From time to time, we get requests from clients who need someone to write blog posts for them. We don’t offer that service for various reasons—primarily because, despite their similarities, the process, approach, and outcomes we provide are very different.
One of our core values is industry alignment. As a critical aspect of client service, we align all writing with book industry expectations. We couldn’t bring that level of service to blogging because the frameworks are so different.
But there are also similarities between writing a book and writing a blog.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the similarities and differences between writing a book and writing a blog. Similarities first.
How are blogging and book writing similar?
Manuscript Development
While many assume that research and development are significant differences between blogs and books, that’s not always the case. I enjoy lots of blogs (and, similarly, newsletters) that involve deep, careful research. In 2023, the trend in content creation is toward helpful, specific content. That means that many bloggers dive deep into statistical trends and behind-the-scenes reporting. Many books are highly researched, too, of course. But the differences within categories are more significant than the differences between them.
Authors must ensure that their ideas are well-considered and appropriately researched for both blogs and books.
Editing, Revision, and Proofreading
The time it takes to edit, revise, and proofread directly varies according to word count—so I’m not implying that these processes are the same in terms of effort. But any piece of writing needs to be edited, revised, and proofed.
While the process is faster for blogs, short-form writing benefits from a second set of eyes, careful consideration of your argument, and attention to redundancies and audience handholding.
With books and blogs, you skip the revisions at your peril.
Structure
Books and blogs are also similar in structure—or, I should say, in terms of how an author determines the best structure for their writing. Genre typically dictates the best approach for a book. Readers expect self-help books to have more subheads than memoirs. Fantasy novels feature lots of world-building, while thrillers more often get straight to the action. And leadership books weave together stories and lessons, while academic books are more likely to focus on examples and explanations.
“Gone are the days when all books overflowed with lengthy flourishes and poetic turns of phrase. Most trade books today are written in an approachable, conversational voice that helps readers get to know the author as though they were sitting down to grab a cup of coffee together. The same is true for blog posts.”
Most of the time, readers don’t realize how genre shapes the books they read.
That’s true of blog posts, too. Most marketing blogs feature at least some statistical or market research, while posts on news sites are usually written more like traditional journalism.
Readers know what to expect from the type of book or blog they choose. In both cases, genre constraints dictate the structure of an author’s writing, at least to some degree. If you decide to push the boundaries, be sure you do so intentionally and for a good reason.
Voice
Gone are the days when all books overflowed with lengthy flourishes and poetic turns of phrase. Most trade books today are written in an approachable, conversational voice that helps readers get to know the author as though they were sitting down to grab a cup of coffee together. The same is true for blog posts.
Literary fiction is still a thriving category, and that genre tends to take on a higher language tier than you’d commonly find in blogs. But blogs and books should be written with a similar tone and style.
Scope
I waffled on where to put this one. On one hand, the scope of a book is usually more extensive than the scope of a blog, simply because blogs are shorter. But the process of determining the depth of your argument is similar for both.
Determining how wide to cast your net is a crucial part of the development process for any type of writing. There are plenty of books with very narrow topics, and we’ve seen excellent blog series that provide excellent content and analysis.
The takeaway is that the question of scope exists no matter what you’re writing. If you struggle to figure out an appropriate scope in your blog, you’ll probably struggle with it when you start your book, too.
Communication
Finally, books and blogs are similar in their desired outcome—communication. Both books and blogs are excellent ways to build your brand. Both formats work well to develop the “know, like, and trust factor” that’s so important for bringing clients through the doors of your business. And when you read a book or subscribe to a blog, you probably end the process feeling as though you know the author.
“Blogs and books complement each other beautifully because both formats demonstrate your credibility, authority, and expertise—and we often suggest authors circulate excerpts from their books in their blog or newsletter.”
Blogs and books complement each other beautifully because both formats demonstrate your credibility, authority, and expertise—and we often suggest authors circulate excerpts from their books in their blog or newsletter.
(Caveat: if you’re publishing traditionally, you’ll need permission to do this! Yes, I know, that seems silly—it’s your writing. But check your contract and proceed only in full, open communication with your editor.
Differences Between Writing a Book and Writing a Blog
Project Management
The biggest difference lies in project management requirements. Most of us can write a blog in an hour or two. Books often take at least four or five months, not including manuscript development and revision. Maintaining momentum, organization, and cohesiveness over such a long time takes infinitely more planning.
