SXSW Interactive: From Blog to Book Deal

There's good news if you're looking to turn your blog into a book like Stephanie Klein, Guy Kawasaki, or Hugh MacLeod have done. Heck, they're even happy to help you. All you have to do is make something great.

But without good core material, you're going to be fighting an uphill battle, said the panelists at "From Blog to Book Deal", which closed South by Southwest Interactive on Tuesday.

"Write good stuff -- that's the key," said Kawasaki, a venture capitalist who wrote The Art of the Start and most recently, Reality Check. "That will let you get yourself known."

And once you're known as an expert in a particular field, or as someone with something notable to say, other doors will begin to open for you. As he considered turning his essay "How to Be Creative" into a book, MacLeod turned to author Seth Godin, who introduced him to his publisher and agent. That essay has turned into a book that will be released later this year, called Ignore Everybody.

"A book is a useful device for becoming the go-to guy in your industry," MacLeod said

Literary agent Kate Lee of ICM began the panel with some straight talk, telling the audience that "most people don't get rich writing books", and moderator Pamela Slim (Escape from Cubicle Nation) helped guide the discussion through the questions of why and how to turn your blog into a book deal.

Klein's Greek Tragedy blog earned her a two-book deal, along with the chance to write a pilot episode when ABC bought the television rights to her book. But those weren't her goals when she started writing.

"I wanted to start putting my energy into me. I wasn't looking for a two-book deal," said Klein, who now lives in Austin. "A book can catapult you to do other things"

Even if you're fortunate enough to land a book deal from your writing, the work doesn't stop there. To keep you name out there and drum up publicity for your work, the bulk of the marketing will likely fall to you, not your publisher.

Klein advised being creative in those marketing efforts. As she promoted her first book, Straight Up and Dirty, and her newest effort, Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp, Klein found partnerships with such diverse companies as online retailer Torrid.com, a candle company and a hand sanitizer.

But before the book deal and the marketing agreements, you still have to write something that people want to read.

"I would caution you from considering your book to be a means to an end," Kawasaki said. "A book is an end in itself. Write because you have something to say."