learning curve. There is a learning curve. Each book you publish will be better than the last.
M-Make sure to take the time to preview your book and Make the appropriate changes so that it looks fabulous when it is published!
N-Page numbers. Ebooks don’t have them but print books do.
O-Organize your chapters into some sort of logical order.
P- Pictures are still worth a 1000 words, however you need to rethink how many you really need.
Q-Questions. All those call to action questions in your blog posts probably aren’t relevant to a book.
R-Readability. Those pictures you want to include? Either put them at the beginning or end of the chapter. Otherwise you’ll end up with white space, hanging sentences, and formatting nightmares.
S-Select a publishing site. There are oodles to choose from.
T- Table of Contents. Use a book template. It will save you SO much work.
U-Upload your stuff to a book publishing site.
V-Videos. Nope, not gonna happen in a book. If you must, you can still include a link in the appendix.
W-Watch your royalties accumulate!
X- Get eXcited and start planning your next book!
Y- You did it! You are a published author!
Z-AmaZe your friends and family with a signed copy of your book.
There you go! My suggestions for creating a non-fiction book based on your own experiences or blog posts.
This year my blogging group will concentrate on our favorite blogs about, you guessed it, MEXICO! Can you see a pattern here? We’ve begun making our list and so far have 32 blogs between us that we are planning on featuring come April. And then of course, we are going to make a BOOK out of those posts so stay tuned!
Here’s hoping the 2019 A to Z challenge will be as fun as previous years!
April Blogging from A to Z Challenge #AtoZChallenge
Sunday, February 10, 2019
Friday, February 8, 2019
Day Five #AtoZChallenge Book Reviews, Tour, and Blog Hop!
First Annual #AtoZChallenge Book Reviews, Tour, and Blog Hop!
Today we're featuring one of the blogs in this event.
It's extra special because it's the blog of one of the co-hosts. The lovely JR Vincente!Please note the featured blog has ADULT CONTENT.
Blog of: JR Vincente
Visit https://t.co/yPwyu4W9uj to read erotic fiction excerpts, short stories, reviews, and get a glimpse into the life of an erotic fiction author. @JRVincente #AdultContent #NSFW
— AtoZChallenge (@AprilA2Z) February 5, 2019
Does your blog support diverse books?
The diverse book movement recognizes all diverse experiences, including (but not limited to) LGBTQIA, Native, people of color, gender diversity, people with disabilities, and ethnic, cultural, and religious minorities. https://diversebooks.org
Yes!Are you willing to include debut authors?
Yes!
Why do you take part in the A to Z Challenge?
I love a challenge and I love to blog, so it's a great combination!
Why did you start blogging?
I wanted to do the A to Z Blog Challenge and I needed a blog.
What goal do you or your blog hope to accomplish this year?
I would like to publish the novel I am currently editing, B is for Blackmail, and finish writing its sequel.
As a reader, what most motivates you to buy a new book to read?
An interesting synopsis or cover.
What is one question or discussion topic which you would like the author(s) to answer or remark on?
What compels you to keep reading a character's story?
Find this blogger at:
https://jrvincente.wordpress.comhttps://twitter.com/JRVincente
http://facebook.com/jrvincente/
https://www.instagram.com/jaydenvincente/
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/63297099
Time to HOP over to today's stops:
http://jemimapett.com/blog/
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com
There are FIVE prizes up for grabs on the Rafflecopter.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4fa90ac733
You have all month to complete as many options as you choose.
Keep coming back to the A to Z blog every weekday this month so you don't miss any of the First Annual #AtoZChallenge Book Reviews, Tour, and Blog Hop!
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Day Four #AtoZChallenge Book Reviews, Tour, and Blog Hop!
First Annual #AtoZChallenge Book Reviews, Tour, and Blog Hop!
Today's featured book and author:
Golden Rainbow
Author Name: Balaka Basu
Age category: Adult
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Brief description:
Golden Rainbow is an interesting collection of 26 memoirs written as short stories. These are not heroic tales but ordinary stories of ordinary people; nevertheless, they are thought-provoking. Some of them will make you laugh out loud while others may make you cry. The stories are rich in emotion, empathy and compassion.They are deeply profound. Reading the short stories is like a visit to Kolkata and typical Bengali life. You will connect with so many characters from your own real life but with different names. The anecdotes are not just stories but also a smart commentary on the various aspects of society. Easy to read, they will directly appeal to anyone fond of short stories. This book is not just a one-time read. It gets better with each reading.
Golden Rainbow is an interesting collection of 26 memoirs written as short stories. These are not heroic tales but ordinary stories of ordinary people; nevertheless, they are thought-provoking. #mustread #Biographies
— AtoZChallenge (@AprilA2Z) February 5, 2019
Link to buy the book: amazon.in
Link to buy the book: Amazon
Why did you take part in the A to Z Challenge the year that your book was "given life"?
I just wanted to blog regularly and write.
Why did you start blogging?
To give words to my emotions
EXCLUSIVE TOUR CONTENT:
Quote from the book.
‘I was a golden bird inside a golden cage, now I have wings to fly’
As a reader, what most motivates you to buy a new book to read?
The blurb
What is one question or discussion topic which you would like the readers of this post to answer or remark on in the blog comments?
How they liked my style of writing
Find this author at:
https://trinalooksback.com/
Time to HOP over to today's stops:
https://www.literaryau.com
There are FIVE prizes up for grabs on the Rafflecopter.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/4fa90ac733
You have all month to complete as many options as you choose.
Keep coming back to the A to Z blog every weekday this month to follow the First Annual #AtoZChallenge Book Reviews, Tour, and Blog Hop!
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