Landing a book deal with your blog alone is the stuff of dreams, for now. I know of no writer who has achieved such a feat. The blog is more an accessory to the whole writing outfit. It adds a little jewellery glitter to the usual writing jacket.

Your blog can be your database of all that you are as a writer. It is your chance to glow with your interests and strengths without being buttoned up into the regime of a publisher's wardrobe. Hang your styles carefully. You never know who may be perusing your wares.

But now follows a series of theories that are still in the trial and error stage.

Link the blog with writers' websites such as Helium. A wander in one leads to a wander in the other. Even if the first "nibbles" mainly stem from other writers, they represent encouragement to soldier on. Perhaps these writers could be a source of future recommendation to a publisher, or even be prospective buyers of your future book.

Sign up to writers' forums and leave comments on other writers' blogs. Where possible, link them to your blog, driving potential reading traffic. In short, actively get involved in various writing communities, including web rings, and link, link, link!

Yes! The book dream seems quite remote! But unless you actively search for a miracle in the writing world, it just can't happen. Get to know other writers and be known; even if it is only in the virtual world of the internet.

And now the ultimate risk! Dare to publish extracts from your book on your blog. Keep them small, but keep them regular. You want those "notice me" pings happening with Technorati. Add tantalising, questioning comments in separate posts on your blog. Ask the public at large what they think! Invite appreciation and criticism.
Approach magazine websites, inviting them to view your book extracts. Perhaps they will publish some. Keep trying and keep trying. Be selective, choosing suitable magazines to avoid bitter disappointment.

Then finally, if theories prove secure and right, you can smell the scents of a published book. From magazine to full publication is just a whisper away. Even Charles Dickens, initially did the hard grind with serialized versions of his books in newspaper format.

Perhaps blogging can't promise a book deal. But it can be fun accumulating a range of fashion statements, enjoyed by other writers also on the prowl for that ultimate book dream. If nothing else, your blog might even become not your wardrobe but your wine cellar. Maturing wines become more desirable with time, don't they?

Learn more about this author, Gemma Wiseman.
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