Over the past few days I’ve realized there should be a guide detailing the basics of setting up a blook on the internet - sooner or later a lot of authors are going to realize they have the internet open to them as a publishing option, and many of them do not understand the various nuances of blogs and the blogosphere. This guide would ideally serve as a reference, to make posting up novels or books or even textbooks easier for authors who do not understand one line of code, not to mention copyright on the internet and all the other aspects of blogging a book.

I’ll be writing a series over the next few days covering just about everything I can think of about writing a blook - these posts will come in the form of ’steps’, all the way from choosing a blogging platform to publishing your blook.

This guide will not be overly detailed - its purpose is to be a reference, or a rough guide - but it will be clear and to the point. I’ll leave links to other articles and resources which I think are relevant and helpful to each of the steps where aspiring authors can go and peruse at their own pace.

Note: The majority of this guide will be written with Wordpress and Blogger users in mind, since they are free, easy to use and are generally well known blogging platforms.

The steps:

Step 1: Choosing a Blogging Platform - Here I’ll talk about the selection of blogging platforms available, how they work and a brief explanation about why they are so useful, especially in writing a book on the internet.

Step 2: Set It Up - After choosing the right blogging platform you’re left with the task of setting it up. This might range from 30 seconds to 5 hours, depending on your level of expertise and the blogging platform you choose.

Step 3: Optimize - Step 3 is where I’ll talk about the fiddling you’ll need to do before the blook is acceptable to both humans and search engines. This step covers simple SEO, theme edits as well as recommended services for your RSS feeds or your blog comments.

Step 4: Copyright - What is Creative Commons? How does it work? Are there limitations? Alternatives? Questions, questions.

Step 5: Write! - Ideas on how to post up chapters, modify your writing for the web as well as basic principles to follow. I’ll put up links to more detailed writing guides on the internet, that I feel everyone who wants to write fiction should read.

Step 6: Promote - Where are you going to promote your blook? How are you going to go about it? I won’t promise you instant fame and success, but there are places to go to on the web to meet up with like minded people. Again, these are merely guidelines.

Step 7: Publish! - With the advent of on-demand publishing, services like Lulu and Blurb offer blook writers an alternative to the traditional publishing industry. And then there are other publishers that deal exclusively with publishing web content - we’ll take a look at them here.

Conclusion - A sum up of the series and blooking in general.

Whew! What a list. I’ve got my work cut out for me, and if you enjoy them jump up and subscribe to Novelr’s RSS Feed.