While you might write your blog straight into your browser (I’m writing in Word because, well, I primarily write books), a book-length project typically calls for a specialized approach. We love Scrivener and use it for all manuscript drafting—it allows you to sort scenes and arguments into individual documents which you can visualize individually or in various combinations. You can also draft and drop documents to rearrange their order, a beneficial feature when it comes to revising for impact.
Before I used Scrivener, I used one Word document for each chapter, then compiled later. I’ve also used Excel to organize my thoughts, particularly when I needed to process a lot of research. And the DAS team uses Monday to plan out timing and tasks since books benefit from a team of experts (blog posts do, too, but arguably to a lesser extent).
The bottom line: writing a book requires a lot of organization and project management. Writing a blog takes less.
Publishing
I’ll revise this post before I put it on our website, but if I wanted to, I could publish it within five minutes of finishing a draft. Books demand, well, a little more strategy.
I’ve got a whole post on the differences between traditional and self-publishing, so I won’t belabor that point. Regardless of an author’s approach, publishing a book requires a hefty investment of time and/or money.
Publishing the most difficult blog is easier than publishing the simplest book.
Quoting and Attribution
On a smaller scale, the use of other’s materials is very different between blogs and books. We could debate whether that should be the case, but the fact remains that it is. In both formats, the other’s material should always receive attribution—usually a blog link or a book citation. But things move so quickly in the digital world that it’s difficult for creators to keep track of their work. And, when it comes to things like backlinks and website traffic, most online creators would love to be cited as much as possible.
“For most books, reviews come well after the writing is finished and offer no means of responding to readers. When you blog, though, you can easily adjust your ideas.”
But if you want to use others’ materials in your published books, get ready to jump through some legal, logistical, and financial hoops. One client of ours paid $2,000 to use part of a poem in his book, even though he praised the poet and suggested readers check out her work.
It’s possible to avoid licensing if you actively engage with the material—critique and analysis fall under fair use, for example. However, if you’re publishing with a traditional press, quoted material and images will be heavily scrutinized and may not make it in the final version.
Toss in links to your heart’s content if you’re writing a blog. But realize that the rules are different if you want to pivot to books.
Opportunities
While blogs and books both provide excellent communication channels, the status boost of publishing a book is massive. Look at the top figures in any industry—most have published books. If you want to become a motivational speaker, you probably need a book. Want to get tenure at a university? Most fields require a book. Need to get your foot in the door with the next major client? A book’s the ticket.
Blogging does many things, but its accessibility makes it difficult to stand out from the crowd. That’s why so many of the top bloggers have books as well.
People just look at you differently when you’re a published (book) author.
Feedback and Responsiveness
I wrote earlier about the time commitment of writing and publishing a book, and that matters for more than just efficiency. While “the internet is forever,” you can revise your blog post as needed. Sometimes social context changes, sometimes readers react badly, and sometimes we just change our minds on a key argument.
If you publish a book, there’s no turning back. Sure, you can put out a new edition. But you’ll never pull every copy of the previous edition—it’ll still be available (and cheaper) on Amazon and in used bookstores around the world. When I publish books under my own name (as opposed to ghostwriting), I have a rule—I never read the book once it’s out. I know there will be some sentence I want to tweak or an idea I didn’t state clearly enough. It’s just the nature of the game. Nothing is perfect, and that shouldn’t hold us back from putting our ideas out there. At the same time, realize that publishing a book is slow. There may be a major development in your topic between the time your book goes into production and when it arrives in bookstores. That’s just the way it is.
For most books, reviews come well after the writing is finished and offer no means of responding to readers. When you blog, though, you can easily adjust your ideas. Depending on reader feedback, you can add caveats, corrections, and clarifications. You can even engage with your critiques (or fans!) to make your ideas into more of a conversation.
If your topic is rapidly changing, there might be better options than a book. You won’t be able to respond to readers, and the feedback you get will be seriously delayed.
To Book or Not to Book
That truly is the question.
Over the years, we’ve told plenty of authors to hold off on their books—I literally gave that advice this morning! That doesn’t mean blogging is better. It just means it’s different. And while there are certainly similarities between the two formats, the differences can stack up pretty quickly as pros and cons for your particular project.
If you’re unsure whether you should write a book or a blog, you might benefit from a clarity call—I’ll meet with you personally to learn about your project, goals, and constraints so I can advise you on which route makes the most sense for you.
