Hi, I’m Trina and I’m a blogger who writes books.

My books have not gone viral nor made me famous. I’m not making a full-time income from my ebook earnings, nor have any publishers come calling. But I still love writing books, and I believe no matter how big (or small!) your blog, or what your vision for your writing is, you should consider self publishing an ebook.

Here’s why:

1. It’s a step toward bigger dreams.

A published book is the ‘Holy Grail’ for many writers. Whether self-pub or contracted, we long to see our name in the author line on a manuscript. Although I don’t believe for a minute that authorship is the ultimate proof that we are REAL writers, there are still many writers who believe that title as an important milestone in their journey, and they will—often subconsciously—put most of their efforts into reaching that point.

But what if you were past that goal? Then what would you feel free to pursue?

For years I saw publishing a book as the ultimate goal of my writing. Once I got that out of my system, I was able to expand my horizons with my writing, and also felt more freedom to ask God what His dreams for my writing were. (Novel idea, I know!)

If publishing even a small ebook helps you get past that mental block of “I have to write a book first” so you can pursue different or broader dreams with your writing, then go for it! If, on the other hand, my little confession helps you realize that a book has been getting in the way of your calling, then skip the book and go straight for your dreams!

2. People still prefer books.

If you had a series on your blog that I was really interested in, and you had gathered all 6 or 10 or 31 posts into a PDF I could download and read on my Kindle app, guess what I’d prefer? The file that has it all in one place.

As much as we all love reading blogs, there’s still something about a book that continues to draw us. Maybe it’s the fact that a book doesn’t ask us to comment or share or engage. Instead we ingest, meditate, and relax into the content, and any ‘call to action’ is hopefully something that calls us to engage more fully in life, instead of just social media.

If you have some great content on your blog, or some posts that you feel get to the heart of what God has called you to write about, consider doing your readers the service of organizing them into one place. Maybe it’s a fancy, shmancy ebook formatted for kindle, with a custom-designed cover. Or maybe it’s a simple PDF they can download for free. Either way, creating a book is a way to serve your readers well. (<–Tweet that!)

3. It’s a wise use of your time.

Let’s face it, blog posts have a very short life span. No matter how much work you put into that post, it’s going to eventually get bumped into your archives. You can try to resurrect it, but it’s still just a blog post that people are going to have to be willing to follow a link trail to read.

On the other hand, a book is not so easily lost. It can live right in your sidebar with a cute graphic, be shared regularly with other bloggers via reviews or giveaways, and be easily linked to in current posts. You can also get it formatted for print and have a tangible capsule of your words to share with friends and keep as a reminder to yourself of what God has taught you.

Putting our efforts into creating something more enduring than a blog post is a wise stewardship of our gifts and calling.

4. Makes great residual income.

I love things where you do the work once, but continue to reap the rewards: like taking the time to teach your children to do the laundry, or planting a perennial in the garden.  The benefits keep coming after you’ve quit sweating!

This is what ebooks have been for me. Sure, they’re more work than a blog post. But once they’re finished, and you upload them to Amazon or Ejunkie, the work of creating is done. You may spend a season of time actively marketing your book (and that can feel like more work than the writing!), but eventually you will move on to other things, while the book stands on its own two feet, and people can continue to buy it.

My first book sold 2 copies the day I released it. I had such a small platform at the time and so few connections that whatever attempts I made to market it hardly made a ripple. Within a few months I had moved on to other projects. But the book was still there, and every once in a while, someone would buy a copy. For the first year, I only sold a few per month, but my little book sitting there in my sidebar saved me the trouble of having to find sponsorship for my blog in order to afford hosting fees. It continues to sell two years later, providing a blessed little residual income stream for our family.

Final Advice for Would-Be Authors:

If these points have got you brainstorming about what idea or content you can turn into an ebook, I’m excited for you! But my final word of advice is this: as with any project or dream you pursue, make sure the idea is actually in line with God’s desire for your writing. Writing an ebook is a lot of work, and not something to be embarked upon without prayer, counsel, and counting the cost. With that, I wish you well and look forward to seeing what God calls you to write in the future!

Tweetables:

• 4 {Great!} reasons YOU should write an ebook — Click to Tweet
• Have you been chasing the Holy Grail of writers? — Click to Tweet
• This has me thinking about writing an ebook!  — Click to Tweet

 

You can read the full account of my first self-publishing journey in my series: The Smaller Blogger’s Step-by-Step Guide to DYI Publishing. You may also enjoy my husband’s techy tips for formatting a book for kindle and for print. P.S. My second ebook was released last month. Though it hasn’t gone viral, some of my friends think it’s pretty cool. *wink* Find it here. 

Do you dream of writing a book? What’s holding you back? If you need feedback or encouragement for your dream, I’m your gal. Let’s brainstorm in the comments!