Things are meta up in the blogosphere. Not only does everyone’s cat have a blog, but these days the hottest thing in bookstores is blogs that get made into books. Like half the new releases in B&N are made of blogs. In fact, I can easily think of at least two blogs that got made into books that got made into movies.
What other blogs will get book deals? You heard it here first, folks: Fifty-Two Weeks of Geek will be next. That’s my prediction. What else can blogs turn into? And, more to the point, who’s going to give us money for Grumpy Rumblings? Sadly, probably nobody, as we are nowhere near as cool as Scalzi.
What’s your favorite blog made into a book?
#2: Ooh, poorgirlgourmet is doing booktours…
Grumpy Rumblings (of the formerly untenured) 
August 26, 2010 at 6:08 am
I’d actually never heard of blogs turned into books before now.
August 26, 2010 at 7:56 am
I have never read a blog-turned-book, so I am not qualified to answer. However, I will say it does sound like a sweet and easy way to write a book since the content is already written. Are they mostly diary-type blogs? If so, I better spice up my life and then get writing! :)
August 26, 2010 at 8:46 am
#2 here again:
I think it depends on the book/blog. My favorite so far has been the Cakewrecks book. It’s a lot like the blog but with extra cakes.
Then you’ve got related books that aren’t taken whole piece from the blogs like Get rich slowly’s Your Money the Missing Manual (also a great read)
And of course, there’s the crazy movie stuff like Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond’s story of how she, a bored rich girl, moved back home after being angsty in LA and met her (wealthy ranch owning) cowboy husband. Highly entertaining. Her life actually ISN’T exciting if you think about it, but if you don’t think too hard she really makes it seem exciting (and hilariously funny) through her writing. I’m sure Reese Witherspoon will make it into a great chick flick.
August 26, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Cooking blogs are the easiest ones to turn into books. And I buy them because I know the recipes have been tested. I love Stephanie O’Dea’s blog about slow-cooking and the cookbook is fine, too. OTOH, I can’t seem to interest anyone in a blog that whines about money. So much for MY blockbuster book potential!
August 26, 2010 at 10:40 pm
It is hard not to make a blog that’s just you’re whiny day to day crap. That’s why my mother is my muse. I can cherry pick any part of her 77 years of life and make an article out of it.
Much more interesting than blogging about trying to get my kid to eat vegetables or losing 20 pounds. Boring!
I also like the pioneer woman because she actually did do that thing that many of us dream about…which is throwing out the business attire in exchange for spurs and boots and leaving the corporate mumbo jumbo behind. It’s a nice thing to daydream about, but I actually like the corporate life more often than not (especially on payday), so I know it’s not something I’d want to pursue now…or maybe even ever. I predict a lifelong weekend warrior is my future.
It would be awesome to get a book deal though.
August 27, 2010 at 4:05 am
Hey– don’t knock trying to get your kid to eat veggies… that’s a post next week! (spoiler alert: we gave up)
I do have a secret thing for blogs of Christian farm wives homeschooling ~20 kids. But most of them don’t have quite so much money, so they really are living simple lives and making sacrifices. There’s less guest-house remodeling. And, part of the success of pioneer woman compared to the rest of the demographic is her business acumen. There’s a top layer, but things are actually different if you dig deeper. It’s kind of like Cindy Crawford, who is also a very able business woman underneath her girl-next-door beauty.